I love to workout. I have for a very long time. I grew up as a chubby kid and was never very athletic but when I grew up, that all changed. I changed my lifestyle in my 20s and fitness and health became very important to me. I have tried numerous types of workout programs from running, hot yoga, crossfit, Beachbody, Pole, Barre, Pilates, weightlifting, etc. You name a workout style or program and I have probably tried it. Over the past decade or so, I have been primarily weight training. I love being strong and building muscles. Unfortunately I have had some moments where I have had to stop for a while due to injury or illness. Most recent was an injured shoulder and before that was getting Covid and subsequently Long Covid. Over the past couple of months, I have been primarily doing pilates because of my shoulder. It has been hard for me because I really miss going to the gym and lifting but I had to do physiotherapy and heal my shoulder or else I would risk really injuring myself worse which could require surgery.
I am in a bunch of different groups here in Portugal, both through Facebook and Whatsapp. In one of these groups, I connected with Michelle from Human Movement Studio. She asked if anyone was interested in working with her doing EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulation) in exchange for her shooting some content. I had never really heard about it but of course, it being a workout thing I was absolutely interested. She sent me over some information about it and we set up an appointment. I was really excited to try it.
In the information pack she sent to me explained what it was all about. You wear a suit that is fitted with electrodes. These electrodes are on your main muscle groups, Biceps, chest, back (upper, lower, and mid,) quads, hamstrings, calves, abs and obliques. The packet said you perform a 20-25 minute workout but the electrodes stimulate your muscles so you get a much more intense workout with less joint strain. After reading this, I was even more excited to try it!
I drove out to the studio. It was about a 30 minute drive from my house, not very far. I met Michelle when I arrived. She was so welcoming and nice. She showed me the studio which is absolutely beautiful. There is an outdoor pool where she does water classes. There was also a treatment room where she does massages and a beautiful sitting area. It’s all beautiful and very serene.
We sat down in the sitting area where Michelle had put out water, chocolates and almonds on a beautiful table. I had to fill out a health questionnaire and we got to talking about things. She has a lot of experience in the health and wellness industry as she has multiple degrees and qualifications in Biokinetics and Sport Science. I told her about my Long Covid struggles and my shoulder injury. I told her about my normal fitness routine and how I had been primarily doing Pilates for the last couple months. She explained more about how the suit works and what to expect.
The Workout
We went outside and she suited me up. The suit fits snuggly but it’s not uncomfortable. It’s stretchy so you can move in it. She turned on the electrodes on low so I could get used to them before raising the power. She explained how the suit was customizable with both placement and intensity. The one on my left arm actually felt really uncomfortable because of my shoulder pain so we decided it was best to leave that one off.
The workout started with a light warmup just to get my body moving and used to the pulses. The electrodes pulse in a wave motion where they pulse for 4 seconds and off for 4 seconds. They feel a bit strange but not uncomfortable or painful. If you have ever used a TENS unit for pain, it’s kind of a similar feeling. After the warm up, the actual workout started. Since it was my first time, we just did some basics. We did a couple sets of squats, some curtsey lunges, and sumo squats. Then we went down to the mat and started with some crunches and bicycle crunches. After that she had me lift my legs up to do some reverse crunches and I couldn’t move my legs lol. They felt like lead pipes! She actually had to raise my leg to put it in position for me. I did the reverse crunches and another ab move with my legs in the air. My legs were wobbly the whole time. That was the end of the actual workout and then she had me go into savasana to bring my heart rate down and give my muscles a chance to rest.
When I stood up my legs felt super wobbly. I felt like I had just done multiple sets of heavy squats. I could barely walk down the small hill to my car. It was so crazy because the workout was relatively simple. As I was doing it, it didn’t feel strenuous at all but afterwards I could definitely tell how hard my muscles had worked. It was really cool.
I wish I could have met Michelle 3 months ago and been doing these workouts the whole time I have been out of the gym. She also told me that the suit can be used to rehab injuries, so that would have been helpful in addition to my physiotherapy. I really wanna go back for more sessions. And Michelle was absolutely lovely. It’s evident that she is passionate about health and fitness and she has the qualifications to prove it.
If you live in the Algarve and you are interested in trying EMS you totally should. Prices start at just €28 per session if you buy a pack of 12. Michelle also offers many other services at Human Movement Studio. Besides EMS she offers traditional Personal Training, Pilates, Aqua workouts, Yoga, Biokinetics, Stretching and even Postnatal programs. She also offers multiple types of massages, including but not limited to Hot Stone, Relaxation, Deep Tissue and others. You can also do packages with workouts and massages. The whole center is really nice and it’s all very personal. Unlike traditional spas and gyms, you get full and undivided attention and are the only patron at a time. It’s a really great place and I really want to do more EMS sessions and maybe even a massage, I definitely need one!
If you are interested check out Human Movement Studio on Facebook or on Instagram @human.movement.studio.
Make sure to check out my Instagram for a video showing my workout and more content on my life in Portugal @vegas.to.portugal. 💙
January 19, 2024 at 3:47 pm
good!!!