A Muscle Stimulating Device That Harnesses EMS To Maximize The Body’s Efforts, Evolving Your Training, Recovery And Fitness
There are a host of high-tech toys, tools and training aids that are pushing the envelope of performance for athletes, including Electrical Muscle Stimulators, which have lots and lots of wires. Wearing these gizmos are said to speed muscle recovery and improve endurance, but with all the wires, the athlete looks a little like a character out of a science fiction movie.
PowerDot, according to the Encinitas, CA company, is the world’s first mobile, app-based, muscle stimulating device that harnesses electric muscle stimulation (EMS) to maximize the body’s efforts, evolving your training, recovery and overall fitness.
PowerDot is also the only app-based, wireless EMS device cleared by the FDA and controlled wirelessly via Bluetooth from your IOS/Android device, making it an effective addition to training, but also convenient and travel-friendly. The company said that no matter the discipline or level of fitness, PowerDot could complement an athlete’s training by working targeted muscle groups with a variety of EMS protocols. PowerDot has dedicated programs for warm up, recovery, massage, strength, endurance, and resistance.
“Most products in the market are limited in how they convey what they do, and are intimidating to the consumer, said Sean Lake, spokesman for PowerDot. “ We wanted to shatter these barriers to entry with a simpler product that fits into the consumers’ current eco system. Running E Stats from your phone is that natural progression.”
EMS has been used in former Communist Bloc countries for sport training since the early 1950s, but Western countries only became aware of its use in 1973, when Dr. Y. Kots of the Central Institute of Physical Culture in the former USSR outlined the tremendous potential for strength enhancement beyond that which was possible by traditional (voluntary) training methods.
His claims raised many eyebrows and considerable effort was expended in an attempt to validate Kots' claims. Crude studies that pitted EMS-fired muscles against voluntarily contracted muscles (using Cybex machines for measurement) appeared to show that EMS wasn't as effective as Kots had claimed. However, the design of these studies was flawed due to a poor understanding of how EMS works on the neuromuscular system.
Lake explained that a Russian Engineer named Alexey Pisarev came up with PowerDot, this new and more modern product.
“His father worked with Russian Stim for decades and Alexey thought (as an engineer) that he could take the principles of E Stem and modernize this proven technology,” Lake said. “PowerDot was born from that notion.”
PowerDot’s Active Recovery program recruits targeted muscles in a 20-minute program. The program uses a varying range of stimulation frequencies and runs multiple light contractions in a low frequency range. This program improves blood circulation, flushes lactic acid, and triggers the release of endorphins that allow for a speedy recovery from activity. Over time, the PowerDot system can also help improve an athlete’s overall endurance and explosiveness, while reducing common injury risks.
“PowerDot’s easy-to-use app comes pre-loaded with ten programs giving athletes an opportunity to tailor their needs from warmup to work out to recovery – completely changing the way athletes train,” Lake said. “Electric Muscle Stimulation- EMS- or neuromuscular electrical stimulation –NMES- uses electric impulses to cause a muscle to contract. This contraction causes the muscle to get stronger.”
Lake explained that scientists have proven the value of EMS as a complementary training technique, and most high-level athletes have experienced EMS as a rehabilitation tool at physical therapy.
“Now, average fitness enthusiasts can take advantage of the strength training benefits of EMS with consumer-friendly devices like PowerDot,” he said. “Think of Electrical Muscle Stimulation in its simplest form. It activates your muscle fibers. Every step you take on the Coast Highway requires you to use your muscles. PowerDot helps with recovery to prevent soreness and get you back out there.”
For non-athletes, PowerDot can be useful for travel on long flights. A passenger can run massage programs to increase circulation and relax muscles.
“This is a lot more beneficial than trusting a pair of compression socks,” Lake said. “Between the massage features for anytime you tweak a muscle, to the recovery option after exercise you stay fine- tuned.”
Apparently, besides the cool-looking device, owning and wearing a PowerDot is like having a massage therapist in your pocket.
Candice Reed
A graduate of Kelsey-Jenny College in Communications as well as a certified grant writer, Candice has written for The Los Angeles Times & The New York Times. She loves entertaining and all things French.
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PowerDot, harnessing electric muscle stimulation to help you get better results faster, enjoy targeted training, and be able to take it anywhere.