Muscle Memory Phenomenon

[b52]

Now there is a scientific definition of this which is the motor movements stored in your brain. Like riding a bike, but there is a phenomenon known in weight training as muscle memory.

If someone takes time off from lifting, they are able to achieve their previous muscular size much faster, during a comeback, than if they just started working out. Appearing that your muscles have a memory of where they left off. Science doesn't have an exact answer, but the theory is that there are more than one nuclei in a muscle cell, and since the fascia has already been previously stretched that your muscles have a way easier time growing, because it's already done it before.

It's not fully understood, but I guess if you built a house for the first time it would take you a little while. If you were to build that same house again, it would take you much less time since you did it before.

Has anyone experienced this, and what are your thoughts? A friend of mine took over a year off from working out, and when he started hitting the gym again, he was back in awesome shape, in 2 months. I mean saggy, not impressive, to going back to full blown head turning physique again. It's like years worth of training, packed back on in months. Really makes you think

 

[Rocky83]

I have experienced this. I used to weight train heavily before I went into the Army and when I went in the military I lost a lot of muscle mass due to the fact that I was always training and running about 8 to 15 miles a day because of the units I was in, so I didn't have much time to weight train like I wanted to. Just wasn't able to get the correct calorie intake in to keep the mass. When I got out of the military I was able to slack off the cardio and refocus on weight training again it took me about 6 months to get back to a really good build.

 

[Magnesium]

I've experienced this a few times. Dropped nearly 40 pounds of almost all muscle for racing and I recovered most of it within a few months.
Just started lifting again after 2 years due to some health problems, and after 6 weeks I'm back to about 85% of where I was before I stopped weight wise. I have to slow myself down and do lighter weights until my body as a whole comes up to speed.

It helps that I always kept my nutrition under control so I didn't get flabby while eating a high protein diet to try and keep a positive nitrogen balance and trick my body from going catabolic on muscles. It seems to have helped, although definition suffered greatly.

 

[liftsiron]

I've seen happen over and over again.

 

[Neuromancer]

Yep, unfortunately I have done it a few times myself. The largest loss and subsequent regain was over 50 pounds after a very traumatic family ordeal put me off eating and training for a few years.

Sure is nice watching the muscle swell back up so quickly though.