Mike O'Hearn posted a short biceps workout on his Youtube channel "Mike O'Hearn," using electrostimulation to make the pump even better during his training. Mike himself spent most of the video coaching Doug Fruchey.
WHO IS MIKE O'HEARN?
Mike O'Hearn AKA Titan O'Hearn is a big name in the fitness industry. He found success in bodybuilding, acting and modeling. He is a 4-time title holder of Mr. "Natural" Universe and has graced the cover of over 500 fitness magazines. O'Hearn is also a personal trainer that provides valuable content on his social media channels and his website. O'Hearn was featured on the popular TV show American Gladiators in the original and the revival series. Another impressive contributions to the fitness world is his training program, Power Bodybuilding where he combines strength and hypertrophy with a focus on improving aesthetics.
What Is Electro Muscle Stimulation Therapy?
Technically called neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and most commonly referred to as electrostimulation (EMS), the goal of e-stim is to stimulate contractions in your muscles pre,intra, or post your workout. By attaching pads hooked up to an e-stim machine to your skin, the device sends electrical impulses to the nerves in your muscles, which causes them to contract.
For athletes to really maximize electrical muscle stimulation therapy's benefits, have a professional administer it and always make sure that your physician clears you to partake in EMS.
You can also purchase lower-intensity machines, known as transcutaneous electrical stimulation, for some do-it-yourself stimulation. If you're going to do it yourself, make sure to learn best practices when placing the pads. Avoid placing them across the chest, above the neck, near wounds/rashes/inflamed areas, or near your genitalia.
Benefits of Electrical Muscle Stimulation Therapy?
The benefits of e-stim or electrical muscle stimulation therapy are that it can improve blood circulation, reduce muscle spasms, speed up recovery, help relieve pain, and initiate muscle fiber recruitment to strengthen or reprogram muscles. This can be valuable for anyone who works out hard and for those with injuries who need to "re-teach" their muscles to fire or need that extra boost in recovery.
When can electrical stimulation best benefit you?
Well, it depends on your goals! Electrical muscle stimulation therapy can jumpstart blood circulation if you decide to do it before you get your sweat on. This helps increase blood and oxygen transport to the muscle, preparing it for activity just as a dynamic warm-up would.
Some people use it during training because e-stim can help increase your muscles' efforts by recruiting more muscle fibers, ultimately making your workout more effective and efficient.
Finally, when used after your workout, e-stim can help bring fresh oxygen and blood into your muscles, helping to speed up recovery. E-stim can be helpful basically any time you feel the need to use it! Ultimately it comes down to how it will best serve you as an athlete.
Mike O'Hearn Bicep Workout
Mike can be heard saying that they actually started the workout with hammer curls, then went on to the one-arm preacher curls, and finally finished with the wide grip cable straight bar curls.
HAMMER CURLS
Although we don't see this exercise in the video, O'Hearn mentions that they started with hammer curls. Hammer curls are a great exercise to target the long head of biceps and hit the brachialis and brachioradialis at the same time.
CONCENTRATION CURLS
Doug starts the video off with EMS pads attached to his biceps, performing a concentrated strict curl using an incline bench for support. What's excellent about using EMS while you train is that your muscles are continually being worked before, during, and after the training. You can definitely tell that Doug is feeling the reps, especially when they crank up the intensity on the machine.
Cable Curls
Doug hits a triple drop set for the last set of cable straight bar curls, and at the end of the set, Mike tells Doug to flex it out (continue to execute reps without any weight) to keep pumping blood into the muscles.
The biggest takeaway from this workout video is that EMS is a great way to mix up your workouts and a functional tool to add to your muscle-building arsenal.
Sample Mike O'Hearn Bicep Workout
Even if you don't have access to an EMS device, you can still get a fantastic pump with this biceps workout we modeled after the one Mike O'Hearn coached in the video above.
- DB Hammer Curls: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Single-arm Preacher Curls: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Wide Grip Straight Bar Cable Curls: 3 sets x 12 reps
- EZ curl bar reverse curls: 3 sets x 12 reps
Note: The last set of each exercise should be performed as a triple drop set, which means lifting different weights in three sets. The first set is your heaviest, the second is slightly lighter, and the third is the lightest. There should be no rest between drop sets. Rests between all other sets should range from 45-90 seconds.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
EMS training has been used by some notable names in the bodybuilding community. Studies like this show that EMS can produce benefits for improving strength and performance. Before attempting EMS training make sure you have some professional supervision to ensure its safety and effectiveness.
If you've tried EMS training before, let us know what you thought about it in the comments below!
Kiel DiGiovanni
Author