I just got myself an EMS unit and it’s outstanding!
I tried it out on all the important muscle groups but cannot tolerate it on my hamstrings at any beneficial intensity at all.
As soon as I crank up the current my hamstrings completely cramp up and it’s unbearable.
When I took it off my hamstring it was instantly sore, almost like a light strain. Is this normal?
The main reason I bought the unit was for the hamstrings but cannot use it on them. Has anyone got any tips for using EMS on the hams?
Thanks.
P.s, I set the unit at:
Frequency: 120hz, current: 30mA, wavelength 320.
The unit is a Globus elite 2
I’ve got the same unit i love it to! During my first session my hams were the same. What you’ll find is that they will start to tolerate it better the more sessions you do… often during the same session. I’ve had problems with cramps though and I drink Tonic Water and make sure my potassium’s up before I stim.
I was cramping too, but my mistake was that I was performing the sessions lying horizontally on my tummy. If you perform it on your feet, at a 90 degree angle at your waist (like a good morning position hold), then your hamstring elongates and it doesn’t cramp.
UKcheetah:Phew it’s good to hear that my hams will eventually ‘man up’ to the intensity.
yeah it really is a great unit for the money, I especially like the recovery modes.
Stefanie: Thats interesting, I’ll definately try that. My leg was just curling up and cramping like crazy when I was lying down.
what programmes you guys using? my hammys have been fine i always do as stephanie stated and sit up or lay down on my back, same kinda with my quads i lock my leg so that it doesnt do a full lock out and start bending my leg backwards lol
I think electrode placement also has a big effect on whether the muscle cramps or not.
When I stim my hams I use 2 large electrodes on each, and position them both much closer to the top of my hamstring than the bottom.
I figure that hip extension is what is more important anyways, so stimulating closer to the hip seems like a good idea. I just lay on my stomach and haven’t had any cramping problems so far with this set up.
Today as an experiment I moved one of the electrodes down much closer to my knee, and even at a much lower intensity it cramped up like you guys said. After moving the electrode back up closer to my hip everything was fine again.
So maybe try playing around with electrode placement to see if that helps at all.
Although this seems logical most evidence suggests that the activation of a muscle seems to be uniform across it length. However, it’s not just me that feels DOMS in very specific areas of a muscle so it makes me wonder.
i love it to! During my first session my hams were the same. What you’ll find is that they will start to tolerate it better the more sessions you do… often during the same session. I’ve had problems with cramps though and I drink Tonic Water and make sure my potassium’s up before I stim.