How Does Muscle Memory Work

Training
1

the first time i started lifting was my sophmore year of high school. i was in a weight lifting class.i was in that class for 6 months. i am 6ft 1in 165lbs.
My stats from the beginning to end were
bench press:65lbs-165lbs.
Squat:125-185lbs.never really worked on squat. had bad form
Deadlift:135-200lb
now im a junior,about to be a senior next august. my stats now are
Bench:115lbs
Squat:125lbs
Deadlift:135lbs

my goals before the end of senior year is to have a 1.5x body weight squat,1.5 bench press, and 2x bodyweight deadlift.

i heard my friends at school talking about muscle memory and i want to know more about it.

2

Have you done any research of your own?

3

it will not help you

4

“Muscle Memory” is usually referred to in a pretty incorrect manner by most people. What it basically means is that if you’ve achieved a certain level of muscular development, and then lost it due to lack of training, you will be able to regain said size at a quicker pace than when you first built the new tissue. This is due to the initial incorporation of satellite cells that merge, and contribute their nuclei. Later on, when you return to training, the additional nuclei are still present, which allows for a somewhat greater level of synthesis.

S

5

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
“Muscle Memory” is usually referred to in a pretty incorrect manner by most people. What it basically means is that if you’ve achieved a certain level of muscular development, and then lost it due to lack of training, you will be able to regain said size at a quicker pace than when you first built the new tissue. This is due to the initial incorporation of satellite cells that merge, and contribute their nuclei. Later on, when you return to training, the additional nuclei are still present, which allows for a somewhat greater level of synthesis.

S[/quote]

this piqued my interest thank you

6

I’ve also heard of “muscle memory” used in the context of athletic performance – that is more properly called “motor memory” – meaning that once you learn a physical task – it becomes easier the more you do it.

For example, the first time a child tries to ride a bicycle, they are incapable of balancing the bike, and coordinating the pedaling action. However, after each attempt, it is thought that the brain re-enforces the neurons that help you perform the activity – you “learn” the new activity. It is thought that some of this “learning” occurs after you have performed the activity – possibly during sleep.

Here is a recent publication of the idea: Offline consolidation in implicit sequence learning - PubMed
(You probably need access to a university-level library to access the paper – sorry.)

This is aligned with the old saying, “Practice makes perfect.”