New Costa Mesa studio asks for just 20 minutes for a workout

Electrical muscle stimulation workouts, better known as EMS, are more widespread in Europe than in the United States.

Those in Orange County have a new, close-to-home option.

E20 Training, a boutique wellness studio in Costa Mesa, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday.

“We use EMS, electrical muscle stimulation, to create a 20-minute workout,” E20 Training co-founder and president Eloiza Tecson said. “By using this technology, it creates a more time-efficient experience. One 20-minute workout using EMS is actually equivalent to anywhere between three to four hours of strength training.”

Customers wear training gear, and full body suits made by Katalyst. Trainers guide the client through the entire workout.

Elozia Tecson, co-founder and president, in white, and Dave Haithcock, president and CEO of the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce, left with his hand up, perform the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new E20 Training studio in Costa Mesa on Thursday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

There’s also the recovery element of EMS training, which helps those facing certain chronic conditions like back pain. As a result, Tecson sees her studio’s client base as both young and older.

“We actually have the chance to be able to work with stroke survivors, those that lost perhaps all muscle tissue and muscle mass,” Tecson said. “Now we’re able to help rebuild their bones and rebuild their bodies.”

E20 Training has operated a pop-up shop in Irvine for the last couple of years, but the team is definitely excited about its first brick-and-mortar business.

So is Katalyst, the EMS suit manufacturer, which has traditionally used an at-home, direct-to-consumer model.

The new E2O Training studio in Costa Mesa on Thursday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The suit allows clients to activate up to 90% of their muscle fibers, sending the signals directly to the site of the muscle.

Though some have been skeptical of EMS training, one study conducted in 2021 showed that a group of young women who did low-intensity exercises for six weeks wearing an EMS suit showed improvement in body circumference and cardiovascular function, compared to a group that did the same exercises without an EMS suit.

“It’s easy to use but also injury risk free,” Katalyst marketing director Val Ferraro said. “So it can be popular for an athlete, or anyone who can’t lift dumbbells or heavy weights because of an aggravated knee or sore shoulder.”

Ferraro said that in Germany, there are literally more EMS studios than there are McDonald’s restaurants — more than 1,700 studios.

In the United States, growth has been slower.

Co-founder and president Elozia Tecson, Costa Mesa City Council member Jeff Pettis, and co-founder Bob Allison, from left, chat during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for E2O Training studio in Costa Mesa on Thursday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“It’s considered a medical grade device, so you have to have FDA clearance,” said Adrianna Gill, Katalyst director of business development. “In Europe, it’s the same as your Dyson hairdryer or your electric toothbrush.”

The hope is that studios like the new one in Costa Mesa can help start a wave, Gill said.

Tecson certainly believes that can be true.

“Today, we’re not just celebrating the opening of a brand-new studio,” she said. “We’re actually celebrating a vision, and it’s a vision to completely redefine the way that we’re experiencing movement, performance and recovery.”

Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce officials and City Council member Jeff Pettis, who represents District 6, were also present at Thursday’s ceremony. The studio received certificates from the offices of Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris and state Sen. Steven Choi.