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Muscle Memory...Fact or Fiction?

SezxyStef
SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
in Social Groups
I have heard a lot of my family talk of "muscle memory" (brothers mainly since I am the only female that lifts in my family)

I am just wondering what the general concnesus is on this.

I ask because I used to be in the military and built up a lot of upper body and Leg strength with the pushups, chin ups, toting around rifles and big a$$ed bullets for the 105/109 (yes I was combat arms....:tongue: ) and all the other stupid things we did in the military.

Since then I have always found that it doesn't take me long to be able to do non modified pushups...and that when I do lift weights those are the muscles that seem to define the quickest..unlike my abs :grumble: :grumble: :grumble:

So Muscle Memory...fact or fiction?

PS Yes I googled and there were as many sites that said yes it's true as there were that said no it isn't. Now off to eat my cookie and ice cream

Replies

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    I don't recall any research on it so I'll just state my opinion based on anecdote/observation/reading:

    I think it exists and I think it's quite meaningful/relevant/whatever the word is that I'm looking for.
  • jamielynas
    jamielynas Posts: 366 Member
    I agree, post eating disorder I made strength and size gains back very quickly up to a certain point
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    "Muscle memory" usually refers to your ability to engage certain motor movement patterns after a long recess. This is basically neural pathways that are so deeply ingrained that they will probably not go away unless you suffer some degenerative memory loss or brain damage. The better you knew how to do something once upon a time, the longer the memory persists.

    A simple example of muscle memory is riding a bike or ice skating. Many people do these things as children but not as adults, and yet you do not have to teach them how to do either activity all over again. Your ankles and calves will be sore as hell after ice skating, though, because the muscles are no longer used to the work required for balancing.

    For something like lifting weights, if there is any technique at all to the lift, you will remember how to do it even after a long break, and it will not take as long to relearn--you will make novice gains more rapidly. Also, strength decays more slowly than VO2Max. If you train yourself to be a long distance runner, you will get out of shape more quickly than if you train strength. Your push-up ability is probably partly neural and partly due to muscle mass you accumulated when you were able to do a lot of them.
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    Muscle memory (In terms of motor engram patterns) is a fact. This is the learning of a distinct pattern of movement that becomes ingrained and forms distinct neural patterns - think of how easy it is to walk yet what a complicated physiological process this actually is...

    Muscle memory in terms of retraining previously trained muscles, I am confident (though not with any sufficient evidence) that this will result in quicker strength gains. I have no idea whether the same applies to hypertrophy though.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member

    Muscle memory in terms of retraining previously trained muscles, I am confident (though not with any sufficient evidence) that this will result in quicker strength gains. I have no idea whether the same applies to hypertrophy though.

    My belief is that it does.
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    I am with you on that SS, anecdotal evidence would suggest this is the case (including as I see it personally - slaving away at a slower pace because I did do real training when I was younger :grumble: ). I just have no empirical data to support it.
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