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is muscle memory a myth?

  • 26-03-2013 7:11pm
    #1
    beano345
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,105 ✭✭✭


    as in if you go a few months without training and then start back you'll get back the gains you lost quicker? ive recently returned from abroad and am planning to hit the weights again a few people have said ill make back the mass and strength i had a lot quicker! has this ever happened to anybody?


Comments

  • #2
    jeziorski
    Registered Users Posts: 35 ✭jeziorski


    I do not think so, sorry :D The only way is training, training and training. You should also combine training with diet but it is all.


  • #3
    Dave 101
    Registered Users Posts: 469 ✭✭Dave 101


    beano345 wrote: »
    as in if you go a few months without training and then start back you'll get back the gains you lost quicker? ive recently returned from abroad and am planning to hit the weights again a few people have said ill make back the mass and strength i had a lot quicker! has this ever happened to anybody?


    yes it has happened to me a number of times after long layoffs


  • #4
    nice_guy80
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,723 ✭✭✭nice_guy80


    it is certainly true with returning from injury and operations

    a strong well conditioned body will return to full fitness much quicker than others

    eg after a knee operation if your legs were in great shape beforehand then your recovery time should be shorter

    your body and mind create the muscle memory together for movements
    as in, it is only by practicing something thousands of times that it becomes ingrained as second nature

    the Australian institute of sport reckon it takes at least 2000 repetitions to improve a skill
    and they reckon that in any one training session, that you must get up and above 200 repetitions of any one skill before your brains, muscles, nerves are even in the zone for improvement


  • #5
    beano345
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,105 ✭✭✭beano345


    nice_guy80 wrote: »
    it is certainly true with returning from injury and operations

    a strong well conditioned body will return to full fitness much quicker than others

    eg after a knee operation if your legs were in great shape beforehand then your recovery time should be shorter

    your body and mind create the muscle memory together for movements
    as in, it is only by practicing something thousands of times that it becomes ingrained as second nature

    the Australian institute of sport reckon it takes at least 2000 repetitions to improve a skill
    and they reckon that in any one training session, that you must get up and above 200 repetitions of any one skill before your brains, muscles, nerves are even in the zone for improvement

    i reckon the first few sessions are going to be pathectic! but after a while ill get back up to near enough hopefully more than were i was before!


  • #6
    Hanley
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 21,981 ✭✭✭✭Hanley


    It's absolutely not a myth.


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  • #7
    Tom_Cruise
    Closed Accounts Posts: 734 ✭✭✭Tom_Cruise


    Its true.


  • #8
    opinion guy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,001 ✭✭✭✭opinion guy


    beano345 wrote: »
    as in if you go a few months without training and then start back you'll get back the gains you lost quicker? I've recently returned from abroad and am planning to hit the weights again a few people have said ill make back the mass and strength i had a lot quicker! has this ever happened to anybody?

    Muscle memory is something that happens in the brain not the muscles. If the muscles get smaller the memory persists in the brain. Its just like riding a bike - you never forget.

    More here:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory


  • #9
    Mellor
    Registered Users Posts: 39,002 ✭✭✭✭Mellor


    opinion guy wrote: »

    Muscle memory is something that happens in the brain not the muscles. If the muscles get smaller the memory persists in the brain. Its just like riding a bike - you never forget.

    More here:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory
    That's a different kind if muscle memory. It relates to motor skills. How your brain can remember complex movements. Playing a instrument, movement, writing etc

    Muscle memory in relation to weight training refers to a physical adaption in the muscle, not the brain.
    In short: When you lift weights and get bigger/stronger, your muscles physically alter on a cellular level, when you stop lifting even though you may lose those gains, some of the cellular changes remain. So when you start back lifting, you can return to the previous state quicker because the process is already partially complete.
    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory_(strength_training)


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