Muscle Memory

Muscle memory are we starting from scratch after a break off training?

After recently changing jobs and moving house, I stopped training and went from about 11% body fat and looking muscular back to you average Joe in less than 3 months (not that I was Adonis when but I looked like I trained). However less than two weeks back into training and already my muscle bellies are looking a lot fuller and my mind muscle connection is back.

So why do I feel I have gained more muscle in the last ten days than I did in six months of training before???

It’s called muscle memory

When we build muscle we add stress to the fibres via overload, this in turn forces the muscle to acquire new nuclei (the brains of the muscle if you will) it is these nuclei that synthesize new muscle proteins and allow the muscle fibres to grow larger if the proper nutrients is present.

When we then stop training for a short amount of time the muscle will remain if enough of the right nutrients are given. However if left for long enough protein degradation rates will exceed that of protein synthesis, and the muscles will start to shrink, this is because the nuclei aren’t having to work as hard and their ability to synthesis protein and provide it to the muscle fibre starts to slow down. (Imagine the muscle fibre not been fed enough anymore because the brain is to slow to provide the nutrients needed at the rate required so malnutrition it wastes away)

HOWEVER the nuclei have just become lazy they don’t disappear once you have created them, they simply reduce the rate in which they synthesis protein. Once you have them, they will remain forever J good news.

SO when you finally start to train again, you don’t need to acquire these nuclei again they are already there so we can skip this step, as they are already there, ready to start synthesising protein again and allow the muscle fibres to grow back at a much faster rate than if you had never had them before.

Basically once you take the time to add these nuclei they will never leave you and when you need them again to fuel your muscle to grow they just be sat there chilling, ready to get you Hench.

So yes our muscles do have memory J and that’s why we can get back our lost mass a lot faster than the first time we have to build it.

People who compete say your body will fight it once and then the second show is easier, this is why.

So there it is your excuse to stop training and go on that three summer session you have been dreaming of, see you at Halloween.

Keep reading for the geeky stuff.

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