Muscle Stimulation
 

Hi,
is it possible to build body muscles using EMS (Electrical muscle stimulator).. I heard atheletes use that to quickly recover from injuries and also strengthen muscles.
Do body builders also use that?
Thanks,
Karthi

Not unless they're injured.

Do they really work?
 

electrical muscle stimulators are advertised not only to tone, firm, and strengthen muscles, but also to provide weight loss. Do they really work?

...
 

^ haha. i love uncle rico too.

i'm training to be a cage fighter.



nothing builds muscle....or loses fat except diet, weights/exercise.

"Tone" and "firm". Very non-specific, non-scientific terms. They don't mean anything to me.

You have to keep in mind that the stimulation is very light. So...it's not going to be a very effective way to stimulate a muscle. They're used in rehab because it's an effective way to isolate a muscle and it's easy to control the intensity of the contraction. That's their only effective place IMO. If you're completely sedentary, then it would be more beneficial than doing nothing. But still it wouldn't be very effective. The amount of calories that it would cause you to burn is pretty insignificant also, so it's not an efficient weight loss tool either.

back problem
 

Thanks guys. I used to do a lot of weight-lifting and cardio work-outs. I developed back pain sometime back. It has become a chronic pain now. My doctor told me it's because muscles are weak.
Now I am afraid to lift any weights now. First I need to strengthen my upper/lower back muscles atleast to the extent that I can live without any back pain. For this purpose, would you suggest EMS/IFT?

Probably not. It depends on the severity of your pain and how far along you are now. Can you actually move around well and do any types of exercises?

i wonder how your posture is?

I have a disc bulge between l4 & l5 as per the mri scan that was taken 4 years back. I am currently doing only streching exercises. am a software engineer. hence I need to sit in front of computer for 12 hours a day.