For a long time, many bodybuilders have achieved good muscle building results using EMS, but why is the muscle building effect of EMS so good? There must be few friends who know the middle way.
Today, KAKA will analyze the truth from the principle level.
"Vulnerability" of motor nerves
The contractile unit of human muscle is composed of an α-motor neuron and the muscle fibers innervated by it.
During traditional training, the central nervous system of the brain sends out electrical signals, which are transmitted through the nerves to the muscle contraction units, thereby controlling muscle contractions.
But in fact, our motor nerves are very "fragile" and will bring many negative effects to training. This "vulnerability" can be roughly divided into "while training" and "after training".
(1) "Vulnerability" during training
If you do dumbbell biceps curls, with 10kg dumbbells, you will fail in 12 curls.
Is the "failure" caused by muscle fatigue entirely because of the muscle itself? Actually not!
The so-called "exhaustion" is actually partly caused by motor neuron fatigue. So, our motor nerves are "fragile" during traditional weight training.
(2) "Vulnerability" after training
Furthermore, if we just finished chest training yesterday and are going to train legs today, on the surface, the fatigue caused by upper body training should not affect the lower body, but why do we feel very tired and can’t lift up the energy?
Because our motor neurons are still fatigued, your nervous system hasn't recovered well from the previous day's training.
Why is it difficult for many fitness beginners to stick to training? It is because your current stage of neural adaptation is still poor (this will be discussed later), which also explains the "fragility" of our motor neurons.
However, putting on an EMS lift iron can alleviate the "fragility" of the motor nerves very well.
(3) EMS can alleviate the "fragility" of motor nerves
We all know that our muscles contract when they receive electrical signals.
Muscles cannot tell the source of the electrical signal, and the muscle contracts as long as it receives an electrical signal that causes it to contract.
EMS technology simulates human biological signals and acts directly on muscles to allow them to contract effectively.
First of all, if you usually use 10kg dumbbells, you can only lift 12 and you will be exhausted. When you put on EMS to lift, you may reach 13-15 (depending on personal situation and pulse strength).
By bypassing the motor nerves and doing work for a long time, the fatigue caused by the training process will be delayed.
Second, because the neural control system is bypassed, "nervous fatigue" is greatly reduced after your EMS training. This has profound implications for long-term training.
Especially for the fitness novice who just entered the pit, the fatigue caused by "nervous fragility" has weakened, and EMS can help them better persevere on the road to fitness.
Degree of muscle fiber recruitment
(1) Muscle energy saving system
During traditional training, muscle fibers are completely depleted of energy within seconds, and the body employs a number of ways to prolong the force.
The slow-twitch (red) fiber contracts spontaneously first because it consumes less energy, but is not very forceful. Then, fast-twitch muscle (white) fibers that are strong enough but energy-draining are added to handle the load.
In addition, the muscles work in a relay grouping of muscle fibers, and even at the highest load state, the muscle fibers will always maintain a certain rebound margin to maintain energy reserves.
Therefore, when the muscles contract voluntarily, the human brain can only mobilize 60-70% of the muscle fibers to participate in the work, and it is impossible to contract all the muscle fibers at the same time.
Moreover, the order in which the muscle force commands are issued makes most of the muscle fibers with energy reserves are white fast-twitch fibers (muscle fibers responsible for explosive force), which is a big limitation for strength growth.
EMS acts directly on the muscle, bypassing the muscle energy-saving system, so it can activate 100% of the muscle fibers, thereby activating the muscle fibers in the reserve state, allowing the trainer to experience training stimuli that are otherwise difficult to achieve.
The super-strength nature of this EMS training is beneficial for increasing the strength-to-weight ratio of the muscle fiber cross-section, and the preferential conversion of damaged and intermediate muscle fibers to white muscle fibers. This is a qualitative improvement for building strength.
(2) Recruitment of motor units
The essence of skeletal muscle contraction is the recruitment of motor units.
In traditional training, the number of motor units activated depends on the required strength and the range of muscle contraction, with weak stimulation (endurance training) only a few or smaller motor units are involved in contraction.
As the stimulus is intensified (strength training), more and more motor units are involved in the contraction.
Compared with the voluntary contraction of muscles during traditional training, EMS training does not use this physiological system, each motor unit can be recruited 100%, the stimulation of the muscle is greater, and the muscle tear is stronger.
Factors for strength growth
The factors that affect the growth of power include three aspects.
First, intramuscular coordination, also referred to as "neural adaptation," consists primarily of nerve impulse frequency, the number of motor units recruited, and the synchronization of the recruitment of different motor units (fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle).
When performing traditional training, the muscle recruitment capacity of ordinary people is 60-70%; wearing EMS lifting iron, there is no problem of neural adaptation, the recruitment of motor units is 100%, which is increased by 30-40%.
Second, the increase in dimension, that is, the increase in the cross-sectional area of the muscle, the good muscle tearing and excessive recovery after training will make the muscle fibers thicker and larger, and thus the strength will also increase. After the strength becomes larger, it can also better promote the growth of the dimension, which is a virtuous cycle process.
In traditional training, the first 6-8 weeks of training did not substantially improve and increase the dimension, and most of the performance improvement came from neural adaptation and motor coordination. From the first time wearing EMS training, the bodybuilder will have obvious muscle micro-tear feeling. In the subsequent training, the muscle dimension and strength will continue to improve.
The third factor is intermuscular coordination, also known as "movement proficiency", which mainly includes the coordination and stability of the coordination of agonists, antagonists, and synergists. This will also affect strength growth, but these take time to become proficient in movements, and are also related to athletic talent and personal circumstances.
Post time: Jun-21-2022
