22 اسفند
Abs and Core, EMS industry news

What are the skills needed to set up a successful EMS studio?

Tha article covers the basic skills necessary to run a successful gym or studio offering EMS training. Since EMS is an unconventional hybrid fitness/wellness service which includes a bit of everything, there are diverse components that lead to success:

  • Hospitality
  • Innovation
  • Team spirit
  • Sport science and health
  • EMS Training skills
  • B2C marketing skills

Key to success, aka good to know:

  • Take away best practices and knowledge base gained from European experience
  • Adopt and develop your EMS fitness concept locally
  • Create demand by showing real results

The professional EMS fitness trainer

An EMS fitmess trainer is not just a person with advanced muscles. See the skills needed to succeed in EMS industry:

  • Prerequisite: already qualified in sport science/medicine or personal training
  • Further education or consultancy is required
  • Modular EMS training education system
  • Professional reflection assignments: creating and executing case or impact studies
  • Communication skills (business communication in focus: PR etc.)
  • Basics of hospitality, service management
  • Marketing education (focusing on social media and “word by mouth”, cross marketing)
  • Knowledge about competitors and how to handle them

EMS fitness business management

To be successful with an EMS fitness business these are the components which make a studio team competent enough to run a successful innovative studio:

  • Pre-requisite: entrepreneur skills are advantage
  • Business planning of EMS fitness service
  • How to create a concept: hospitality management, product and service development 
  • HR (incl. staff education)
  • PR communication
  • Basics on EMS technology
  • EMS market overview: EMS training service competitors and how to handle them
  • Intro to Quality Management System
  • Basics of EMS training service marketing 
  • General liabilities and health insurance

To help you achieve your business goals, Justfit provides you with extensive technological and business knowledge and a decade of expertise on this market.

22 اسفند
Abs and Core, EMS industry news

EMS studio training basics

Learn about the general EMS fitness rules, the proper preparation of a studio training and the basic safety protocol.

General EMS fitness rules

Four steps before starting your studio training

  1. EMS fitness training must be carried out in the company of a trained and licensed EMS trainer.
  2. For each new entrant, history of the contraindication must be clarified before the first introductory training. The waiver or client consent has to be documented and signed.
  3. All activity with the client has to be recorded and archived. In case of any relevant abnormalities, the training may only be carried out after medical approval.
  4. A specialist team should be available to help clients consult with their GP or any doctor.

Preparation of EMS fitness training

Because it does matter what you do.

  1. Full-body EMS is a very intensive training. Only a person in good physical condition is recommended to train. Alcohol, drugs or other exhausting overload must be avoided. No training should be carried out under the effect of febrile diseases.
  2. EMS fitness involves a very high amount of muscle mass workout at the same time, thus generates a high metabolic load to the organism. This is to be compensated with the right nutrients in advance. E.g. carbohydrate-rich snack (250 kcal) 2 hours before the workout.
  3. Increased supply of fluid – pure clean water min. 500ml each time before, during and after the training must be taken to prevent any renal stress.

Safety protocol

Regardless of the physical status and condition, clients should not be trained on full strength during the first introductory training sessions.

The body is adaptive but has limits. Don’t overload the body the first time – ask the trainer instead.

After a moderate initial EMS, the stimulus level or current intensity can be increased gradually.

  • Taking into consideration adaptation and supercompensation as natural physiological processes, the highest values can be adjusted after 8 sessions.
  • The training at full load, especially when there is a sense of pain, or steady tetanus during the stimulation phase, must be avoided in all circumstances. In addition, an initial warm up phase should be applied on lower intensity.
  • Maximum training time on strength program (80-85 Hz) should not exceed 25 minutes. Between 2 strengths sessions there must be 36-60 hours break to enhance regeneration phase after training.
  • During the training, the trainer must supervise and deal exclusively with the client, verbally and visually check the state and condition of the client in order to rule out any health risks and ensure effective workout.
  • During the training, the operating elements of the EMS device are directly accessible for both trainer and trainee.

We highly recommend the following:

  • run trial sessions for 4 weeks,
  • involve your trainers and other employees to get the knowledge and routine needed to serve clients with competence,
  • run a minimum of 100 sessions in the soft opening trial phase before training clients.