Muscle memory or broscience?

[stillfit]

Just want to get everyones opinion on whether they think muscle memory is real or wishful thinking. I am a firm believer in muscle memory. The reason I believe is as a younger man of 25 I was in reasonably good shape weighing around 220. I stopped training when I was 27 Y/O. I did almost no serious training until the age of 45 when I purchased a bowflex to rehab a shoulder surgery. I decided to drop my bodyfat down and start some serious muscle building again. I dropped to 169 lbs. Felt skinny as fark. Then over the next 18 months increased my bodyweight to 215. I don't believe these gains would remotely be possible at my age if I had not been there when younger. Please tell me if you believe in muscle memory or not. This seems a bit controversial.

[djflex]

Imo it's real.

[motiv8td]

I can't say whether its broscience or not but I believe it. There hasn't been as many years of non-training for me but since I've started back again, I've noticed my old self coming through.

Also, oddly enough, I have the exact same barbed wire tat in on the same arm in the exact same location..........weird but true

[-=FLEX=-]

Definitely. I was a skinny runt as a teen. Trained seriously for about 6 years, then kept training but basically maintained what I had for another 10 years, then quit for 7 years.

Started training again last January and within 3 months my bench was up to 275 and I was squatting 315 for 5 reps.

I doubt a beginner could accomplish that in 3 months.

Muscle memory is the only answer.

And no homo but you look great. Holy hell.

And you did that on a bowflex? MIND = BLOWN

[Bladerunner1811]

Well if you go by some scientific theories,DNA not only carries info but is programmable ,so that maybe where Muscle memory comes from by building up the muscle you are putting in your bio-computer the program to grow bigger and after a lay off you simply turned the program back on.

Ok enough of my psuedo-science.LOL

[VIsland]

Yikes!!! You're jacked as hell!!!!! Nice work.

[muttytwist]

I can't remember ever seeing any scientific study to prove it, but I have seen some amazing examples of it.

[induced_drag]

Although I have no studies to back it up....I am a firm believer in muscle memory.

My first case was when I returned to the gym after a decade off back on 09 after recovering from a bad accident and almost being killed. I gained an unbelievable amount of weight while losing skinfold thickness. I say unbelievable because it was over 20lbs in 12 weeks. 182 to 202 while losing 2%bf.

Actually it was even more then that...but I dont count the first 10lbs I gained back because after being isolated in a brace for 12 weeks I just withered away to 170. In the first two weeks after being released and I got my spirits back up, I was back up to 180. That is where I started my log from.

Below is an excerpt
By the way....that is not my true BF%. I always chart lower then what I am with a skinfold test. I actually read about 3%low I think. So where it says 12% I am probably 15%...etc.


In this 12 weeks I raised all my lifts; Bench +90lbs squat +175lbs and deadlift +130lbs.








My second example is more recent. I came back to the gym about 4 months ago. For the first three months I was on a cut diet. 2050 cal daily average.

Here is a back shot. Yes you can see more definition...but I also on a 700-800 daily caloric deficit, I added a bunch of mass too. Look at my arms. Even with dropping 20lbs of fat I added almost a full inch to my arm in three months....while cutting. Not sure how else this can be explained. Difference in pctures is 3 months

[stillfit]

Definitely. I was a skinny runt as a teen. Trained seriously for about 6 years, then kept training but basically maintained what I had for another 10 years, then quit for 7 years.

Started training again last January and within 3 months my bench was up to 275 and I was squatting 315 for 5 reps.

I doubt a beginner could accomplish that in 3 months.

Muscle memory is the only answer.

And no homo but you look great. Holy hell.

And you did that on a bowflex? MIND = BLOWN

I joined a gym a year ago but all those pics are from Bowflex. I hate to say that because people are always slamming them, but it worked ok for me. Of course I didn't do the 20 minutes three times a week program

[Getsum]

I know that whenever I come back from a break, the last one was for over a year, it doesn't take that long for my lifts to get back to their old levels. My bench and deadlifts are both the best they've ever been and my squats aren't that far behind.

Excellent work man!

[richr85]

I believe! I took a long break and it seems to be coming back.

Your looking good (No Homo) and welcome back.

[tomsfish]

i believe if you knew what you where doing before the break,you will know what to do when you come back.just plain ol memory.
a few years ago i wanted to get better at pullups and chinups,because i was stuck at a low rep number.i followed a program where you dont max on your sets and improved a great deal.when i had to be out of the gym because of an injury for a year,the first place i went to was the pullup bar.i followed the same program and got my strength back pretty fast on these,even tho i had put 20 lbs on.i dont think it was muscle memory,just doing it right.

[Come at me bro]

Its deff real, im as big as i was at 18 being a construction labor at 300 pounds as i am now at 22 barely a year into the gym weighing 220, its like i was able to get my size without the gut

your a ****ing animal, natty?

[Come at me bro]

Was in those pics. Now doing TRT.

my mom has me in pics when i was younger i have to ask her and i havent taken a new pic in months

[Whiskeyjack]

Believe absolutely, OP. I was a competing BBr and PLr in my 20s. More or less slacked off for years with short intervals of trainings. Now, training in a gym full of young military men at their peak of health, I'm piling on muscle mass that actually *feels* familiar going on, like an old coat; in relative terms I'm growing much faster than many of these fellows even though half were either unborn or toddlers when I last competed, and I have 2 chronic medical conditions and 3 long term injuries ('old friends'). And I've never taken an athletic enhancing drug or even much in the way of supps. If that ain't muscle memory, I don't know what is.

[Sothron]

Believe it. It's absolute truth. I am on my 4th "comeback" (I know...) and each time the break-in was shorter and the in-shape time came more quickly.

[Whiskeyjack]

Here is a back shot. Yes you can see more definition...but I also on a 700-800 daily caloric deficit, I added a bunch of mass too. Look at my arms. Even with dropping 20lbs of fat I added almost a full inch to my arm in three months....while cutting. Not sure how else this can be explained. Difference in pctures is 3 months



[IMG]http://i646.photobucket.com/album
s/uu187/induced_drag/backcomp-
1.jpg[/IMG]

Wow - great job, ID! You can see a clear difference in both hardness and size. Great work.

[Reality_Check]

I believe its real

[Reality_Check]

This Wikipedia article sites some scientific evidence for muscle memory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_...ength_training)

namely

Staron RS, Leonardi MJ, Karapondo DL, Malicky ES, Falkel JE, Hagerman FC & Hikida RS. (1991). Strength and skeletal muscle adaptations in heavy-resistance-trained women after detraining and retraining. J Appl Physiol 70, 631-640.

Bruusgaard JC, Johansen IB, Egner IM, Rana ZA & Gundersen K. (2010). Myonuclei acquired by overload exercise precede hypertrophy and are not lost on detraining. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107, 15111-15116.

Bruusgaard JC, Liestol K, Ekmark M, Kollstad K & Gundersen K. (2003). Number and spatial distribution of nuclei in the muscle fibres of normal mice studied in vivo. J Physiol 551, 467-478.

Bruusgaard JC & Gundersen K. (2008). In vivo time-lapse microscopy reveals no loss of murine myonuclei during weeks of muscle atrophy. J Clin Invest 118, 1450-1457.

[Indestructible6]

Real

Source: My experience

[tmonkey]

Was in those pics. Now doing tough relentless training.

you may want to edit your post before you get banned.

[halogenic]

It's real, just like "Fat Memory"

[induced_drag]

Wow - great job, ID! You can see a clear difference in both hardness and size. Great work.

Thanks man! Now of course gains start to slow right up....but I really cant complain for this kind of progress in such a short time. From here out gains will be hard fought and earned.

Muscle memory is an awesome thing!




I have a question....Does muscle memory work better for natural guys then those who got their gains the "enhanced" way? My gains in my 20's naturally took me about 7years to get and some around me got similar or even bigger gains with "help" in only 1 or 2 years.

Even with 10 years out of the gym, I always held on to a good deal of mass where as the guys who made the real quick gains, seemed to quickly shrink back up...some not even being able to tell they ever worked out if you looked at them today.

What has been your guys experience....do natties hold it longer or get it back better?

[HDHC10]

Don't believe in muscle memory. It's remembering how to train right. Body follows.

[socket]

I'm a believer. But it's not just because the muscle have been developed before. I also think it's because you have at one time had good mind/muscle connection, so that comes back. You are already months ahead of a true "newbie".

I think the mind/muscle connection is one of the hardest things for many people to learn.
It's one thing to go through the motions and make some small gains, but the real gains come when you learn the connection.


edit: Man, you were jacked way back when, and you're jacked up again! Awsome comeback.

[JerryB]

I think the myofibril elements have no memory in the literal sense. I think it is the recall in the neuromuscular system in action when you return to training. You reconnect to the trained myofibril elements for stimulation. It’s like recalling now to ride a bike and swimming after some time of absence.

It's the mind/muscle connection as stated by socket.

[alex2363]

it has to be real, everyone always mentions it .

[cockywop]

You could look at it 2 different ways. Either it's muscle memory or all the things that went into making you a jacked mofo in your youth ( your height, bone structure, mental discipline, body chemistry etc...) are still there.

Either way enjoy it . You are a Badass

[Inthegrass]

It's like riding a bike. No really, I'm serious.
I believe your muscles respond through memory just as you never forget how to ride a bike. Proper training only makes the response come easier.

By the way OP, amazing job!!

[joenj07087]

fantastic job, this is the kind of inspiration that motivates me to do all that I can to reach my fitness goals....Fantastic !