Quick Overview
Scientists at National Taiwan Sport University tested whether daily EMS could add extra results to gym work.
Twenty-eight healthy adults lifted weights three times a week for eight weeks. Half also used daily electrical muscle stimulation on arms, abs, and legs.
They measured muscle mass, body fat, grip strength, jump power, and blood markers. Daily EMS gained 0.8 kg of muscle. The other group lost 0.2 kg. Fat fell 1.0% with EMS but rose 2.4% without it. Right-hand grip rose 4.4 kg versus 1.4 kg.
Those gains support sports training that needs strong hands and a leaner body, such as racket sports, climbing, and combat sports. They also matter for gym users and recreational players in many other sports.
The trial was ethics-approved and published in peer-reviewed PeerJ.
Read the full post for every number and what it means.
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Daily EMS Plus Gym Work Built More Muscle and a Leaner Look in Eight Weeks
Busy people want training that works harder for them.
They want muscle.
They also want less body fat.
A new study from Taiwan looked at that exact idea.
Researchers asked one clear question.
Can daily EMS add extra results to normal resistance training?
EMS means electrical muscle stimulation.
Small pads send pulses that make a muscle tighten on its own.
This was not a random blog claim.
It was a planned feasibility and safety study.
The team worked at the National Taiwan Sport University.
That is a real sports science centre in Taiwan.
Taiwan has a long record of careful exercise research.
The paper came out in 2023 in the peer-reviewed journal PeerJ.
A hospital ethics board approved the trial.
The trial was also listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Those steps help readers see the work was checked.
The scientists recruited 28 healthy adults.
There were 14 men and 14 women.
Most were about 22 years old.
All were between 20 and 40.
They were healthy gym-age adults, not hospital patients.
People were split into two even groups.
Both groups lifted weights three times a week.
They trained arms, back, abs, and legs.
One group did that training only.
The other group also used daily EMS.
The EMS group trained biceps, abs, and quads.
Sessions lasted 30 minutes.
They used a changing pulse plan of 30 to 50 Hz.
The study ran for eight weeks.
The team measured real numbers, not vibes.
They checked muscle mass and body fat.
They tested grip strength in both hands.
They tested a jump for lower-body power.
They also took blood before, at week four, and at week eight.
Here is what changed.
The weights-only group gained a little fat.
Their body fat rose from 20.3% to 22.7%.
Their muscle mass barely moved.
It went from 28.8 kg to 28.6 kg.
The daily EMS group went the other way.
Their muscle mass rose from 29.5 kg to 30.3 kg.
That was a gain of about 0.8 kg.
Their body fat fell from 22.1% to 21.2%.
The gap between groups was clear.
The extra muscle mass change favoured daily EMS (p = 0.002).
The body fat change also favoured daily EMS (p < 0.001).
Hands got stronger too.
Left-hand grip strength rose by 1.0 kg with weights only.
It rose by 2.7 kg with daily EMS.
Right-hand grip rose by 1.4 kg with weights only.
It rose by 4.4 kg with daily EMS.
Those extra grip gains were statistically larger.
Left hand: p = 0.007.
Right hand: p = 0.002.
Both groups jumped a bit higher after eight weeks.
Daily EMS did not add a clear extra jump boost.
The big extra wins were muscle mass, lower body fat, and grip strength.
Blood tests stayed in a normal range.
Liver markers such as AST and ALT did not spike.
Kidney markers such as BUN and creatinine stayed steady.
In this healthy group, the plan looked workable.
What does that mean for sports training?
This trial did not test one pro league.
It tested healthy young men and women in a gym plan.
Still, the measured gains matter in many sports.
Stronger hands help racket sports.
They also help climbing, rowing, and combat sports.
More muscle mass and less body fat help any sport that rewards a lean, strong body.
Think court sports, field sports, and gym sports.
The same qualities help people who are not elite athletes.
Gym users who want a firmer look may care about these numbers.
Recreational players may care about extra strength.
Busy adults who already lift may care about the add-on effect.
The bright finding was simple.
Weights alone helped.
Daily EMS on top of those weights helped more for muscle, fat, and grip.
In this study, adding those extra EMS sessions was the difference.
This was a small eight-week trial.
It was not a miracle promise.
It was not a medical treatment claim.
It was fitness research in healthy young adults.
The authors say more work is still needed.
Bigger groups and longer plans would help.
Different sports and older adults still need their own tests.
For now, the story from this paper is hopeful.
A trusted sports university ran a real trial.
A peer-reviewed journal published it.
The measured progress favoured daily EMS plus resistance training.
That is useful news for gym training, and for many sports that reward strength and a leaner body.
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Research Summary
| Topic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full study title | Effect of 8-week frequency-specific electrical muscle stimulation combined with resistance exercise training on muscle mass, strength, and body composition in men and women: a feasibility and safety study |
| Original paper link | https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16303 |
| Journal and date | Peer-reviewed open-access journal PeerJ, published 16 October 2023 (PeerJ 11:e16303) |
| Research team | Mon-Chien Lee, Chin-Shan Ho, Yi-Ju Hsu, Ming-Fang Wu, and Chi-Chang Huang |
| Research centre | Graduate Institute of Sports Science, National Taiwan Sport University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, with co-affiliations at Taipei Medical University and Tajen University |
| Ethics and registry | Approved by Landseed International Hospital IRB (LSHIRB No. 21-034-A2) and registered as NCT06036953 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
| Who took part | 28 healthy adults aged 20–40 years: 14 men and 14 women, split evenly into two groups |
| Group comparison | No-EMS group versus daily-EMS group; both groups did the same resistance training plan |
| Training plan | Resistance training 3 times a week for 8 weeks on pneumatic machines for arms, back, abs, and legs |
| EMS plan | Daily EMS on biceps, abdominal muscles, and quadriceps, using a 30–50 Hz cycle for 30 minutes per session |
| What scientists measured | Body weight, BMI, muscle mass, body-fat percentage, grip strength, countermovement jump, VO₂max setup, and blood markers |
| Muscle-mass result | Muscle mass change was −0.2 ± 0.9 kg without EMS and +0.8 ± 0.4 kg with daily EMS (between-group p = 0.002) |
| Body-fat result | Body-fat change was +2.4 ± 1.9% without EMS and −1.0 ± 1.3% with daily EMS (between-group p < 0.001) |
| Grip-strength result | Left-hand gain was +1.0 kg versus +2.7 kg (p = 0.007); right-hand gain was +1.4 kg versus +4.4 kg (p = 0.002) |
| Jump and fatigue result | Both groups improved jump height, peak force, and rate of force development; daily EMS did not add a clear extra jump or fatigue-marker benefit |
| Safety blood work | AST, ALT, BUN, creatinine, uric acid, and free fatty acids stayed in a normal range at baseline, week 4, and week 8 |
| Main conclusion | In these healthy young adults, daily EMS plus resistance training improved muscle mass, upper-body grip strength, and body-fat percentage more than resistance training alone |
| Who the findings may interest | Gym users and recreational athletes who want more muscle and a leaner look; sports that reward grip and strength-to-weight, such as racket sports, climbing, rowing, and combat sports |
| Study limits | Small sample, 8-week duration, mixed-gender analysis, BIA rather than DXA, and no tightly controlled diet record |
| Funding note | University–Industry Cooperation Fund, National Taiwan Sport University (NTSU No. 1101062); authors reported no competing interests |
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