Benefits of Electrical Muscle Stimulation For Athletes

An electrical muscle stimulator is exactly what it sounds like, a process of stimulating muscles by contracting them with low-level electrical currents. Although you may not be able to get a six-pack of abs with the device, when used regularly the process of muscle stimulation can have incredible therapeutic benefits for athletes. It can help with their training programs but can also aid in massage and recovery processes.

Recovery is extremely important to an athlete and electrical muscle stimulation has been known to speed up recovery. Electrical muscle stimulation can help athletes recover and perform at peak levels. I decided to take a look at the different benefits and this is what I found out.

History of Electrical Muscle Stimulation

Before getting to deep lets take a quick look at how this technology has evolved over the years. Electrical Muscle Stimulation dates back to the Egyptian Fifth Dynasty when they discovered that a great treatment for pain came in the form of an electrical fish. This truly is a sign that there are benefits from stimulation but we haven’t been properly informed.

In the 70’s devices found their way into salons to help with facials and spa treatments. In the 1990’s the devices came in the form of wearable devices that could stimulate muscles through your clothing. At that point the FDA stepped in to make sure the devices were not being used by children who wanted to add on extra muscle before their bodies had stopped developing properly. The FDA however since had regulated the devices for safety and now they can only be used by adults and only for reasons such as bodybuilding or therapy.

Today athletes can use them to prevent muscle soreness and speed up recovery. We have come a long way from when the Egyptians were using electrical fish, but the promotion of healing hasn’t changed.

Benefits of Electrical Muscle Stimulation:

Pre Workout Warm-up

Muscle Stimulation increases the temperature of your muscles by increasing blood flow to those muscles. You can warm-up your muscles faster with muscle stimulation. Instead of depending on your normal regime of 10-20 minutes of warm-up time, you can do it in minutes. The shape of your muscles will change easily because your muscle fibers increase quickly.

Benefits provided include:

• Quick & Effective Warm-ups.
• Increase in muscle fibers.

Improved Performance

It’s no surprise that improving performance is an effective goal for athletes. When muscles contract it has an affect on the body’s natural process. So how exactly is this accomplished? When muscles contract your bloodstream is then activated with Nitric Oxide. Once this is activated blood vessels open up which allows for an increase in the flow of nourishment you get to the muscles in the body. Not only are you getting more nourishment but also new blood vessels get created and that allows the efficiency of muscles to be fuelled which promotes healing and recovery. Electrical muscle stimulation brings about this process in a much faster pace.

Benefits provided include:

• Increase of nourishment to your muscles.
• Quick healing and recovery.

Enhances Strength

When it comes to being an athlete training becomes a full time job for you. There’s only so much time that you have to train, so you need to make the most of it. Electrical muscle stimulation allows you to use your time efficiently and prioritize which muscle groups will most benefit the sport you’re in. It’s going to increase your power output to build strength during your strength training programs. Building strength is important for any athlete so why wouldn’t you want to use a device that can help you achieve gains faster without risk of injury?

Muscle stimulation trains your muscle fibers to bring energy anaerobically and promotes a lot of force that can help you increase strength, which can last up to a minute. The best part is that the muscles contracting force can be done without muscle or mental fatigue. This is a great way to get that explosive strength that you are looking for. When you do 100 burpees you are working on that explosiveness, electronic muscle stimulation works your muscles in the same way without the exhaustion.

Benefits provided include:

• Increased strength.

Speeds Up Recovery

When training as an athlete a lot of it has to do with preparing for an upcoming season. Electrical muscle stimulation can help you reach your goals faster so that you are ready to dominate the season. You can maintain faster paces without fatiguing your muscles. You abilities will improve and you will recover more quickly to allow you to continue training. What athlete wouldn’t want that?

Rapid contractions forces blood out of the capillary beds, which gets rid of unwanted waste from intense workouts. Getting rid of that waste is what helps you heal and recover more easily. Room is then made for fresh blood to get to the muscle that brings the oxygen the body needs to recover. This is why athletes all over seek out this treatment in order to recovery faster after an intense workout. An athlete that can get back into training quicker becomes a stronger athlete.

Benefits provided include:

• Release of unwanted waste.
• Quicker recovery time.

Deep Tissue Massage

Finally electrical muscle stimulation is a great way to have the same benefits of a massage. It promotes endorphin production in the body, which will make your heavy muscles feel light. You will no longer have the feeling of knotted muscles that make you feel fatigued and weakened. It promotes better blood flow to the muscles while relieving sore and aching muscles. The machine allows you to receive many of the benefits of professional massage at a fraction of the cost while allowing your body to heal and recover.

Benefits provided include:

• Endorphin production increases.
• Muscles relax.

Should You Use It?

Just about anyone can benefit from using electrical muscle stimulation; these machines are not just for athletes. The improvements to recovery and performance are astounding. And this is why many athletes have added them to their training regimens. They can see their performances improving, and a reduction in their recovery between workouts.

If you are considering purchasing an electrical muscle stimulator, but you haven’t been sure that it’s valuable investment, hopefully this article has given you a little background on the benefits and uses. These devices have shown to help bodybuilders, fitness trainers and everyday people to become stronger, faster, avoid injuries and recover faster. If you are looking to optimize any of these areas of your performance then you should try one out for yourself.