Wearing suits: Photo contributed | Cesar and Connie Vasquez aim to have Body20 fully open by mid-June, with a ribbon cutting planned to go along with the franchise’s grand opening.

After years in the health care industry, local physician Cesar Vazquez and his wife Connie are combining the power of technology with the power of exercise, offering clients a new, innovative way to work out in just 20 minutes.

Body20, a franchise founded in Boca Raton, Florida, focuses on the use of electro muscle stimulation (EMS) exercise, a concept that has heavily evolved in Europe and can trace its roots as far back as the 1980s. Bruce Lee showcased the use of EMS in the 1993 biopic “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.”

Cesar, a semi-retired physician who has practiced pediatrics and led various health and wellness campaigns, said that his passion about wellness stems from his own personal fitness journey.

“Throughout my whole career I’ve been interested in fitness and wellness and how to stay healthy,” he said. “Part of that energy and motivation and interest involved physical activity — how do we leverage the power of fitness to get us to where we want to be and stay active and just have an active lifestyle?”

Though he didn’t see himself owning a traditional gym, his research in the EMS field brought him to Body20. The company, which uses EMS suits to stimulate over 90% of muscles in a 20-minute session, recently saw opportunities open in California after approval by the state franchise board.

“We were the first ones to sign a franchise license agreement,” Cesar said, adding that another Body20 studio in Carlsbad is the only other location in the state.

The Fresno location plans to celebrate its grand opening in mid-June, but is already accepting clients.

“I knew that this was something that could offer a more efficient way for people to stay fit, especially those with time constraints.”

The EMS suit delivers a full-body workout that, according to Cesar, is equal to a 3- to 4-hour gym session. The suit is worn during an actual physical workout.

“You’re getting over 36,000 muscle contractions…in a typical gym workout, say you’re doing biceps, you’re stimulating 30 to 40 percent of those muscles,” he explained.

The technology, which is cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, can be particularly helpful to those suffering prior injury, he said. They have worked with individuals with physical disabilities, Parkinson’s Disease and other mobility restricting conditions.

He added, however, that the technique is not suitable for people with pacemakers.

“It really is catered to include people as young as 18 all the way up to 80 and above,” he said.

Connie, who previously worked at AT&T and is an active lifestyle enthusiast, said opening Body20 is a way to stay involved in fitness while giving back to the community.

“We wanted to continue this type of activity as we age and we just thought this was something that additionally…we could do for semi-retirement,” she said.

Body20 clients receive personalized attention with a certified trainer. Each workout is tailored to an individual’s goals and fitness levels, with an initial consultation with a trainer about client goals and mobility.

After that, clients are limited to two workouts per week due to the intensity of the workout. Cesar said that very often clients initially don’t feel sore until one or even two days after a workout. Overstimulation can cause damage to the client, requiring breaks and rest between workouts.

Body20 offers four unique modes of exercise: strength, which focuses on muscle; endurance, focusing more on cardiovascular exercise and endurance; performance, a mix of endurance and strength conditioning; and restore, which focuses on revitalizing and “massaging” muscle tissue in between exercises.

“We have to be very careful to explain to the members, to educate them: if you’re going to come in and do a 20-minute workout with us you can’t go and run a half marathon the same day,” Cesar said.

Clients can sign up for packages that include four visits per month, once weekly, or eight visits per month.

Cesar hopes his background in medicine combined with his research into EMS exercise will help revitalize the views on exercise in the Valley.

“Basically, it checked off all of the boxes for me, as a physician,” Cesar said. “The ability to spend 20 minutes in the studio and get a full-body workout.”