Which statement best describes how NMES influences motor unit recruitment during resistance training?

• A. NMES replaces voluntary effort during training.
• B. NMES fatigue may reduce strength.
• C. NMES can facilitate recruitment during or before resistance training to augment recruitment and performance; acts as a bridge to voluntary contraction.
• D. NMES has no effect on motor unit recruitment.

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that NMES can actively boost motor unit recruitment and prime the nervous system for training. By delivering electrical stimulation, NMES activates motor units that you might not recruit as effectively with voluntary effort alone, especially at submaximal intensities. Using NMES before or during resistance training can augment the total muscle activation and improve performance, and it can act as a bridge to voluntary contraction—helping you transition from externally driven contractions to stronger, more efficient voluntary efforts as neural drive adapts. This approach supports enhanced recruitment without implying that NMES completely replaces voluntary effort. Fatigue is a consideration, but the main concept here is that NMES facilitates recruitment and can be used to augment training, not to replace the athlete’s own effort.