Tom Holland, more celebs zap their muscles with electricity to get ripped. So I tried it.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. − It’s 10 in the morning in sunny Southern California, and my body is getting electrocuted.

No, I haven't signed up for torture − though in a certain sense, you could say I have. I’m here to get a killer workout, with the help of something called electrical muscle stimulation, or EMS.

Originating in Europe, first as a tool of physical therapy, EMS has made its way to the United States, where it's become a fitness favorite among high-profile individuals − like newly engaged star Tom Holland. It involves basic bodyweight exercises while wearing a damp, skin-tight suit full of electrodes that zap your muscles, forcing them to strongly contract, similar to how they would if you were lifting heavy weights.

Conrad Sanchez − a longtime EMS trainer and my torturer, I mean coach, for the morning − tells me EMS allows people to get ripped in a fraction of the time traditional strength training does − all without lifting a single weight. This makes it perfect for older people and people with medical issues that prevent them from lifting safely.

Plus, EMS workouts are short, ranging from 10 to 20 minutes, making them a nifty shortcut for people who have a lot of money, but not a lot of time, like celebrities. Holland, who recently flaunted his abs for Men’s Health, said he did EMS training while preparing to play Spider-Man. Kendall and Kyle Jenner did an EMS workout in an episode of “The Kardashians,” and Chrissy Teigen talked about doing it on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”

Now, I'm giving it a try.

After some excruciating squats, rows and bicep curls, Sanchez hits the off-switch on my electrode suit from his tablet and says I did a great job. Now that the warm up is over, he says, I’m ready for the workout. Wait, what?

If that was just the warm-up, I'm nervous to see what the rest of the session holds. But, if this is what it takes to look like a superhero, then so be it. After all, I can put up with any discomfort for 10 minutes, right? … Right?

Though EMS workouts are short, Sanchez assures me the muscle gains from it can be substainial. After about eight sessions, "everybody," he says, "has gotten results."

How electrical muscle stimulation, or EMS, became a Hollywood favorite

According to Sanchez, EMS took off in the fitness world after first gaining traction in physical therapy settings, where it was used as a localized treatment to strengthen specific muscles. Soon after, he says, people realized applying electrical stimulus to the whole body led to overall strength and muscle gains.

Many people are drawn to EMS because of how short the workouts are. A typical EMS session with Sanchez costs $200.

Still, EMS isn’t right for everyone. Pregnant women should steer clear of it, he says, as should people with kidney, cardiovascular or neurological diseases, as well as people with pacemakers.

I worked out with Jake Gyllenhaal, Matt Damon’s trainer. The results shocked me.

Though EMS delivers an intense stimulus to the muscles, Sanchez says it carries very low risk of injury.

"Even if your form is off, you're not going to injure yourself because it's all body weight," Sanchez says. "The other benefit is that we can blast you. ... The strength-training portion, the exercise-to-failure portion can be done as quickly as you want."

Sam Bartlett, an exercise scientist and the founder of the high-end New York fitness center Exis, has also used EMS with clients and says it really does work, though he doesn't recommend people rely on it as their sole form of exercise. Doing so, he says, would lead people to miss out on some cardiovascular benefits afforded by traditional workouts.

Still, "it's not a gimmick," Bartlett says of EMS. "There's definitely signs of the fact that it works, so I see no harm in using it, but I wouldn't make it the foundation of your program."

A common criticism of EMS is that you can get the same benefits from normal resistance training − which is true. In Sanchez's view, however, this critique overlooks the main draws of EMS, which are efficiency and accessibility.

"It's ignoring the smaller benefits that EMS provides, which is you don't need equipment," he says. "It's a third of the time. You don't have to be against gravity. You don't have to have full ranges of motion, or if you can't even move your joints, you can still do EMS and get stronger."

Some are also wary of EMS because the stimulus to the muscles and the resulting contractions can feel intense.

"A lot of people say that it's very uncomfortable," Bartlett says. "When I've used it with people, it almost feels like you're on the verge of cramping the entire time you're exercising.  … It can cause a pretty significant soreness."

No kidding.

I tried electrical muscle stimulation, or EMS. Here's how it went.

From the outside, an EMS workout doesn't look like much. Let me tell you: It is.

After our warmup, Sanchez leads me through 10 minutes of squats, rows, Romanian deadlifts, split squats, bicep curls, banded core rotations, hip thrusts and crunches. We also do some EMS-specific movements targeting the back and chest.

I like intense workouts, and I wanted to see how much electricity my muscles could handle, so, every time Sanchez asked if I wanted more stimulus, I said yes. The contractions felt intense, but I pushed through, sometimes just barely squeezing out an addition rep at the end.

When we finish, Sanchez says I received the equivalent of two hours of weightlifting.

At first, I was skeptical. After all, I'm used to lifting weights for at least an hour per session. Did I really just get double that in 15 minutes?

As I leave, Sanchez warns me about impending soreness. He tells me to take it easy for the next few days, drink plenty of water and see how I feel before going back to my normal workout routine.

I feel pretty good walking back to my car, so, I think, how bad could it really be?

The soreness hit me like a train about 12 hours later. My body felt like it had run a marathon, set a powerlifting world record and swam across the Atlantic Ocean, all in one day. Now I know what Holland meant when he told an interviewer that EMS "really does work."

"I tell you, I did it once, and I didn't go to the toilet for two days," he added, with a smile. "I couldn't sit down I was in so much pain."

Teigen reported a similar experience, telling Clarkson: "My whole butt hurts so bad just sitting down."

I can confirm: These celebrities aren't lying. Walking and sitting definitely felt tough for me too the following day. That said, if given the chance, I'd absolutely do EMS again, especially as a supplement to my weightlifting routine.

After all, if doing so gets me to my fitness goals faster, then extra soreness feels like a fair trade.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tom Holland, more celebs swear by EMS workouts. I tried it.