EMS training questions, answered.
The things people ask on the intake call, written down. If yours is not here, call +1 424-386-0195 and ask — we would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Before your first session.
What happens on the first visit?
It starts before the visit. We call for five or ten minutes about your goals, your training history and anything medical we need to work around, and we send you the list of contraindications so nothing is a surprise at the door. You sign a waiver acknowledging them before the suit goes on. Then your trainer arrives with the whole studio in the car, talks through the plan, and you train. The first one is the $79 intro session — a full session, not a demo.
What do I need at home?
A power outlet, athletic shoes and about two metres square of clear floor — the living room of a one-bedroom apartment is enough. Everything else arrives in the car, including the suit. We train clients at home, in offices and in building gyms.
What do I wear?
A cotton base layer — a top and shorts or leggings. The EMS vest goes on over it, and the suit is dampened with water first, so cotton works better than synthetics. Bring athletic shoes. That is the whole kit list; the suit itself is provided.
How long is a session?
The impulses run for 20 minutes. The visit is 60–80 minutes door to door, because that block sits inside a structure: about ten minutes of cardio warm-up first, then the EMS, then ten minutes of recovery work on the suit, and a consultation at the end about how your week went and what to eat. If you have read "20-minute workout" and pictured your trainer leaving after twenty minutes, that is the part worth adjusting.
Training, frequency and results.
How often should I train?
Once or twice a week, and twice is the sweet spot for most people. The limit is recovery rather than enthusiasm: leave at least two rest days between EMS sessions, and do not put one the day before or after heavy lifting, because the suit has already asked a great deal of the same muscle. If you train elsewhere, tell your coach what your week looks like and we will build around it.
Does it really work in twenty minutes?
The twenty minutes is dense rather than short. The suit contracts most of the major muscle groups at the same time and the impulses hold them under tension throughout, so there is no walking between machines and no waiting for a rack. You are also still doing the work — squats, presses, rows, holds — while the impulses raise the load. It is a workout, not a treatment you lie still for.
When will I see results?
Most people feel something after the first session, and visible change usually turns up around the third or fourth. What moves first is often not the scale: fat can come down while muscle goes up and the number stays exactly where it was. That is why we ask clients to measure at the start rather than weigh — a smart scale or a tape measure will tell you more than the bathroom scale will.
Will I be sore?
Almost certainly, at least early on — around 95% of clients feel it, and the glutes are usually the loudest. It tends to arrive a day later than gym soreness and settles as your body adapts. Your coach will pitch the first session conservatively for exactly this reason. The soreness is also the honest signal that the muscle did the work.
Why does the suit need water?
Conductivity. The electrodes work through a dampened cotton layer so the impulses reach the muscle evenly. It is also why we ask for cotton rather than synthetics.
What we check, and who it is not for.
Is it safe? Will it shock me?
It is not a shock. EMS uses gentle impulses that mimic the signals your brain already sends to muscle when you contract it — the suit delivers them to more places at once, and more strongly than you would manage voluntarily. Intensity is under your coach's hand the whole session and is ramped up gradually, not switched on. For healthy people, run by a trained coach on professional equipment, it is safe. Ours is a Miha Bodytec II: FDA-cleared and CE-certified, medical-grade.
Who should not do EMS?
Some conditions rule it out outright: a pacemaker or implanted device, pregnancy, epilepsy, acute inflammation and fever. Others need a word with your doctor first — if you are managing a chronic condition or a diagnosis, ask them and tell your coach what they said. We send the full list before the first visit, and you sign a waiver acknowledging it. We are trainers, not clinicians, and we would rather lose a booking than guess.
Is it hard on my joints?
No, and it is one of the main reasons people come to us. The load lands on the muscle rather than the skeleton, because the intensity arrives as an impulse instead of as weight on your spine. You get a heavy training effect at close to no mechanical cost to joints and discs — which is why it works for people coming back from injury, training around a joint replacement, or told to stay away from a loaded barbell.
Is EMS good for older adults?
Yes. Our oldest client is 74, and the joint-friendly part is exactly why it fits: you can put a serious load through the muscle without asking the knees, hips and spine to carry it. Muscle is also the thing most worth defending as you age. We start conservatively, check in constantly and adjust as you go.
What it comes to.
How much does it cost?
The first session is $79, refunded if it is not for you — normally $189. After that it is $189 a session, or from $149 a session in a package, with the trainer, the equipment and the travel included. There is no membership and no joining fee.
Is the intro session really refundable?
Yes. Train the whole thing, and if it is not for you, say so and we return the $79. We would rather find that out in one session than sell you a package you will not use.
Still deciding?
$79 intro session — refunded if it is not for you. At your door, anywhere in Los Angeles, Ventura & Orange County.