PhysioFix opens in Dr. Phillips

A new fitness center in Dr. Phillips utilizes exercise technology that’s a little shocking — literally.

PhysioFix at the Dellagio Town Center offers electric muscle-stimulation training, also known as EMS training — a high-intensity, full-body workout that uses low-frequency electric impulses to stimulate muscles. The fitness center utilizes an EMS suit and other devices that can cover and target most of the body’s major muscle groups or specific muscles, depending on the workout. PhysioFix opened its doors in February and is located at 8014 Via Dellagio Way, Suite 230, Orlando.

“People are afraid when they hear electricity (is involved),” said PhysioFix owner Melinda McCann, a certified EMS personal trainer. “They don’t understand that this is how your body works. Your body sends electrical signals to the muscles in order for muscles to contract, and this is the same thing. We’re just enhancing it … so it’s not like we’re doing something that’s unnatural.”

EMS training offers many benefits compared to traditional workouts at a standard gym. Exercise through EMS training is low-impact and joint-friendly, so individuals with limitations related to joint pain can still enjoy a full workout. Additionally, because of the intensity of it and the fact that multiple muscle groups can be stimulated at once, a 20-minute workout through EMS training is the equivalent of a three-hour workout utilizing traditional exercise methods. Because of this intensity, EMS training for muscle workouts is only recommended for a maximum of twice a week.

“It’s 80% of the muscles that are (being worked) at the same time,” McCann said. “When you go to the gym, you do legs, then you do arms, then you do abs. Here, you’re in (an EMS) suit … and everything is on the whole time. … It’s only twice a week because it’s a really hard workout. You cannot do it more than twice per week because your muscles are so exhausted that you need at least 48 hours to recover.” 

Although EMS training wasn’t approved by the FDA until 2019, the training method has been popular for decades in Europe, Asia, South America and about 60 different countries across the globe. McCann was inspired to open her business and offer the training method in West Orange after she tried EMS training herself in her home country of Slovenia a few years ago.

“I tried it in Europe three years ago, and I just fell in love,” McCann said. “I don’t have much time, I hurt myself in the gym, and I want to be fit. I’ve said, ‘I want to be a fit grandma one day.’ That’s my goal.” 

PhysioFix offers a variety of packages for those interested in EMS training. Packages offer once- or twice-per-week workouts in a 10-day block session that must be scheduled within a two-month, three-month or six-month period. 

“I believe everyone should invest in themselves,” McCann said. “If you think wellness is expensive, try illness.”