EMS vs. Resistance Training in Overweight Women

This is a quasi‐experimental, pretest‐posttest, parallel‐group clinical trial with threearms: resistance training, electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), and control. Forty‐twooverweight and obese women (BMI 25‐35 kg/m², aged 35‐45 years) will be randomly assignedto the three groups (n=14 each). Participants must meet the inclusion criteria includingno history of cardiovascular disease, no pregnancy or lactation, no use of medicationsaffecting muscle or fat mass, and no recent lower/upper extremity injuries.Intervention details:Resistance training group: 8 weeks, 3 sessions/week, 50 minutes each session. Exercisesinclude upper body, back, abdominal, and lower body movements. Training intensity willprogress from 60% of 1RM in week 1 to 85% of 1RM in week 8.EMS group: 8 weeks, 3 sessions/week, 30 minutes each session. EMS will be applied tobiceps brachii, abdominals, back, and quadriceps muscles using frequency of 35‐70 Hz,pulse duration 100 μs, and pulse period 50 ms. Electrode size: 150 × 240 mm. Intensitywill be progressively increased over the 8 weeks.Control group: No exercise intervention during the study period.Outcome measurements:Primary outcome: Phase angle (PhA) measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis(Inbody770).Secondary outcomes: Serum levels of SOD, GPX, CAT, glutathione, PC, and TAC measuredusing ELISA kits. Upper body strength (bench press) and lower body strength (squat)measured via 1RM testing. Upper body endurance (push‐up test) and lower body endurance(bodyweight squat test) measured in 60‐second tests.Statistical analysis: Data will be analyzed using ANCOVA with pretest scores ascovariates. Correlation between phase angle changes and oxidative stress markers will beassessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. All analyses will be performed usingSPSS, with significance set at p < 0.05.