Muscle memory

[Luigi]

so having recently taken a few months off i came across this article which i found interesting

Muscle Memory

From Brain to Bicep

Muscles are like your brain – they have a memory and can be trained to be more efficient and stronger. Just like your brain, the less you use them the less well they function. But similarly if you go back to a previous activity you will find that your memory soon returns with the information you once learned.

Have you ever taken a break from training, and then gone back to the gym to find that it is only a few short weeks before you are back to where you were before? This is the memory that each of our muscles posses. Scientists call this 'kinaesthetic memory' or 'neuro-muscular facilitation'. This way of learning is referred to as 'sensory-motor' learning, since you are combining sensory input (what you see, hear, touch, smell and taste) with motor output (i.e. moving your body).

A Simplified Explanation

Let me explain how memories in your brain are created. The brain contains 100 billion individual nerve cells (neurons) that form connections with one another every time we experience or encounter something new. They are mapped to activities you know how to do such as walking and running – everything you have learned in life to date. When you learn a new activity, your brain creates new connections and this 'path' of memory communication increases in strength every time the activity is repeated. Sort of like skiing over the same set of track lines down a slope as the person who has gone before you. The more those track lines are ski’d over, the more they will become set in the ground.

If these neurons are not regularly used, neural pathways weaken and their communication strength fades away leaving only a trace element of the original memory. But when the activity is re-assumed, the chemicals reignite and the paths are once again strengthened. This is exactly the same principle whereby muscles increase from training, and conversely the way they can atrophy through under use.

How Can this Help in Practical terms? So the work you do now CAN actually count for years to come, even though you might take a break from the activity and then come back to it. So then it would make sense to build your foundations now. Although slightly deviating from the subject at hand, sticking to good form to ensure balanced and maximal development will only help to instil a good foundation for the future. After a break you will find, following the initial period of re-acclimatisation that you can pick up where you left off and go forward from there.

An Old Concept

Have you ever heard of those studies where two groups of people are taken and one group is given coaching in a sport and given practical exercises, whereas the other is just shown videos of the same sport and told to mentally visualise performing? Well, you need to apply the same concept. You need to imagine your neurons forming these new connections, the communication between the neurons increasing and getting stronger, and in time this will happen and hold you in greater stead for performance in the future. Whether it be weightlifting, endurance running, bodybuilding or a specific sport, your performance now and for the future will be improved by having a greater grasp o how your mind works in conjunction with your body and visualising the results you want. Not only are you what you eat, 'you are what you think'!

Planned Formatting

So taking the concept of a computer, when you format the hard drive you wipe almost everything on there. Trace elements of data can remain though and, in the case of your brain, this will be useful to you. Now I am not suggesting you smash your head in order to delete certain “files”, unless it is related to a minger you accidentally slept with over a drunken New Years party, but I am suggesting a temporary file purge whereby you abstain from a certain activity for a few weeks.

Pick any activity or exercise you have been intensely focused on for many months, and leave this activity for a good eight to twelve weeks. After this period go back to the activity. Two to three weeks is all it will take to get back on track, and then you will see the progress you now start to make again. It will be like a new lease of life! I have tried and succeeded in this way of thinking in various different weight training activities – such as the deadlift and bench press – and found it an invaluable way of moving forward. I completely recommend it based on my experience and that of my clients’.

In Summary:

* Muscle will rebuild more quickly after taking a break from training than it took to build originally.

* A medium to long break can often be a good way to make progress.

* The foundations you build in your physique now could last you for years to come.

* Imagine the communication between mind and body increasing, and this WILL be the case.

source http://www.syfit.com/articles05.html

the bit i have highlighted i found particularly interesting, for those who have taken a decent amount of time off before how long did it take you to get back to where you were ?

[Dr Squat]

Have you started training again or are you still thinking about it?

[Luigi]

back on topic

[Dr Squat]

Have you started training again or are you still thinking about it?

if i think hard enough about it i might not even need to train :wink:

Maybe you could re-define powerbuilder as someone who doesn't compete or train in any sport, but just thinks about it?

[Luigi]

anyone else got some imput ?

[nate225]

Have you started training again or are you still thinking about it?

:pfft: :pfft: :pfft: :pfft: :pfft: :pfft:

21 inch cerebellums rule Doc!

[Flex]

I quite like theory of muscle memory:

http://patrickarnoldblog.com/a-mechanism-to-explain-"muscle-memory"/

Most athletes are familiar with the phenomenon known as “muscle memory,” which is the ability of an inactive previously trained individual to quickly return to an elevated level of muscular function and size once regular exercise is resumed. The mechanisms responsible for muscle memory have never been clear, but were often assumed to be related primarily to the influence of exercise on muscle neural pathway development.

A recent study* however has revealed evidence of changes in the muscle cells themselves that might be a key to the muscle memory phenomenon. In the study the authors show that the extra myonuclei generated in response to overload exercise are in large part retained even in periods of disuse atrophy.

Myonuclei serve as the “command control centers” so to speak that govern the synthesis of proteins that are used to make your muscles bigger and stronger in response to exercise. When you work out, your body responds by first increasing the amount of myonuclei (obtained through the recruitment of satellite cells) in the muscle cells, and then these new myonuclei ramp up the production of muscle proteins. When you stop training though you lose muscle protein (muscle size), however the increased number of myonuclei (according to this study) seem to stay put. As a consequence, your body is already equipped to respond quickly to renewed exercise stress with fast hypertrophy and functional improvement (i.e. muscle memory).

The consequences of this phenonemon in the prevention of age related muscle loss is noted by the authors, who mention the fact that incorporation of new myonuclei in aged humans is greatly compromised. The authors also make note of the significance of this mechanism for anabolic steroid users. Since incorporation of extra myonuclei is a major mechanism through which anabolic steroids increase muscle size, it seems plausible that this has a lot to do with the observation that former steroid users seem to maintain some level of permanent performance advantage over steroid novices.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Aug 24;107(34):15111-6. Epub 2010 Aug 16., Myonuclei acquired by overload exercise precede hypertrophy and are not lost on detraining, Bruusgaard JC, Johansen IB, Egner IM, Rana ZA, Gundersen K.

[aidangro]

i have just had 4 months off, and after about 4 1/2 weeks im almost back to where i was, thought it would take at least 12 weeks to get to where i am.

[Dr Squat]

A week or two is a break. A month or more is giving it away.

I don't understand how/why anyone would have a long lay off. Obviously it could be enforced by illness or injury. Other than that it would take a pack of wild dogs to keep me out of the gym. In fact I'm pretty sure I would train regardless.

[tomsammce]

A week or two is a break. A month or more is giving it away.

I don't understand how/why anyone would have a long lay off. Obviously it could be enforced by illness or injury. Other than that it would take a pack of wild dogs to keep me out of the gym. In fact I'm pretty sure I would train regardless.

i had time off to focus on sorting my shit out. i could have still gone gym but decided if i said to myself i wont lift till im sorted then i would get sorted faster so i could lift. it worked and now i will never stop.

[startinfromscratch]

my muscle memory is terrible. my biceps are always losing their keys...

[Dr Squat]

A week or two is a break. A month or more is giving it away.

I don't understand how/why anyone would have a long lay off. Obviously it could be enforced by illness or injury. Other than that it would take a pack of wild dogs to keep me out of the gym. In fact I'm pretty sure I would train regardless.

i had time off to focus on sorting my shit out. i could have still gone gym but decided if i said to myself i wont lift till im sorted then i would get sorted faster so i could lift. it worked and now i will never stop.

How long bro? I wasn't trying to be negative. Just interested. I assumed that the iron bug just got us all and we were lifers.

[Rookie]

Have you started training again or are you still thinking about it?

if i think hard enough about it i might not even need to train :wink:

Maybe you could re-define powerbuilder as someone who doesn't compete or train in any sport, but just thinks about it?

Well said bro, remember when "High rep leg presses dont work" :roll:

Funny how tables turn eh bro :pfft:

[HumanPerformance]

Muscle memory has always been an aspect of training that has facinated me. I have been training on and off for 23 years and Im always surprised how fast the muscle comes back after a lay off, at times I have had 3 or 4 months off training and it normaly takes only about 5 weeks to get back to where I was, even after losing 8 or 9 kilos in that time off.

But about 12 years ago i basically had 3 whole years where i hardly trained at all. During that time I went from around 108kg down to 76kg (am a real ectomorph) and when I got back into training it took nearly 2 years just to back to 100 again.

[Optimass]

During that time I went from around 108kg down to 76kg (am a real ectomorph) .

can't imagine you at 76 kg mate ..... shoulders are really broad/quite big boned compared to the average Joe ecto. Certainly meso nw. Last time I was 76kg I was 17 years old and living on tequila and sea monsters :grin:

[tomsammce]

A week or two is a break. A month or more is giving it away.

I don't understand how/why anyone would have a long lay off. Obviously it could be enforced by illness or injury. Other than that it would take a pack of wild dogs to keep me out of the gym. In fact I'm pretty sure I would train regardless.

i had time off to focus on sorting my shit out. i could have still gone gym but decided if i said to myself i wont lift till im sorted then i would get sorted faster so i could lift. it worked and now i will never stop.

How long bro? I wasn't trying to be negative. Just interested. I assumed that the iron bug just got us all and we were lifers.

2 years bro. yeah all good bruv.

[total_gym1000]

Last year I stopped training for 6 months, weight dropped from 80-73kg and found within 8 weeks of training again i was back up to 80kg :nod:

[Luigi]

Since incorporation of extra myonuclei is a major mechanism through which anabolic steroids increase muscle size, it seems plausible that this has a lot to do with the observation that former steroid users seem to maintain some level of permanent performance advantage over steroid novices.

interesting.... so if someone has previously used steroids then they will theoretically forever hold an advantage over someone who has never used ?

which brings up another point, if someone has used before can they claim to be 'natural' once use has stopped ?

i had time off to focus on sorting my shit out. i could have still gone gym but decided if i said to myself i wont lift till im sorted then i would get sorted faster so i could lift. it worked and now i will never stop.

yea, taking time off from the gym is not always to do with being lazy or giving up, sometimes other things just take priority.

But about 12 years ago i basically had 3 whole years where i hardly trained at all. During that time I went from around 108kg down to 76kg (am a real ectomorph) and when I got back into training it took nearly 2 years just to back to 100 again.

in the shorter breaks you had (3-4 months) did you keep up your diet at all ? or were doing some form of inconsistent training ?

[Hercfeend]

Similar to a few of the other 'older' guys here have said, I've been training on and off for 20+ years or so. Done other sports and activities, picked up some pretty nasty injuries and taken long breaks cos it just didn't fit in with what was going on in my life at the time. One thing that always amazes me though is how quickly I regain shape when I return to the weights....... There's definitely something to the study.

[clash]

anyone else got some imput ?

After a very hard and successful season in 2005 I took 2 years off training and AAS to focus on things that were more important at that time.

I remained active and held a respectable amount of size. My competition weight was around 85kg and my off season weight was 100kg.

After 2 years my weight had dropped to 87kg and my bodyfat was 17%.

When I got Back into it I trained solidly for 1 month and gained a solid 2kg wile dropping bodyfat down to 15%.

I then reintroduced the AAS and within 6 weeks I gained 20KG! My weight was 110kg but my bodyfat had also gone up to 18% due to my choice to run insulin with the AAS.

When I hit the stage again I was shredded and 5kg heavier than I had ever been before.

There is a lot to be said for "Muscle Memory" \:D/

[Android]

Plenty of time to rest when you die

[HumanPerformance]

During that time I went from around 108kg down to 76kg (am a real ectomorph) .

can't imagine you at 76 kg mate ..... shoulders are really broad/quite big boned compared to the average Joe ecto. Certainly meso nw. Last time I was 76kg I was 17 years old and living on tequila and sea monsters :grin:

That shoulder width completely dissapears once I get below a certain bodyweight. All though my frame now looks large my skeletal structure is small, my wrists only measure 6.5 inches,which kind of disproves the theory that if you measure your wrists and add 10 inches to it that is the biggest your arms can ever get, as that is your maximum geneic potential.

[proteineata]

Plenty of time to rest when you die