When Steffen Brandt and Reiner Wolf opened Bodystreet in Winter Park just over two years ago, they were taking a real leap of faith. In addition to the pandemic, they faced a number of other challenges to opening their doors. “In Europe, electro-muscular stimulation workouts are pretty common. EMS has been on the market since 2007,” Steffen explained. “But the devices we use here only got cleared by the FDA two and a half years ago.”
Not to be deterred, they forged ahead even though the concept wasn’t well understood in the U.S. “When we explain what we do and the science behind it, people are interested and want to try it. Once they do, they totally get it,” he said.
“Most of our clients are busy people who know they have to exercise to keep in shape, but don’t have time for the gym. As we get older, we all lose muscle mass. And we gain weight if we don’t exercise,” said Steffen. “Our clients Lori and John are good examples. Lori had a personal trainer years ago but she has an insurance agency now and is busy with that. John is a public adjuster and he’s also very busy,” he added. “However, after careful consideration, both of them decided to dive in.” Their focus was on toning up, losing fat and gaining strength.
Their motivation? Both were frank with their answer. “If I can’t do 20 minutes once a week, I have a really serious problem in my life.” Like others, once Lori and John understood the science behind it, EMS made sense. They knew why just 20 minutes and why just once a week would bring results.
Steffen described the process. “As you work out and your muscles contract and relax, an additional impulse is applied through our exercise suit. The muscles experience an additional increase in contraction and an even more effective stimulation. During a Bodystreet workout, more than 90% of the muscle fibers are contracted. And that’s with every contraction — 85 per second.”
One of the benefits of their approach is that it’s a whole-body workout. “That’s something people really like,” Steffen added. “A 20-minute session equals three hours of lifting weights with a personal trainer in a gym.”
Another feature that sets them apart is they can adjust according to the client’s needs. “Our approach is suitable for all ages. We have clients from 18 to more than 80 years old and everything is guided by a personal trainer.“
The most critical ingredient for success, said Steffen, is consistency. “I always tell people you don’t need to come in more than once a week, but you should do it consistently every week. If you take a break of two or three weeks and come back the following week, you’re not going to get the results you’re looking for.”
CAN YOU BENEFIT FROM EMS?
1 | BUSY PEOPLE
People without time to spend at the gym can stay fit with EMS. Only 20 minutes of training a week is needed to get and stay fit.
2 | UNATHLETIC PEOPLE
Those of us who’ve been unathletic so far can get started without exerting themselves. There’s always a personal trainer who can adapt the training to individual needs.
3 | OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE
Often a low pulse intensity is sufficient to stimulate the muscle to the maximum. And the joints of overweight people, which are often heavily stressed, are spared.
4 | OLDER PEOPLE
With increasing age, we lose muscle mass and bone density and gain fat. EMS is ideal for older people, as it builds up muscle, is easy on the joints, and stimulates the metabolism.
