We Tried EMS Training So You Don't Have To

A suggestion to try EMS training once popped up in the group chat and everyone replied, "I'm too scared to try it" so I immediately also declined. Then, I remembered I am trying to work on my strength so that I don't become old and have atrophied muscles by the time I'm 80—so I changed my tune and told Jordan Rossman, our executive editor, that I'd accompany her to an EMS training session at Alo's Instagram-famous gym in New York.

The day of our session rolled around, and not knowing what to expect, I arrived at Alo's Flatiron fitness studio bright and early in comfortable workout clothes, excited to get into some electrical muscle stimulation.

Ahead, I share my experience with EMS training and give you insights on what you can expect if you give it a go.

EMS stands for electrical muscle stimulation. As a workout, this looks like an electrode-covered suit velcroed around your body. At Alo, the team provides a workout set of sorts—a set of black leggings and a black long-sleeve top—to wear underneath the suit. Once the set and suit are on, the suit gets sprayed with water for better conduction with your muscles. As you get going on movement, the suit delivers harmless and painless electrical impulses to your muscles, causing them to contract without having to do a bunch of reps, and deeper than if you were to do those reps. Basically, your brain fires electrical impulses to your muscles to simulate them working hard.

The muscle contractions are deeper, meaning less actual work (the workout is 20-minutes long) and less weight is needed to achieve the same results. For those time-poor, recovering from injuries, or simply unwilling to spend a lot of time in the gym learning "the moves" as I call it, it's an ideal add-on to your fitness routine.

Once in the suit at the Alo gym (which is one of those places you don't want to leave once you're there), our instructor turned our suits on a low-level current to get started. At first, it feels as though small muscles are contracting paired with soft pressure, which feels odd when you're standing still, but once we got moving, things started to feel more intense (our instructor also turned the intensity of the machine up based on how well we were handling the exercises).

It's important for me, a very HIIT- and CrossFit-averse person, to note that it is not that. The movements and exercises we did were closer to Pilates exercises than anything violently intense. I am someone who goes to yoga regularly and Pilates semi-regularly—but the gym, absolutely never. This workout was perfectly manageable, albeit a little challenging at times.

During the session, we'd have 10-second intervals between exercises before the machine turned on again. The muscle pain while doing these exercises feels as though you have done 25 reps instead of 5. As the intensity of the machine increased, I could feel the vibration sensation was much more present, but it never felt too much to handle. There were definitely moments where both Jordan and I yelled out in surprise or struggle, but the entire thing is over so soon, there's not much time to spend worrying about whether or not you're cut out for it.

During the cool down, we were instructed to lie on our backs while our instructor turned the machine up, telling us that having the machine on without doing any targeted exercise is helpful for the lymphatic system and for recovery. It was certainly my favorite part of the experience, aside from Alo's actual recovery facilities on-site, which include a sauna and ice baths.

The next day was definitely painful. My body felt like I had spent two hours working out instead of 20, and I had muscles hurting that I didn't know existed, which definitely had a "hurts so good" effect. I know Jordan was unable to sit down, which in my mind feels like it worked! Immediately afterwards, my body felt tighter, stronger, and noticeably more toned, like getting a good "pump" at the gym (that's what it's called, right?), especially on my stomach. Overall, I would go as far as to integrate EMS training into my routine once or twice a week, as instructed by our instructor. Get me back in the suit!