Current workout craze

It’s dubbed the next generation of exercise and claims to deliver more than twice the results of a single gym session. We try the Electro Muscle Stimulation workout in Dubai.

Beginners to the EMS workout have to fill out a questionnaire and will have a consultation session. Courtesy My30minutes, Dubai

The prospect of only having to exercise for 20 to 30 minutes and it equating to about two hours in the gym, sounded a little too good to be true. That was my sceptical attitude, at least, when I arrived for a trial session at My30minutes workout studio in Dubai’s smart Jumeirah 1 district.

The concept is simple: clients are strapped into an electrode-lined bodysuit before performing a series of exercises for half an hour, much as they would in a gym.

The difference is that through the magic of EMS – Electro Muscle Stimulation – the workout’s intensity is ramped up.

And so it was that I willingly placed myself in the capable hands of my personal trainer (PT) Mauricio Gomez. After filling out a questionnaire, I was escorted to a private, mirrored workout room in the deceptively spacious villa. I was handed matching black cotton cycling shorts and a T-shirt, into which I duly changed in the en-suite bathroom. When I emerged, I was Velcroed tightly into leg straps, armbands and a gilet containing eight pairs of hidden electrodes.

The instructor then pumped up the music and switched on the current, which flowed from a free-standing unit and into my high-tech gym kit. He gradually increased the impulses around my main muscle areas until the intensity became just barely tolerable. The sensation was akin to pins and needles in some areas and like firm repetitive squeezes in others. It’s not meant to be comfortable but neither is it meant to debilitate you.

After a quick warm-up, I was asked to do a series of squats, lunges and arm-work with weights. Given the extra effort, my heart rate soon skyrocketed and maintaining good breathing was key to keeping up with what was to come.

As the music increased in volume, so did the tempo of our workout. It followed a wall chart of supposedly simple moves, made ever more challenging by the constant muscle stimulation.

After a surprisingly exhausting 20 minutes and a five-minute cool-down, it was time to shower and change before a final debrief.

My PT revealed that the sessions were particularly popular with Emiratis, not least for the privacy closed-door sessions provided as opposed to public, or even segregated gyms. He also mentioned that the idea had caught on with expatriates who aren’t able to spend hours in the gym or who lead a particularly sedentary lifestyle. That said, as with any exercise regime, the benefits of EMS are limited unless accompanied by a sound nutritional plan.

Two to three sessions a week for a sustained period, he advised, would result in a client tightening tissue, losing excess pounds and activating their metabolism. For men, in particular, the machine’s promise of sculpting abs and arms in record time, compared with using only free weights, has also proved especially popular since My30minutes opened in April last year.

As for me, well, one session wasn’t enough to cause me much muscle pain, although I have no doubt a week of classes would have. Which is no wonder, considering the full-body programme is said to activate more than 90 per cent of muscle fibres simultaneously during every contraction.

If you’re time poor and cash rich, this could be the trend to make you fit and keep you current.

Don’t let the discomfort or volts put you off – just keep in mind the PT’s reassuring words that with this type of post-workout pain, there is rapid and measurable gain.

• My30minutes is located on Al Wasl Road, Dubai. Individual sessions cost Dh515 and a package of 10 starts from Dh3,600. Sign up for your free EMS trial at www.my30minutes.com or call 04 385 5353 for more details