Reply to: Could superimposed electromyostimulation be an effective training to improve aerobic and anaerobic capacity? Methodological considerations for its development

In the present reply, we would like to put forward our perspective on the points raised by Amaro-Gahete et al. The main concerns addressed by the authors deal with the stimulation modalities applied in our study, compared to the results of Miyamoto et al. (Eur J Sports Sci 16(8):1104–1110, 2016), who showed an increase in the first ventilatory threshold and VO_2peak after 16 × 30 min low-frequency neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES). We have to emphasize that both mentioned studies generally follow different approaches, and that the different outcomes might not only be related to stimulation modalities. Even the results of different studies, which used sole NMES is not consistent. Especially the relevance of local metabolic and ultrastructural adaptations in skeletal muscle for the translation to functional performance, that is particularly important for sport and activities, is not always investigated in these studies.