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Stefan Mainthal's horror began in the night - the 38-year-old suddenly woke up and could no longer bend his arms. "I had developed upper arms like Schwarzenegger over the course of the evening, except that mine were made of water and were so bulging that I could no longer move them," explains Mainthal. Two hours later, the Bavarian was in hospital. Diagnosis: rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which destruction of the skeletal muscles overwhelms the body's ability to regenerate to such an extent that it can be fatal. In a fast-track procedure, Mainthal's body was flushed with infusions to maintain kidney function. The days before, he had completed a full-body EMS training programme in the gym. Whether biking or strength training: during physical exertion, nerves send electrical impulses to the muscles, which then contract. In EMS training, the command to the muscles does not come from the brain, but from the outside through stimulation current. If this happens frequently and intensively enough, the muscle becomes stronger. Studio providers promise that 20 minutes of EMS can supposedly replace several hours of equipment training. This harbours opportunities and dangers, as in the case of Mainthal. If you are under power in the studio, you have little control over the sequence and strength of the programme. Hand-held machines are better suited to this because they work specific muscle groups and don't destroy so many fibres that you wake up at night with Schwarzenegger arms.
Pro EMS training:
- Partial maintenance of the muscles after injury or illness. This can compensate for a loss of training.
- Builds up supporting muscles. Therefore predestined for back pain patients to build up muscles without pain.
- High stimulus density in combination with interval training (e.g. roller) can enable athletes with a limited time budget to achieve good results.
- Replacement massage and increased regeneration through special EMS programmes.
Contra EMS training:
- Uncontrollable recruitment of different muscle fibres. This also means that endurance stimuli are not targeted. The cardiovascular system is not trained.
- No coordinative component in training: The muscles gained are not "wired" in the same way as naturally trained muscles.
- Excessive stimuli: This can severely affect the muscles (muscle soreness). For endurance athletes, this can sometimes mean losing several days of training. In extreme cases, there is a risk of rhabdomyolysis.
Pocket power - Compex SP 2.0
Better recovery, strength training or endurance stimulation - the EMS specialists at Compex promise all of this. The highlight: thanks to MI technology (muscle intelligence), the stimulator automatically adapts the programmes to the condition of the muscles. This enables effective electrical muscle stimulation without overexerting yourself. The wired device offers 20 programmes and 4 channels.
RRP: 429 Euro >> e.g. available at Amazon
"I use EMS training during periods of illness, but not otherwise." - Interview with Markus Kaufmann, bike pro
Markus, you broke your collarbone twice last year and were still fit again for the important races. Also thanks to EMS training?
Not exclusively, for me the build-up had many components. I worked on my diet, then did special strength training that didn't put any strain on my collarbone. I also spent a lot of time on the roller (with the handlebars turned up extra high), but also made intensive use of EMS training.
What did this EMS training look like?
You can hardly do anything directly after an operation or a very recent fracture. An EMS device can be useful to keep the muscle supplied and slow down physical deterioration.
Did you have special programmes for this?
Most of the machines already have pre-installed endurance programmes - I use them. My trainer put together a plan for me that included a special alternation of roller, strength training and EMS.
Do you also use EMS when there are no injuries?
Rarely, as my actual training already puts so much strain on me that the additional strain unnecessarily prolongs my recovery. The devices do offer regeneration programmes, but it's usually too much effort for me to stick the electrodes on my leg. What's more, the programmes only work on specific areas.
