Is there really such thing as muscle memory?!


Question: Is there really such thing as muscle memory?
I am returning to weight lifting after about 6 months of not working out at all. I've taken "breaks" before, but none nowhere near this long. I have been working out for about 8 years now, and I've noticed that when I go back to training, regaining muscle always seems MUCH easier, and a lot faster than what it took to originally get it. It also kind of applies to strength. I have read on the web that muscles retain some kind of memory that makes it easier for them to go back to the size and shape they where before. Do you think (or know for a fact) that this is real? Or do you think that "regaining" is easier because of the knowledge in training acquired over time? Maybe a little bit of both.. What do you think??

Answers:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Yes it is. training a muscle changes its blood and nerve supply. When training stops the blood supply changes back to what it was fairly quickly once the muscle atrophies. However the change in Nerve supply takes much longer. Consequently the neuro firing pattern to activate the muscle is still as good as when it was trained and can remain so for months to years.
This is a double edge sword. It means you can return to the state you were quicker but it also means you can over train and damage muscle easier because the muscle can behave as if it is trained when it is not. This means you can over do it easily, where as untrained tissues let you know they are suffering much sooner and you are less likely to over train.

NZ registered Osteopath



Yes. Muscle
memory is in fact...muscle memory.




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