The Effects of Superimposed Whole-Body Electromyostimulation During Short-Term Strength Training on Physical Fitness in Physically Active Females: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of short-term strength training with and without superimposed whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) on straight sprinting speed (SSS), change of direction speed (CODS), vertical and horizontal jumping, as well as on strength and power in physically active females. Twenty-two active female participants ( n = 22; mean ± SD: age: 20.5 ± 2.3 years; height: 171.9 ± 5.5 cm; body mass: 64.0 ± 8.2 kg; strength training experience 5.1 ± 3.6 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: strength training (S) or strength training with superimposed WB-EMS (S+E). Both groups trained twice a week over a period of 4 weeks and differed in the application of free weights or WB-EMS during four strength (e.g., split squats, glute-ham raises) and five sprinting and jumping exercises (e.g., side and box jumps, skippings). The WB-EMS impulse intensity was adjusted to 70% of individual maximal sustainable pain. SSS was tested via 30-m sprinting, CODS by a T-run, vertical and horizontal jumping using four different jump tests at pre-, post-, and retests. Maximal strength (F max ) and power (P max ) testing procedures were conducted on the Leg Press (LP), Leg Extension (LE), and Leg Curl (LC) machine. Significant time × group interaction effects revealed significant decreases of contact time of the Drop Jump and split time of CODS ( p ≤ 0.043; = 0.15–0.25) for S (≤ 11.6%) compared to S+E (≤ 5.7%). Significant time effects ( p < 0.024; = 0.17–0.57) were observed in both groups for SSS (S+E: ≤6.3%; S: ≤8.0%) and CODS (S+E: ≤1.8%; S: ≤2.0%) at retest, for jump test performances (S+E: ≤13.2%; S: ≤9.2%) as well as F max and P max for LE (S+E: ≤13.5%; S: ≤13.3%) and LC (S+E: ≤18.2%; S: ≤26.7%) at post- and retests. The findings of this study indicate comparable effects of short-term strength training with and without superimposed WB-EMS on physical fitness in physically active females. Therefore, WB-EMS training could serve as a reasonable but not superior alternative to classic training regimes in female exercisers.

Effects of Whole Body Electromyostimulation on Physical Fitness and Health in Postmenopausal Women: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The authors observed that, except for slight improvements in some physical variables, the changes caused by the WB-EMS training were not superior to those of other exercise programs. Similar results were found by (116) in physically active women. The authors concluded that after 4 weeks of intervention, the WB-EMS training could serve as a reasonable but not superior alternative to classic training regimes.…”

“…Other studies designed interventions whose control group carried out exercises of the same nature as the experimental group, but their training did not match the volume and frequency of training loads ( 58 , 60 , 114 , 115 ). The protocol of the present study intends to carry out an experimental phase in which the interventions of both groups are completely comparable in terms of type of movements and training volume ( 116 – 118 ). It will allow identifying precisely the isolated effect of the WB-EMS.…”

Effects of Whole-Body Electromyostimulation on Strength-, Sprint-, and Jump Performance in Moderately Trained Young Adults: A Mini-Meta-Analysis of Five Homogenous RCTs of Our Work Group

“…a Dörmann et al (2011) (5/2); Dörmann et al (2019) (0/10); Micke et al (2018) (14/7); Filipovic et al (2019) (10/0); Wirtz et al (2016) (10/0) .b Dörmann et al (2011) (5/2); Dörmann et al (2019) (0/11); Micke et al (2018) (12/4); Filipovic et al (2019) (10/0); Wirtz et al (2016) (10/0) .…”

“…Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide evidence for the effect of training with superimposed WB-EMS on lower leg strength and power as well as sprint and jump performance in trained subjects. In this regard we conducted a mini-meta-analysis focusing on individual data of 5 recent in-house WB-EMS studies (Dörmann, 2011; Wirtz et al, 2016; Micke et al, 2018; Dörmann et al, 2019; Filipovic et al, 2019). All studies were designed to characterize the impact of superimposed WB-EMS during different exercise conditions.…”

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

“…Control group was assigned based on preferences and availability, whereas both intervention arms have been assigned based on coin toss. The EMS group (EG, n = 10) performed jumps with superimposed WB-EMS twice a week accompanied by 3 × 10 squat jumps in addition to the daily soccer routine over a period of 7 weeks that is a sufficient intervention period with WB-EMS to improve strength abilities [5,28,29]. To differentiate between the effects caused by EMS and by the squat jumps and soccer training respectively, two control groups were included.…”