Many athletes talk about “muscle memory” that helps them quickly get back into shape after a break. Let’s figure out what it is and how it works.
What is muscle memory? Muscle memory is the restructuring of muscle and nerve cells that occurs under the influence of prolonged physical activity. It allows you to restore your previous performance, muscle volume, energy reserves and, in general, your athletic form (strength and endurance) when you resume training.
Experienced athletes can temporarily stop training for various reasons (injuries, family circumstances, loss of motivation). As a result, the muscles stop receiving the same load, muscle mass decreases (atrophy), and glycogen reserves in the muscles are reduced.
But it is worth resuming training for 3-4 months and returning the muscles to the previous load, as your athletic form begins to recover.
Why is muscle memory so effective? Let’s figure it out today in this article!
How does muscle memory work?
So, what happens in the body when muscle memory is triggered? This is explained by both the work of the nervous system and the structural features of muscle fibers.
Nervous system:
Medicine associates muscle memory with increased excitability of motor neurons and the formation of new connections (synapses). This improves the neuromuscular connection, allowing the athlete to adapt to stress faster. In a trained athlete, new blood vessels grow faster, the nutrition of the motor areas of the brain improves, and regulatory proteins are secreted that ensure the plasticity of the nervous tissue.
Kristian Gundersen. Professor
Muscle fibers and nuclei:
Norwegian scientists led by Kristian Gundersen (University of Oslo) found that muscle fibers have their own memory associated with the formation of new nuclei. Muscle cells form muscle fibers that can reach a length of up to 20 cm, but are very thin (up to 100 microns). A feature of muscle cells is that they are multinucleated.
What was the Essence of the Experiment?
The scientists decided to see what would happen to the calf muscle if they added work to it. To do this, they partially removed the anterior tibialis muscle from the mice. It turned out that the calf muscle (or more precisely, the long extensor of the fingers, EDL) began to plow for two.
What did they find out?
- After three weeks - The muscle fibers in the EDL became thicker, and noticeably so – the cross-sectional area increased by 35%. Inside the cells that make up the muscle fibers, there were more nuclei – by 54%. It turned out that the newer nuclei, the thicker the fiber.
- Interesting details - The nuclei began to actively divide around the sixth day, and by about the eleventh their number returned to normal. But the thickness of the fiber began to increase later – around the ninth day, and stopped by the fourteenth day.
- What if there is less time? - The experiment was repeated, but for two weeks. And guess what? By the fourteenth day, the number of nuclei in the mice had increased by 37%, and the thickness of the fiber by 35%.
Overall, the experiment shows that when a muscle has to work harder, it begins to grow and change.
So, now the previous stage of the study is clear! Let’s dig further!
The scientists went further and decided to check what would happen if the muscle that worked more was, on the contrary, “switched off”. They simply cut the nerve going to the EDL.
What happened?
After two weeks, the muscle began to dry out. The thickness of the fibers dropped by 40% of what it was when the muscle was working hard. But the most interesting thing is that the number of new nuclei that appeared after the load did not decrease!
The scientists’ conclusion: Due to the increase in the number of nuclei in muscle cells, muscle mass also increases. The more nuclei, the more genes that control the production of contractile proteins (actin and myosin). Training leaves long-term changes in the muscles. Even after three months without training, the number of new nuclei did not decrease. The scientists expected that the extra nuclei would be destroyed, but this did not happen. They simply “fell asleep” and reduced their activity.
Muscle memory: how does it work?
Scientists have concluded that the basis of muscle memory is new nuclei in cells. After a break in training, when a person starts exercising again, these nuclei “wake up” and begin to work actively. This leads to increased protein synthesis, an increase in the volume and mass of cells. And new nuclei appear due to the division of myosatellite cells and their fusion with muscle cells.
It is important to remember:
With age, the ability of cells to divide decreases. Therefore, it is more difficult for older people to build muscle mass. But if a person played sports in his youth, then it will be easier for him to get back into shape than for someone who has never trained.
Steroids and New Nuclei
Let’s clarify an important point right away: anabolic steroids (AS) do increase the number of new nuclei in muscle cells, just like regular training.
Myths and reality about the effect of steroids:
Many people think that the effect of steroids is temporary. Yes, it is true that after stopping taking AS, the athlete “deflates” and loses strength. But! The number of new nuclei produced in the muscles remains high. They just temporarily stop working actively. That is, the result achieved with the help of steroids can be considered long-term.
An experiment with mice showed that taking anabolic steroids creates long-term cellular memory. Mice were given testosterone propionate during training for two weeks. Then there was a three-month break, and steroid use was resumed. Result: the mice that took steroids had much faster muscle growth, and myosatellite cells divided at a high rate, compared to the mice that did not receive AS.
Conclusion: This is why athletes who take anabolic steroids, even after a long break, recover strength and endurance faster than those who train “naturally”. But it is important to remember that you have to pay for this with your health.
How to Develop Muscle Memory?
Muscle memory is developed through regular training. And not only in the gym! Any sport involves these processes. In this article, we consider bodybuilding simply as a clear example of how muscle memory works to increase muscle and strength.
Do not think that in 3-4 months you will become a professional athlete. It is impossible to train the nervous system and increase the number of nuclei in muscle cells in such a short time.
What do you need to develop muscle memory in strength sports?
Here is a list of the main things that will help you with this:
- Desire. Motivation is the basis of everything!
- Instructor. A fitness instructor will help you avoid injuries and achieve results faster.
- Time. You need time to visit the gym. You can’t do without it.
- Technique. It is important to learn the correct technique for performing exercises.
- Nutrition. Learn the basics of proper nutrition for athletes.
- Program. Find a suitable training program.
- Experience. Gain training experience (at least 1-2 years).
- Regularity. Train regularly, without skipping or slacking off.
If you faithfully engage in sports for a long time, you guarantee yourself a quick recovery of physical fitness at any time, even after forced breaks (illness, loss of motivation, etc.).
Thank you for reading, dear readers! You can buy anabolic drugs for sports, for drying, for mass and strength on the AnabolShop.org website! Look for them in convenient categories!
Good anabolism to all!