If there is one rule in fitness, it is that hard work yields results, and shortcuts only have you coming up short on your goals. So when we heard about the Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) workout that is now available at 20seven Fitness, we were skeptical.
The workout is simple. Just put on the suit, and the vest, and feel the electricity flow through your body as you perform reps for about 20 minutes. The pulses mimic electric currents sent from your brain to move your muscles but target deep muscle tissue to give you a workout unlike any other. In fact just one 20-minute session is the equivalent of three traditional workouts in a gym. It takes very little time, but an incredible amount of effort.
Mohammad Kriedieh, founder of 20seven Fitness, is no stranger to hard work. He knew he had a tough road ahead to a healthier lifestyle when he reached the unbearable weight of 103 kg. The stagnant lifestyle and an unhealthy diet he had fallen into when he came to Kuwait in 2006, had made it difficult for him to even walk.
“I decided to change my life,” he said. “It was hard at the beginning, but slowly I started losing weight and got attached to sports and activities. I even started reading and teaching myself about nutrition and sports.”
In his quest for new and innovative workouts, he came across an article that outlined the futuristic regimen of the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt. Towering at over two-meters, the sprinter was shown wearing the Miha Bodytec black vest lined with red wires and a large control board. It was the first time Kriedieh saw the EMS machine, and it opened his eyes to the future of fitness. He found that many supermodels had used the machine to enhance their workouts. Furthermore, the entire FC Bayern Munich football team uses this technology to train. By October 2014 his machine had arrived from Germany, and just two months later at the start of the New Year, the doors of 20seven Fitness opened.
The major selling point for EMS training is the speed in which you get amazing results. Studies done by the German Sport University in Cologne found that in high-performing athletes there was a 30% increase in power in just four weeks. Furthermore, three months after they started the program they saw a 67% increase in their abdominal power, and a 74% increase in their core. The program is not just for professional athletes and trainers though. Many patients undergoing physiotherapy have used the EMS training to workout muscles damaged due to injury.
Just an hour of workouts a week and your body is transformed? The bazaar team couldn’t believe it, so we headed to 20seven Fitness for a trial workout with EMS trainer Anka. We were instructed to come with no gym clothes, as everything was provided for us. When we went to the small studio they provided us with a suit that looked just like a typical wet suit, only with straps on the arms and thighs. Then we were outfitted with the vest, which was a bit heavy at first, but we forgot about it very quickly. Anka sprayed the vest with water to conduct the electricity to the muscles.
The machine was turned on bit by bit. She tested each muscle’s endurance to the electric currents by sending stronger and stronger currents. A note to new users, pace yourself, when the whole suit is on it’s a workout just to stand, and it can be quite ticklish. Although the electricity tickled a bit, by that time the entire suit was sending electric impulses.
The helpful instructors were extremely patient and guided us through the whole process. All of our muscles, were contracting as the electric current went through and we had to utilize every one. Nothing went to waste, from clenching abdominal muscles to doing a simple squat, the task was a little painful – but it was a good pain.
We ended up sweatier than we would have been if we did an hour of cardio at the gym, and felt great right after. By the next day we were so sore we could feel every muscle move, ache and stretch, having worked out muscles we never knew we had. That wonderful pain lasted for three days, but also showed how much we needed it, and in time with a few workouts this should diminish.
We can only imagine the results from a regular workout like this would be, and according to Kriedieh, it would be time well spent.
“We want people to drop excuses and move into a healthy lifestyle with minimum time spent,” he told bazaar. “The machine is being used all over the world and with thousands of studios and users all over. Athletes use it, celebrities use it, why not you?”
20seven Fitness Studio can be found in the Sirbb Circuit. For more information and to book your free session call 2226 1908. Follow them on Instagram @20sevenkw.
