Photo courtesy of Paul Payne.
At Manduu Fitness, clients change into specially designed workout clothes and complete a 15-minute electrical muscle stimulation workout.
There will soon be a new way to work out in Homewood.
Manduu Fitness, which is expected to open this summer on 18th Street in Homewood, is a 15-minute electrical muscle stimulation workout. Clients will change into specially designed workout clothes when they walk in, and then they’re fitted with an electrical suit. It’s battery powered, so nothing is plugged into the wall.
Then, the trainer leads up to two clients at a time through a series of stretching and flexing movements while the electrical machine conducts mild electrical pulses. The pulses don’t hurt, but they add resistance to the client’s movements. The more capable a client becomes, the more they can choose to increase the intensity.
The workout is low-impact. The client doesn’t jump or bounce, which means no strain will be placed on the joints, tendons or ligaments during the workout.
It’s the perfect workout for clients who are busy. From the time a client walks in to the time they walk out, approximately 35 minutes will have passed, said Paul Payne, who owns the Homewood location. Many clients also don’t get sweaty enough to need a shower, so they can easily return to work after a quick workout, said his wife, JoLeigh Payne.
Paul and JoLeigh Payne currently work out at a Manduu Fitness in Franklin, Tennessee, where they live. JoLeigh heard about it when Kathie Lee Gifford spoke about it on the “Today Show.”
“She took her jacket off, and she had guns, and it was crazy,” JoLeigh said. “So I tried it, and I was so amazed by the results.”
At first, her husband thought she was crazy, she said, and she admits the concept sounds novel when you first hear about it. But when Paul saw JoLeigh’s results, he tried it out and fell in love with Manduu, too, she said.
“The results were so fast,” JoLeigh said. “We’re in our late 50s, and we were waking up in the morning sometimes with some aches and pains. And that was the first thing that went away.”
They both also quickly noticed results in their muscle strength, Paul said. “I would say after the third visit, you’ll notice results in your body,” he said.
The EMS workout penetrates up to 95% of a client’s muscle tissue across nine muscle groups, and one 15-minute Manduu workout is equivalent to about six hours of strength training. But unlike traditional strength training, a client doesn’t have to lift weights or put strain on the body. Also, because the sessions are one-on-one or two-on-one, the trainers at Manduu are able to give individualized focus to each client and maximize each client’s workout.
The Homewood location will be the first in Alabama, and the Paynes plan to open three to five more locations in the Birmingham area in the next five years.
Clients can choose a four-session package for $169, which is ideal for a client who chooses to come once a week. There’s also a six-session package for $199 a month and an unlimited plan for $249 a month. No matter which plan a client chooses, there is a minimum waiting time of 48 hours between sessions so the muscles have time to take a break.
The first session for each new client is free. For more information or to watch videos of the concept in action, visit manduu.com.
