monthly tryout - electric February

Okay, so how does this sound: you pull yourself into tight black undergarments, get hosed down with warm water, strapped into some body armour with cables, get hooked into a machine and then get electric pulses run through your 8 main muscles...great right?

Actually it's pretty cool. It's called electric muscle stimulation and according to wiki it: "has received increasing attention in the last few years because of its potential to serve as a strength training tool for healthy subjects and athletes, a rehabilitation and preventive tool for partially or totally immobilized patients, a testing tool for evaluating the neural and/or muscular function in vivo, and a post-exercise recovery tool for athletes". 

The method is also used in physical therapy to loosen muscles that are too tight. The supposedly great thing about it is that the electric stimulation can reach deep into your muscles and give you a hefty work out in a short period of time, while not overstimulating your joints, so no injuries.

Whether or not it does what it does, the work out is pretty fun to do and a lot harder than it looks. After being hooked up we did a 20 minute workout, where we had to squat a few times, do a few lunges and arm movements and ending with a minute long planking session. Not the end of the world. Still, the next couple of days I was totally unable to walk down any type of stairs...it was a real work out in that sense.

So how does it feel? It differs per person. For me it felt a little bit like when your muscles have gone to sleep and then you have to move around again to wake them up. For my other halve it felt like he was sitting in a massage chair, and for my other friend it just tickled, resulting in some good yet strange laughs.

Would I do it again? I don't know yet. It is definitely a work out, it feels safe to do (although you do need to sign a waver, so no complete trust from my side), it does not take long and when you check out the web you mostly only find positive stories. Plus Usein Bolt does it too! But it is also kind of expensive, depending on where you go anywhere between 20-50 euros per session. Perhaps I'll make it a once in a while work out?

In Amsterdam you can get yourself a free (yes! free!) try out at the Body Tec Lounge.