By Lenard Thompson
Published in Muscle Mag
Very little has been written on the practical use of electrical muscle stimulation for body building. A great deal of data is available on its clinical use. For therapeutic use Faradic stimulation has proven to be very useful. In cases of broken limbs, electrical stimulation is a must to prevent skeletal muscles from deteriorating and weakening. Even in a cast while a broken bone is healing skeletal muscles can be exercised by the application of electrical stimulation. Recuperation time is greatly reduced, and 100% mobility quickly restored. What has intrigued most researchers about Faradic stimulation is the increase in girth and strength of post-surgery limbs. It has been proven time and time again that an injured quadriceps treated with electrical stimulation was actually bigger in girth and stronger by comparison than the uninjured and untreated quadriceps. Such startling results have made bodybuilding experts question the potentiality of using Faradic stimulation for the purpose of muscle building and increasing strength.
Having been involved in bodybuilding for the past 20 years and always looking for something new to make better gains, I became very excited when I read a recent article on Faradic stimulation in Iron Man Magazine. The article was about a top Canadian bodybuilder, John Cardillo, who had used Faradic stimulation for several years. Judging from the photos accompanying the article I could easily see that John’s physique had a different quality about it. He appeared rock hard and razor sharp, not puffy or bloated like so many of today’s champions. Being very impressed, I decided to contact John and record the following interview for Muscle Mag readers.
INTERVIEW
Q. John, can you give our readers a bit of background about yourself?
A. Yes, I started training at 15 and started using Faradic Muscle Stimulating machine at 18.
Q. When did you first learn about Faradic stimulation?
A. I attended the University of Western Ontario in 1978 and spent a lot of my time researching Russian strength techniques. In one of my readings, I came across Faradic stimulation and how the Russians used it during their peaking cycles.
Q. Are any of the top bodybuilders in California using Faradic Stimulation?
A. I know that Boyer Coe used one for some time. Mike and Ray Mentzer have their own and use it frequently. Tom Platz told me while I was in California that he had used it in Florida.
Q. Are you familiar with Dr. Ziegler?
A. Yes I am. He was probably the pioneer of Faradic stimulation and built several machines that were incredible and ahead of their time. Dr. Ziegler trained the Mentzer brothers on his stimulator and they improved dramatically over a two-year period.
Q. John, when did you actually start using Faradic Stimulation?
A. I used it at University sparingly before winning the Mr. Ontario competition. After that, I decided to have my own machine built and used it for a whole year leading up to the Jr. Mr. Canada, which I won.
Q. How does Faradic Stimulation work?
A. Faradic Stimulation is based on the excitability of nerve and muscle tissue. When Faradic current is applied to any skeletal muscle, the nerve endings receive the Faradic stimulation forcing the muscle to contract, as it would if an exercise was being performed. The severity of such contraction is dependent directly on the amount of current a person can withstand as in weight, training, the amount of weight a person can lift.
Q. What role does electricity play in muscle contraction and growth stimulation?
A. We are aware that skeletal muscles contract through a conscious command from the brain. This command is transmitted by motor neurons, which are part of the spinal cord and stimulate muscle fibres to contract. The impulse that travel: along motor neurons is of an electrical nature. This electrical command recruits the fibres needed to complete an exercise movement. The amount of electrical output by the brain is in direct proportion to the intensity of a person’s workout. (i.e. the amount of muscle fibres needed to lift a weight).
Q. Flow would a Faradic stimulator help in building greater muscle size?
A. The stimulator sends direct faradic current into the muscle without a weight being lifted. This current stimulates a greater percentage of fibres to contract than a person is capable of when weight training. Also, a harder contraction can be obtained from using the stimulator than from weight training.
Q. How do you apply the stimulator?
A. My stimulator has two active electrodes, a positive and a negative. Depending on the size of muscle I want to work I use the appropriate size pads, which are wet for better electrical flow. The pads are placed over the muscle at opposite points and held in place by plastic wraps. Once the pads are in place, I can control the electrical flow and duration of each contraction by simply turning a dial on the Faradic terminal.
Q. How many repetitions would you perform with it?
A. That all depends. Normally, I would first do several sets of weight training to failure and then proceed to finish off the body part with the stimulator. After two sets to failure, the muscle has almost reached total fatigue so two contractions of about ten seconds are all that is necessary for growth stimulation.
Q. Would you ever use the stimulator by itself without first performing several sets of exercise?
A. No, I wouldn’t, because a muscle must be totally warmed up before you can force it to contract to its maximum.
Q. Would you use the stimulator every workout?
A. No. I found I would easily overtrain if I used it too often. Now I use it once every two weeks on each body part.
Q. I’ve heard that such severe contractions are quite painful. Is that true?
A. Yes, they are. The feeling can be compared to doing the last repetition of a set of leg extensions to failure. It’s an incredible burn. While you hold the contraction for ten seconds, sweat will begin pouring off of you. It is so painful on calves that I have to put a towel in my training partner’s mouth so he’d have something to bite on.
Q. Is this procedure sane?
A. Good question. I don’t quite know, but it sure builds muscle and brings out striations.
Q. How safe is it?
A. It is very safe as long as you are using a certified machine and as long as the electrode pads are properly placed on each body part. Also, you must be very careful as to how much current you start with on your first contraction. If it is too much you could easily tear a muscle due to the severity and speed of the contraction.
Q. Why aren’t Faradic stimulators found in gyms across North America?
A. Probably because very few people know about it. It’s a relatively new thing.
Q. Have any people contacted you for information on Faradic stimulation?
A. Yes. Since several articles have appeared in various magazines, I’ve had hundreds of letters from bodybuilders wanting information and actually wanting to buy stimulators. I’ve had people from as far away as England and Australia actually come to visit me.
Q. Have you been able to help them?
A. Initially, no because I was not satisfied with the machine that was built for me, but now it has been perfected. I feel that the technique on how to use it best is much clearer to me.
Q. Does this mean you are actually selling these machines?
A. We are in the process of getting someone to mass produce them and make them available to all bodybuilders. It appears they may be very costly.
Q. Are you available to do seminars on Faradic stimulation?
A. At the moment, it is pretty hard to travel anywhere due to all of the business projects I have on the go, but I suppose if the circumstances were right, I would be able to do some seminars.
Q. John, thank you very much for taking time off your busy schedule.
A. It was a pleasure, Lennard.