6 min read
It's usually one of two things. Either your body composition is changing — muscle mass rising while fat falls, with the scale adding both into a single number — or there is no real calorie deficit. If the scale has been stuck for two months or more, the second explanation is the likelier one, because a kilogram of body fat holds roughly 7000 to 7700 kcal and exercise alone struggles to create that deficit.
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EMS training (electrical muscle stimulation) is exercise performed in a suit fitted with electrodes that send low-frequency electrical impulses to the major muscle groups, triggering contractions while you move. Because the muscle contracts both from your own nervous system and from the external impulse, a session is shorter — typically 20 minutes — than a comparable session without stimulation.
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At Forma X we recommend twice a week for 20 minutes: one harder session and one lighter one, with at least one rest day between them. Twice a week is frequent enough to build strength and infrequent enough for muscles to recover in between. Beginners train just as often, but at a lower intensity that is increased gradually as the body adapts to the impulse.
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Neither is universally better — they solve different problems. EMS makes sense when time is the constraint and you need supervised strength training in 20 minutes. The gym makes sense when you have several hours a week, want to build endurance and lifting technique, and care more about cost per session than about saved time.
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The evidence is strongest for muscle mass and strength: a meta-analysis of 16 studies with 897 participants found large, statistically significant effects of whole-body EMS on muscle mass and on leg and trunk strength. For body fat the results conflict — that same meta-analysis found no significant effect, while a larger 2023 one did. EMS is therefore a scientifically supported method for improving muscle mass, strength and body composition, not a shortcut to weight loss.
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EMS is safe when performed under qualified supervision, with gradual intensity progression and respect for the contraindications. Gradual progression is the essential part — starting too fast raises the risk of excessive muscle breakdown.
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A 2018 randomised controlled trial in adults with chronic non-specific low back pain found a significant reduction in pain intensity compared with a control group after ten whole-body EMS sessions. EMS can therefore help with chronic non-specific pain, but it is not appropriate for acute injury, inflammation, or pain with a clear structural diagnosis without prior medical assessment.
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EMS helps mainly by preserving and building muscle mass, which improves body composition — meta-analyses confirm effects of whole-body EMS on body composition and muscle strength in non-athletes. The energy burned during a 20-minute session is too small to be the main lever for weight loss: without adjusted nutrition and daily movement, the number on the scale stays put.
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A first visit takes about 60 minutes: a consultation about your goals and health, getting into the EMS suit, a short familiarisation phase, roughly 20 minutes of guided training at lower intensity, then recovery and a protein shake. All you bring is clean indoor trainers — the suit, towel, water and bathroom kit are waiting for you here.
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