I’ve used EMS T aining in professional spo ts since 2009. Through my work at Müller- Wohlfah t O thopaedic Centre in Munich I dealt with professional athletes from diff erent spo ts eve y day. Over the years, EMS t aining has become an impor tant pa t of my t aining both in the area of rehabilitation after inju y and strength & conditioning.
Often the little things are the deciding factor in winning at world championships or at the Olympics. This is why many athletes like Usain Bolt take the oppo tunity to use EMS t aining to bring them into top form. Individually dosed and adapted to the requirements of the respective spo t, it can give a decisive level of advantage. From my long-term experience in strength & conditioning with professional athletes I can recommend EMS t aining for increasing pe formance and giving the athlete the ext a boost that could make a difference in their results.
SPORT-SPECIFIC TRAINING
As a t ainer, it’s your job to make athletes better at their spo t by improving their condition and cognitive skills. For that purpose, strength t aining is done with spo ts equipment and the accompanying exercises in order to make it even more beneficial for the athlete.
Similarly, EMS t aining can be t ansferred to spo t-specific movements and simultaneously have a positive in luence on strength development. Using EMS during spo t-specifi c movements can increase int a- and inter-muscular coordination, and therefore enhance performance At this level, this can give a definitive advantage for the athlete.
EMS can be easily integ ated into the weekly t aining routine at any stage of preparation for competitions. Maximum and explosive strength can both be increased through higher muscle activity and improved movement speed. This is done by activating the fast-twitch fibres first, developing movement speed and explosiveness. In principle, it can work with the same prog ammes as those used for conventional strengthening.
It’s impo tant to ensure that the settings and intensity can be adapted to the t aining goals – if the goal is to move luidly and without disruption, then you should choose a longer pulse rise or even continuous current.
Recove y plays an impo tant role in eve y athlete’s life and reducing recove ry times by increasing blood low after an intense t aining, combined with other measures, can have a huge impact on pe formance. Using recove y and metabolism prog ammes with EMS can sho rten recove y times even more. But if an athlete is going to do EMS t aining, his or her entire weekly t aining prog ramme must be taken into conside ration.
The more t aining units that the athlete unde takes, the more relevant the selected pa ameters of the EMS t aining are and pa ticularly the chosen t aining time in relation to the technical and competitive t aining units in order to ensure sufficient regene ation time.
The implementation of EMS t raining off ers athletics coaches a great oppo rtunity to improve the athlete’s condition whilst taking into account functional aspects. In this case, the focus should not be technical t raining. This is the technical t ainer’s job and as far as possible should be carried out under real-life conditions for the pa ticular spo t.
