Live Longer with EMS
Want to live longer? Here’s how EMS can help.
Chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Why not both?
Celtics or Lakers? I was born in Boston, but now live in LA, so both again!
What’s better, cardio or lifting weights?
In a world where we tend to make everything binary, we need to start saying “yes, and” more often.
As an EMS fitness company providing personal training, we are very bullish on strength training AND we are happy to also include circuits, metabolic conditioning, cardio bouts, and other modalities that elevate your heart rate. Electrical muscle stimulation has plenty of benefits and advantages for cardiovascular training, check out a recent post about combining EMS with HIIT.
You burn more calories in a short period of time, it’s joint-friendly, low impact, you get more muscles engaged, and it can be as intense as you can handle.
That said, I am doubling down on strength training as the focus for EMS workouts, and here are the reasons why:
- You can get cardio from many sources
If you like hiking, pick steep hills and you’ll get a cardio effect. If you like pickleball, play for hours. If you like boxing, you can take classes, you can get a punching bag, or you can even get a VR set and box at home. There are many ways to get cardio without the need for a personal trainer.
- Strength training requires a lot more guidance
Even the World Health Organization has very loose guidelines on resistance training. It is much more complicated to understand because there are many more variables: sets, repetitions, frequency, exercise selection, periodization, and so on.
- EMS fitness is a subspecialty of personal training
For now, the FDA requires that EMS workouts be done under the guidance of a personal trainer. This could change with time, but that’s the current rule. It makes sense because strength training has a lot of variables, and electrical muscle stimulation adds another layer of variables with stimulation intensity, depth, cycle, and duration.
I’m not against personal trainers including cardio in their sessions. I think it makes complete sense to include cardio in personal training sessions if:
- You are training 3 or more times per week with a personal trainer.
- You are doing strength training on your own correctly.
- Your personal trainer is creating a cardio component through circuits, or metabolic conditioning work.
Otherwise, my recommendation is that you focus on strength training during your personal training sessions. And the same goes for EMS sessions.
Where is this recommendation coming from?
Research.
Here’s a recent article from the New York Times that details how people who do strength training live longer. According to the article, there’s a new study published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine which suggests that regularly engaging in both aerobic exercise and strength training can lower the risk of mortality.
The study analyzed data from over 400,000 American adults and found that one to three hours of aerobic exercise per week, along with one to two strength training sessions, was associated with an even lower mortality risk. The study highlights the importance of incorporating both types of exercise for longevity and overall health. Previous research has also shown that strength training has significant benefits for healthy aging, as it helps maintain muscle strength and quality of life.
Despite the need for further research to determine the optimal amount of strength training, experts agree that regular strength training is essential for healthy aging and can be beneficial even for older individuals with mobility issues. It is recommended to start with a light and easy level of strength training and gradually increase intensity. Seeking expert advice or guidance can also be helpful. The key is to get started and make exercise a habit to improve both lifespan and quality of life.
How to get started with resistance training?
You can call us and we’ll take it from there.
Or, you can start with light weights, and stick to the fundamental movements which are push, pull, hinge, squat, lunge, rotation, and locomotion. Pick one or 2 exercises from each list, and do 2 sets of 15 repetitions. This means that by 13-14-15 repetitions you start feeling like your muscles can’t do anymore. It’s not about just counting to 15 and calling it a day. If you got to 15 repetitions and could have done 2 or more repetitions, the weight was too light and you need to go heavier.
Locomotion you already get from cardio, which is moving from any point A to point B.
Push: pushups, dumbbell chest presses, shoulder presses, lateral shoulder raises, chest flys, etc.
Pull: pull-ups, chin-ups, one arm rows, face pulls, reverse pushups, etc.
Squats: sit-to-stands, barbell squats, goblet squats, front squats, etc.
Hinge: deadlifts, trapbar deadlifts, single leg deadlifts, hip thrusts, 80/20’s, etc.
Lunges: reverse lunges, walking lunges, curtys lunges, step ups, medial lunges, etc.
Rotations: cable rotations, ball throws, woodchoppers – or you can perform anti-rotations such as pallof presses, bird dogs, deadbugs, and so on.
I hope this is helpful and as always, we’re here to help!
If you are interested in learning more about EMS book a free consultation with me here: https://calendly.com/conradfitness/30min
Conrad
Director of Education and Technology
Bodybuzz
Bodybuzz combines Certified Personal Training with Electrical Muscle Stimulation, giving your body a deeper, safer, and more effective workout. 20 minutes twice a week is all it takes!
Our personal trainers will guide you through a custom EMS workout designed specifically for you. Whether you’re looking to build strength, lose weight, get toned, or recover from an injury or illness, we offer a safe, low-impact solution to help get you there.
EMS has now been FDA-cleared for use in the US and we are proud to be one of the first companies to introduce this technology. It is a full-body workout that uses a special muscle stimulating suit that sends low-level impulses to your major muscle groups to trigger muscle contractions. It’s a unique sensation that is painless and invigorating. EMS workouts are designed to achieve optimal conditioning, burn fat, develop strength, build muscle, tighten skin, combat cellulite, jump-start your metabolism and restore your body’s natural balance.