The effect of muscle stimulation during resistive training on performance parameters

This study compared changes in movement velocity, force, and work from bilateral quadriceps muscle stimulation during resistive squatting exercise to identical exercise without stimulation. Both the group undergoing resistive training over 24 sessions (N = 9) and the group receiving the same treatment in conjunction with stimulation during the last 12 sessions (N = 9) showed significant improvements in measures of movement velocity, force, total work, power, sprint time, and vertical jump distance when compared to a control group receiving no treatment (N = 9). All subjects were baseline tested and tested at 3, 6, and 7 week intervals. Both experimental groups improved significantly for all measures, but the electrical stimulation group did not produce more significant changes overall than those with resistive training alone. However, when compared to control measures, the effect of electrical stimulation-augmented responses among some measures was more pronounced than the effect of resistive training alone.