Pics: Salim Matramkot / The Peninsula
Are you worried of your busy schedule that always keeps you away from your routine fitness efforts? Getting offended by the scornful comments of colleagues or friends on your unfit body? Here is a news for you to cheer up!
My30Minutes, an organisation provides personal fitness training, has come up with a novel solution to make you fit with a 30-minute magic with the help of Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS).
EMS is the use of electric impulses to make our muscles contract while we’re doing a workout, making it a lot more intense than usual. A 30-minute session of EMS could deliver the equivalent of two-hour normal fitness efforts.
The concept may be fairly new to fitness fanatics here. However, If we can do something in a shorter time and obtain similar or better benefits, why not?
EMS technology has been around for centuries and has its roots in Egypt. They discovered certain fishes that emit electric impulses and were used to treat pain and ailments such as ‘gout’. This type of training has been applied in the fields of physiotherapy, pro-athletic sport, sport rehabilitation and medicine.
The Peninsula spoke to Tim Newnham, an EMS certified fitness instructor at My30Minutes, who has been working in fitness industry for seven years now.
“I have a background in working with clients with injuries as well as on strength-gaining and weight-loss programmes tailored for both general clients and regular exercise participants. I am living in Qatar for the past 28 years.”
Explaining EMS training from a technical point of view Newnham said: “It is a full body training exercise using electric impulses. EMS training is highly useful for developing both physical and muscle strength, and also best for weight-loss. The prospect of only having to exercise for 20 to 30 minutes and it equating to about two hours in the gym which attracts our customers the most.”
Hajer Ellafi, another licensed EMS and personal fitness instructor, from Tunisia, who has been a part of the team for over 2 years, says, she is passionate about the concept of EMS and its application in the fitness world as an effective training tool.
“95% of my customers are Qataris and I provide Qatari ladies home services.” Hajer is fluent in Arabic, French and English. “For a person, we give 10 sessions of EMS training for QR5500 at the location they choose. We offer 12 sessions to those customers who are ready to visit W- Hotel and Intercontinental Hotel The City. Of the 12 sessions, two are trial sessions and this package costs QR3000.”
Eldin Candic holds a bachelor degree on physical education and sport and EMS certification from Dubai and has been in health and fitness industry for over ten years now.
“EMS uses the body’s natural process of voluntary muscular contractions with “optimal” electrical impulses. To activate your muscles (contractions) your brain sends electric impulses through the central nervous system to your muscles. This natural effect is additionally intensified with the EMS device to enhance the muscular contractions.” The EMS device can address and stimulate all muscles groups individually and separately. “We train adjust the impulse intensity that suits the customers fitness level and supports his or her individual training goals,” Candic further noted.
Edykina Irina, Certified EMS Personal trainer for women at My30Minutes told that: “I started off my journey when I was 15 years old. Two months back I came to Qatar as a certified EMS trainer. My 95 percent of clients are Qatari females. EMS training helped her lose seven kilograms. Presently, I am training 25 people to help them get back in shape.”
“EMS works directly on the muscles, thus there’s no limit to the percentage of fibre that can be activated. From EMS anyone can achieve more than 90% of the muscle fibres at the same time during each contraction – and all in only 20 minutes training time,” she further noted.
“I belong to South Africa and doing personal EMS training from past three years now. I was recruited by the founder of My30Minutes. EMS is a unique and efficient type of workout which usually people are unaware of. With the experience of over seven years in fitness industry it has become my passion to help people rehabilitation,” said Novelen Moodley, Certified EMS Personal trainer at My30Minutes. “A session is only 20 minutes long with five minutes to change into the equipment and five minutes relaxation. Couples can train together, while families can book several sessions after each other,” he further added.
