The science

Evidence, not hype.

Here's what the published research on whole-body EMS and golf actually found, including the parts that didn't show a big effect. Every study is linked so you can read it yourself.

The golf studies

54male amateur golfers, 18 to 70 years old

Randomised controlled trialGolf

Once a week was enough to get stronger

Researchers at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg split 54 amateur golfers into two groups. One did a single 20-minute whole-body EMS session a week for 16 weeks on miha bodytec equipment, with the second half of each session given to golf movements. The other group carried on as normal.

Maximum trunk strength rose significantly in the EMS group.
Leg extensor strength rose significantly.
Lean body mass increased.
Body fat and low-back pain moved in the right direction, but not by enough to be statistically significant.
Attendance was close to 100%.

Zink-Rückel et al., 2021. Read on PubMed

MRIscans of the same golfers' thigh muscles

Randomised controlled trialGolf

Better quality muscle, not just more of it

The same research team used MRI to look inside the golfers' muscles. Fat that creeps into muscle tissue is a marker of poorer muscle quality as we age. The study, titled Once Weekly Whole-Body Electromyostimulation Enhances Muscle Quality in Men, reported that weekly EMS improved this measure compared with the non-training group.

Frontiers in Physiology, 2021. Read the study

240adults with chronic low-back pain

Randomised controlled trialBack pain

Same back-pain relief, far less training time

People aged 40 to 70 with long-term low-back pain were split between whole-body EMS, vibration training and conventional back-strengthening for 12 weeks.

Pain intensity fell by around 30% in all three groups.
Trunk strength rose in all three groups by similar amounts.
The EMS group got there with 43 to 62% less training time.

Frontiers in Medicine, 2021. Read the study

Why the back matters

Up to 8× your body weight.

A review of golf injury research found the lower back is the most commonly injured area in golfers, and that compressive forces on the lower spine just after impact have been measured at 6.5 to more than 8 times body weight.

The same review links low-back pain in golfers to trunk muscle activation, hip strength and mobility. Those are exactly the areas a golf EMS session trains.

Source: Low back pain and golf: a review of biomechanical risk factors

Still being studied

What researchers are testing next.

We'd rather tell you what isn't settled yet than oversell it.

Warm-up before a round

EMS as a 12-minute warm-up

A German study had 20 skilled golfers (average handicap 6.4) warm up for 12 minutes with and without EMS, then measured clubhead speed and accuracy.

Study details

Clubhead speed

A 16-week clubhead-speed trial

The original golf study was meant to measure scoring, but COVID closed the courses. A follow-up trial was registered to measure clubhead speed directly in ambitious amateurs.

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04439734

Research results are group averages. Individual results vary with age, health, swing and how consistently you train. EMS supports your golf; it doesn't replace lessons or medical advice.

Read enough? Try it.

A session in the suit will tell you more than any study. Book a trial for €30.

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