Fours years out guys......really need a helping hand here. Muscle memory?

[Donster]

Got married, life got busy, kid on way etc. Career driven all at the expense of my looks and health...

Now all I get is..."you got a lot of mass sir but all your bits jiggle..." I still have the large frame that comes with years of deads, squats, clean and jerks etc from when I used to lift hardcore

I ordered my whey, got my supps and I am currently getting a log together to hit the body with compounds. Get the core back to where it used to be. I cannot be bothered with cardio at the moment..

For some reason I keep thinking about me having a kid and being an out of shape and unhealthy father. That scares the F out of me..

My wife is due in August and I have given myself a target of August to get into some decent shape. Will muscle memory help after such a long lay off??

Thanks

This is my starting routine:

Tuesday: Squats, Bench - (85%-90% of max)

Thursday: Deadlifts, bent over Rows, T-bar Rows (85%-90% of max)

Saturday: Front Squats, Incline Bench (60%-75% of max)

Sunday: stiff legged deadlifts, power cleans (60%-75% of max)

I dont like arm days so will hit arms after compounds on the days..

As long as you're hitting them hard as you can after the compound lifts....

I see no extra benefit doing them on their own day.
I have tried it in the past (arm day only) and didn't like it.

[Pine Grove]

"Muscle fibers do not remember anything. Muscle fibers do not have a separate independent "mind" of their own. All memory is retrieved from inside the brain which commands all action and response. Like everything else on this planet muscle fibers simply adapt to the environment in which they are exposed to or bathed in. If they are forced to contract with a specific load causing stress, disruption and microfilament damage, they will adapt and remodel provided the conditions required for such adaptations are met. If there is insufficient or no load they will return to their former state and continue wasting in the absence of sufficient stimulation. What we don't use we lose. It's called disuse atrophy.

Here's the reason why progress is made more quickly the second, third or whatever time around, provided ones current state of health does not act as a biochemical hindrance. Our brains have the capacity to store data and skills learned from the past in the form of emotion and memory. The portion of the brain associated with memory includes the cortex of the frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal lobes, parts of the limbic system including the hippocampus and amygdaloid nucleus, and the diencephalon. "

"After a lay off no time is wasted developing a relationship with the equipment. Like our first dinner date compared to 20 years of marriage, we don't experience the same initial stages of bumbling, shyness, formality and integration each time we sit down for dinner. After 6 months to 2 years of training for the first time, most of us develop an understanding of exercise training gained only by experience. We learn how to train. We get the feel of it. We learn how we respond individually to free weights, machines, cables, pulleys, weight stacks, sets and reps on so on. It's called a learning curve and it;s a one time deal."

http://www.coryholly.com/articles/article.cfm?id=171


I wouldn't rely on muscle memory helping you but it looks like a good routine based around compound lifts. You'll be fine.

[noendsnoskinz]

it should.

take a look at this guy:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...6586333&page=1

might take longer than 15 weeks tho

[Purostaff]

2 years off here with zero lifting and sedentary lifestyle.. (just started back up this year)

body fat probably increased by 1-2% if at all

190 lb before.... 190 lb after

330 bench --> 295

485 squat --> 385

455 DL --> ???

So, I'd say it depends greatly on the person (yes captain obvious), but your past lifting experience will undoubtedly help you take back those days for sure.

Best of luck to you, m8.

[Mike.Mack]

I had a similar situation.

Got REALLY busy and while I was making serious personal gains... I lost most of it due to no real time to dedicate to anything. I hit the gym, cleaned up my diet and the body doesn't seem to take as long to adapt, however where I found the biggest issue was where I used to lift and what I lifted when I returned.

I was putting up 255 bench pressing and I wouldn't let myself drop below a 225 press when I hit the gym again... Turns out my eyes were cashing checks my body couldn't handle. So my advice to you is do what you know, do what you love and check your ego at the door.

If you can hang where you used to in terms of weights, good for you. If not, you'll get back there and if you do it right, you won't take forever either. I've been back into the game for I wanna say 6 or so months doing it the right way and I'm back to squatting 405 and benching 250, right where I was and gaining.

Check back in and let us know how you feel when you're pumped from some compund lifts!

[lefield]

Just make sure that as you get back into it you don't try jumping too far down the road at the start. Work into it to make sure you are where you think. If you injure yourself by hitting too hard too fast, you might delay everything down the road. SHould be good getting back into it