Team Wattie Ink Marc Pro Product Review

By Damie Roberts - Central Region Captain

Our ability to improve as triathletes is directly related to our body’s ability to recover after training.  Simply, we must stress our muscular, skeletal, cardiac, and pulmonary systems in training, and then we must allow these systems to rest, recover, and absorb the training in order to take on increased loads in the future.  Recovery is as important as appropriate training, and can be just as time consuming and multifaceted when you consider sleep, nutrition, and managing muscle health. 

So…train for 3 sports, earn a paycheck at work, actually listen to your spouse and hang out from time to time, give your toddler your undivided attention, cook for everyone, run all errands, sleep the recommended amount, and take care of those muscles?  I know many of you can relate!  We want to be excellent in all areas of our lives, and triathlon performance is no difference.  Out of all of the things we do with the limited time in our day, active muscle recovery will be one of the easiest pieces of the puzzle to place, especially with the use of Marc Pro. 

As a physical therapist, I was interested to see exactly how the Marc Pro system worked, and what made it different from the NMES/EMS units I use at work.  I have experimented on myself for years with electrotherapy equipment, sometimes with great success! I was also interested to see how it differed from the very popular compression style equipment that many triathletes use. 

When I received my Marc Pro Plus unit, I was happy to see how easy the system was to use.  (The Marc Pro Plus unit differs from the Marc Pro with additional settings to address pain).  The user manual is well laid out with excellent description.  You do not have to understand electrophysiology, amplitude, pulse duration, or frequency to use this machine.  (Thank goodness…no advance degree required to understand this manual!) The manual is easy to use, with clear instructions and pictures for set up and application.

What does the Marc Pro system do exactly?  As stated in the manual, “The Marc Pro Plus is intended for muscle conditioning by stimulating muscle in order to improve or facilitate muscle performance.  The Marc Pro Plus is to be used for temporary relief of pain associated with sore and aching muscles in the shoulder, waist, back, neck, upper extremities (arm), and lower extremities (leg) due to strain from exercise and normal household and work activities.”  In layman’s terms, the system is designed to help muscles recover by allowing fluid to move in an out of muscle without fatiguing the muscles.  As well, the Plus system can also be an additional resource to address pain.

How does Marc Pro accomplish muscle recovery, and how is it different from other systems on the market?  One concern I have seen on the internet forums is that a unit such as Marc Pro will fatigue the muscles. So, how does this system promote recovery WITHOUT fatigue? 

The Marc Pro system uses a dynamic decaying waveform, which is different from most EMS systems that use a static square waveform, generally with higher voltage and frequencies.  The different waveform allows for a more comfortable contraction followed by a slower release to enhance blood flow, which is different than traditional therapeutic machines that often produce tetanizing contractions and fatigue that is often used in muscle re-education.  And while these terms seem complicated (and they are...I could show you my Clinical Electrophysiology Text from DPT school and you would cry after the first chapter), have no fear, the Marc Pro system is very easy to effectively use. 

The manual is amazingly easy to read and includes pictures for every type of electrode set up you can imagine, as well as frequency and intensity recommendations for every muscle combination included.  I have never seen that sort of direction and guidance for any EMS system I have used. The manual provides electrode placement sections for recovery/conditioning/performance, time efficient placements, and pain unresponsive to low frequency. 

So, you only have 15 minutes and your legs are sore and tired? Turn to the chapter for efficient placement and it will show you exactly where to place the electrodes to get the most bang for your buck.  Have some time and want to specifically address the hip flexor?  Turn to the chapter for recovery, conditioning, and performance.  They make it that easy. 

How is this type of muscle recovery system different from the compression type systems we see in our sport?  Well, the first thing I noticed is that compression boots will not address my low back pain or my shoulder fatigue.  And while they compress a good part of the leg, they simply cannot help my glutes or hip flexors. 

Another major difference is that there is no blood flow restriction with the Marc Pro System as there is in compressive phase of compression boots.  And while compression does move fluid and waste, our natural mover of fluid through the body in addition to the heart and gravity is…wait for it...muscle. With compression, there is no muscle activation.  With Marc Pro, the muscles are directly involved in the movement of waste, as they should be.  And that, my fellow triathletes, is the heart of active recovery.  We often spin on our bikes to flush out our legs by engaging our muscles to move fluid.  However, with the Marc Pro system, you take out the fatigue involved in active full body movement, and replace it with active muscle recovery without the resulting fatigue. 

The Marc Pro system has become a major part of my recovery program as I increase my training load.  The system is small enough to take just about anywhere.  My favorite way to use the Marc Pro after a solid training day is to do some foam rolling for myofascial release and then jump in bed with the Marc Pro system hooked up.  My favorite electrode placement is the global leg flush, and I literally push 3 buttons to activate the electrodes on both legs, and then turn two knobs until the intensity is at a place that feels good to me.  It is that simple. I review training logs, maybe read a chapter in a book, say a quick prayer that my toddler will sleep through the night, and then finally turn off my Marc Pro Plus with legs that feel amazing. 

Please visit www.marcpro.com for an incredible amount of information on the product and active muscle recovery.