Electro-stimulation means training in a way that is safe and compatible with our sport, and improving our performance in a secure and individualised way. As we discover the different possibilities which neuromuscular electro-stimulation offers, we realise that along with its simplicity come other characteristics which transform it into a seemingly complex technique. This is maybe because the possible ways of using an electro-stimulator are possibly greater than that which we thought at the beginning.
Warming-up with an electro-stimulation is especially useful in the areas of the body in which there is still trace of injury. We can train, but cease to do so if we notice irritation when turning the equipment on. It is here that the warm-up electro-stimulation programmes allow us to prepare a joint such as the knee or ankle, and begin the sports practice in better conditions. Obviously we are not referring to a strictly competitive period in which it is not recommendable to train even with the after-affects of an injury. On the other hand, in the generic period we cannot stop training with some light irritation; it is here that being able to depend on a good electro-stimulator allows us to warm-up and then begin sports practice with a better physical sensation.
In competitive periods we would never warm-up with programmes or intensities that demand high energy expenditure, since we do not want to raise the level of lactic acid in the blood and decrease our potential. An example would be warming-up the epicondyle area and the wrist area, with which we hold the racket, to have the muscles ready for the intense effort to which we’re going to subject these areas.