The perfect workout for busy people

It sounds clichéd, but the phrase ‘not enough hours in the day’ is one that I can totally relate to. I’m all in favour of anything that saves me a few minutes throughout the day (or allows me some extra shut-eye!).

But when I do start to feel the pinch and I’m running short of time, hitting the gym is the first thing to be bumped off my priority list.

The latest fitness tech to reach NZ shores, EMS Training, is proven to be the equivalent of a 60 – 90-minute workout in a mere 20 minutes. I was intrigued. I had to try it.

EMS (or Electro Muscle Stimulation) training uses low-frequency electric impulses to target the skeletal muscles. Typically, muscles are contracted and controlled by electric signals sent by your central nervous system, however EMS training mimics this brain activity but at a much higher rate, hence its efficiency.

With a lunch break spare, I headed down to New Zealand’s first EMS training location to find out what the buzz was all about.

Walking into the fu/nis – EMS Training studio in Auckland’s CBD was every bit the personalised experience I had hoped for. Greeted by owner Catrina, I was invited to discuss my fitness goals and got changed into my special EMS gear, ready for my session to begin.

My initial consultation meant the next 20-minutes would be tailored specifically to my needs. The team helped me wiggle into the gear: a vest, and straps to wrap around each arm, thigh, and around my bum, to really hone in to each muscle group. My trainer connected me to the miha Bodytech unit, which would send impulses to my muscles throughout the session.  

It turns out warm fuzzies aren’t just a fabrication of feelings, I felt them as soon as my unit was switched on. I could feel my muscles contracting with each pulse, and I was pleasantly surprised that it felt very different to what I have experienced so far.

Having separate electrodes for each muscle group meant that the intensity for each could be set, and then dialled up or down depending on the exercise I was doing at the time. As someone with as much upper body strength as a noodle, I was grateful for the opportunity to set this at a lower intensity!

I squatted, curled, pulsed and lunged my way through the 20-minute session, and while I didn’t really break a sweat, I could feel the impulses penetrating deep into each muscle during my exercises. After my workout, I experienced a different post-workout tiredness I would usually feel after a gym session. I was surprisingly energised immediately afterward, yet my tired muscles became evident later in the day and the following morning.

Just one or two EMS sessions per week are enough, allowing 48 hours rest in between each session. Depending on your goals, results can be seen in as little as two to four weeks, providing lifestyle and diet changes follow.

Would I do it again? Heck yes. Was I worried that I was essentially being hooked up to a machine and slowly electrified? Heck no. Electro Muscle Stimulation is not new, it’s been around since the 1960’s for rehabilitation purposes, and is totally safe.   

Interested in trying it for yourself? Just in time for summer, Remix have five double passes to giveaway. Perfect for squeezing into your lunch break, consider this your new exercise go-to, but in half the time of your usual gym session. To enter, head to our Facebook page.

09 373 3004
8 Commerce Street, Level 1, Achilles House, Auckland