Fatasses that use this and expect to get shredded aside...

I dunno man, probably just right after the workout for increased circulation. Try and find out

They're still getting away with selling shit like this? It's just a new coat of paint on those fitness scams from the 80s/90s

I could imagine they have a minor impact on fat loss. Especially fat on the lower stomach is often so resistant to diets because of low blood circulation, meaning the fat will not be broken down and used up as well.
An increase in circulation would help. Obviously this would be a minor effect, but still. The prices are very low now. If you have money to spend and problems with resistant fat areas, why not try it.

iirc there was some study showing that they are beneficial for joint healing

> Al Khazam fitness' ab trainer "Jihadi Joe" fits discreetely under your shirt so you'll keep a low profile, especially in crowded places.

honestly, just work out more, focus on abs and heavily cut

>face of a 14 year old

Back in Jacksonville mall the vendors would be selling them like candy to all the ITB boots

Alright here the deal with this. Electrical stimulation of muscle tissue does work, there have been countless studies done on it. Athletes use it, and see verifiable results. HOWEVER, there is a huge disparity between types of EMS machines, the waveforms used, the intensity of current, and the pulse duration.

EMS is frequently used in rats for most studies that require the rodent to "exercise". Studies controlling for direct effects of EMS on muscle tissue show promising results for androgenic receptor creation:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8472695
"stimulation over 4 weeks induced an increase in the area of the cross-section of the muscle fibres to about 30% more than that of the control muscles, though the total muscle fibre numbers were slightly, but significantly, reduced"

Here are some studies about EMS on humans:
academic.oup.com/ptj/article/85/4/358/2805023
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00581062

Most interesting is the "russian method" which uses AC currents with distinct duty cycles. Biphasic current is seen to be better than monophasic, which most of these commercial ab stimulators use.

EMS works on the cns within the skeletal muscle to stimulate contraction. Currents applied over brief "pulses" force the muscle to contract and relax very quickly. This has been shown to stimulate all the effects of voluntary contraction that happen during exercise. CNS adaptation occurs and particular movement patterns can be strengthened and reinforced depending on stimulation type and electrode placement. This adaptation is pretty much identical strength adaptation from lifting. The caveat here is that there is no actual load on the muscle and no impetus to grow myofibrils in size, and only fiber recruitment / contractile efficiency is being target

1/2

2/2

When you apply an electrical voltage using two electrical leads, one positive and one negative, the ion channels that carry electrical impulses through the muscle are affected such that ions (electron carriers) flow within the muscle from the negative lead (where they receive electrons) to the positive lead. Biphasic current means that the two leads are switching between being + or - voltage. This allows the ions to flow back and forth along a channel through the muscle. Flowing one direction causes muscle contraction, and flowing in the opposite direction allow a "reset" of ion distribution during relaxation. In monophasic current does not switch + and - terminals and serves only to contract while current is applied, and the ions naturally diffuse back during the phase where voltage is not applied. Thus Biphasic allows higher currents and longer pulse durations and causes less inflammation and stress on the cns.

The higher the voltage and current used in EMS, the greater "push" ions get to move from one electrode to the other and more overall fibers are stimulated to contract. If stimulation is done in conjunction with loading (such as doing stimulation while lifting a weight) then the effects are more substantial than with ems alone.

Perhaps the most useful part of EMS is the high rate of cycling contration/relaxation. Studies show "slow twitch fibers" adapt under stimulation to remodel into "fast twitch fibers". Imaging running a 100m sprint in .1 seconds, that is how EMS might feel to your quadricep muscle. Additionally skeletal tissue adapts by increasing the number of androgen receptors which uptake androgenic hormones and this allow for faster adaptation in the future.

Slower cycle EMS is also shown to be very effective at adapting fibers for endurance type movement, with many top tier cyclists using EMS for this purpose. Slow cycles with lower currents also are used for muscle recovery and forcing blood circulation

They don't do shit

And abs recover so quickly that you could hit them post workout almost every single day and get good growth

honestly, just work out more, focus on abs and heavily cut