Seven Weeks of Jump Training with Superimposed Whole-Body Electromyostimulation Does Not Affect the Physiological and Cellular Parameters of Endurance Performance in Amateur Soccer Players

Abstract

Intramuscular density of monocarboxylate-transporter (MCT) could affect the ability to perform high amounts of fast and explosive actions during a soccer game. MCTs have been proven to be essential for lactate shuttling and pH regulation during exercise and can undergo notable adaptational changes depending on training. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and direction of potential effects of a 7-weeks training period of jumps with superimposed whole-body electromyostimulation on soccer relevant performance surrogates and MCT density in soccer players. For this purpose, 30 amateur soccer players were randomly assigned to three groups. One group performed dynamic whole-body strength training including 3 x 10 squat jumps with WB-EMS (EG, n = 10) twice a week in addition to their daily soccer training routine. A jump training group (TG, n = 10) performed the same training routine without EMS, whereas a control group (CG, n = 8) merely performed their daily soccer routine. 2 (Time: pre vs. post) x 3 (group: EG, TG, CG) repeated measures analyses of variance (rANOVA) revealed neither a significant time, group nor interaction effect for VO 2 peak, Total Time to Exhaustion and La max as well as MCT-1 density. Due to a lack of task-specificity of the underlying training stimuli, we conclude that seven weeks of WB-EMS superimposed to jump exercise twice a week does not relevantly influence aerobic performance or MCT density.

Immediate Effects of Whole-Body versus Local Dynamic Electrostimulation of the Abdominal Muscles in Healthy People Assessed by Ultrasound: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The sample in this study was healthy; no differences were obtained in the acute effects of the addition of WB-EMS/EMS to the physical exercise protocol, as in other studies with healthy populations that did not find a greater benefit with EMS training [ 9 , 29 , 30 ]. In contrast, in populations with certain pathologies (low back pain and abdominal rectus diastasis), better results were obtained on the abdominal musculature in terms of muscle mass gain, muscle strength, and improved abdominal muscle recruitment with the combination of EMS and physical exercise [ 20 , 23 , 66 ].…”

“…There are several studies on the chronic application of dynamic WB-EMS, especially on the limb musculature and its effects on physiological parameters [ 2 , 6 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ], while studies on local EMS are mostly not combined with physical exercise [ 31 ]. Few studies analyze the evolution of morphological and physiological changes during a period of training, and there may be differences depending on the type of muscles stimulated [ 32 ].…”

Bibliometric Analysis of Studies on Whole Body Electromyostimulation

“…On the other hand, there is an author who is involved in about 35% of published articles. Frontiers in Physiology (23 articles), Clinical Interventions in Aging [ 6 ] and International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [ 6 ] are the journals where authors publish the most. On the one hand, Frontiers in Physiology is one of the largest journals in the world, covering more than 900 academic disciplines.…”

“…Although this technology has been around for a long time, the number of scientific investigations is insufficient and unclear about its effects and benefits. Moreover, with a more detailed analysis of the fields on the subject, we can find three main applications of WB-EMS: Performance [ 4 , 5 , 6 ], Rehabilitation [ 7 ] and Health and Wellness [ 8 ].…”

Effects of electromyostimulation on performance parameters in sportive and trained athletes: A systematic review and network meta‐analysis

“…J. Herrero et al, 2010aA. J. Herrero et al, , 2010bPaillard et al, 2008;Wirtz et al, 2020), and 4 studies a four-armed study design (J. Herrero et al, 2006;Martínez-López et al, 2012;Willoughby & Simpson, 1996, 1998.…”