This electrified workout suit shocks your muscles for faster gains

Courtesy of Katalyst

In terms of your overall shape and health, I’d give you a B, says Dr. Neil Paulvin, a doctor specializing in longevity and regenerative medicine at Hudson Health in New York City. Not bad for a 42-year-old man, he admits, but also notes that since my bone density scan reveals 25% body fat and a body mass index (BMI) of 26, I’m overweight and have plenty of room to stretch. improvements. This is all despite my four workouts a week for the last two years and eating healthy, let’s say, 75% of the time.

Enter the Catalyst. This $2,500 suit energizes your muscles, raising your tension and resistance levels for a highly effective 20-minute workout. That’s the statement, anyway. Katalyst is the first electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) device to be approved by the FDA for home use, and because training sessions are primarily focused on bodyweight exercises, no additional equipment is required. Before my six-week trial, I ask Paulvin if he thinks it will be effective.

Yes. His muscles are contracting better and faster, he assures me. Lifting weights activates about 50% of the muscles, while EMS can activate up to 90%. Can give you faster hypertrophy [increased muscle mass] in less time and helps recovery by activating the nerve endings around the muscle.

Wearing the costume is a workout in itself. First, I must wear an extremely tight shirt and leggings, both made of polyamide (think nylon) for better electrical conduction. This is the base layer. Then, after the Katalysts’ 26 powered pads are sprayed with water, the actual suit is ready to wear, complete with 15 buckles to ensure its tightness to the point of confinement. Finally, the pulse pack – the battery that powers the zapping – is placed in a thigh holster, the electrodes are connected via two magnetic clamps and it’s time to start, even though I already feel like I need a break. All buckled up and geared up, I imagine I look like a member of SEAL Team 6, although my appearance makes a different impression on my wife. You look like a ballerina cosplaying a soldier, she says. Thank you darling.

Costume control and accompanying exercises are provided by the Katalysts app. At first, dialing in the appropriate electrical intensity is a counterintuitive experience; It’s hard to get your brain to say, Yes, let’s shock each other more and let you tap the button to increase the voltage. The goal is to keep it high enough to involuntarily contract the muscles and release them when the pulse stops. The pulses last four seconds, followed by four seconds of rest.

My goals are power and strength, and the app has extensive routines for both, although I wish there was a search function to find exercises by name. My first five workouts are performed at an intensity level of 80, which feels overwhelming. It’s common to feel more electricity in your chest and less in your abs or legs, although you can adjust for each individual muscle group as well as your upper or lower body. The resistance is palpable. A standing crunch is difficult and gets more difficult as the intensity more than doubles during the session.

Katalyst recommends limiting strength and power training to three times a week, a prescription I follow while continuing my normal weight training regimen. I start to test my limits. At level 150, I’m squirming too much to press the button. Eventually I work above 200 (the maximum is over 250), which makes my body vibrate violently and borders on masochism. With such immense resistance, simple and compound movements result in sweat. After that, I never felt so sore.

It is important, however, that my strength increases. During my regular workouts, I use heavier weights and higher rep kettlebell presses, and my number of pushups doubles. After more than six weeks, I’m back at Paulvins for a follow-up. My body fat dropped almost 8%, lean muscle mass increased 2%, and my grip strength increased 3%. Plus, I lost three kilos. I’d give you a B+ now, says the good doctor. I’ll take.