Muscle Memory - QUESTIONS

[HereWeGoAgain]

I used to be extensive on this board, some of you probably know me from my previous name ( LookingToCut ). Well I'm back.

If you don't know, I am 22 yrs old, 6'2, 270 lbs and like 22% BF. I'm trying to cut back down. Last time I was on the board ( about 3 years ago ) I was 6'2, 215 lbs @ 12% BF. As you can see, i've been out of the gym!


Anyways, how much of a role does Muscle Memory play?

How long does Muscle Memory stay effective? Will I be able to recoup faster being back in the gym daily, strict diet, and cardio now?

I have previously done (1) 13 week cycle ( T200, EQ, Winny )

I have ALOT of posts on here, diary of my cycle, and before/after pictures from before, however now I'm just trying to get back into things!

Any info on muscle memory for previous exerpeince would be huge!

[Logan13]

I used to be extensive on this board, some of you probably know me from my previous name ( LookingToCut ). Well I'm back.

If you don't know, I am 22 yrs old, 6'2, 270 lbs and like 22% BF. I'm trying to cut back down. Last time I was on the board ( about 3 years ago ) I was 6'2, 215 lbs @ 12% BF. As you can see, i've been out of the gym!


Anyways, how much of a role does Muscle Memory play?

How long does Muscle Memory stay effective? Will I be able to recoup faster being back in the gym daily, strict diet, and cardio now?

I have previously done (1) 13 week cycle ( T200, EQ, Winny )

I have ALOT of posts on here, diary of my cycle, and before/after pictures from before, however now I'm just trying to get back into things!

Any info on muscle memory for previous exerpeince would be huge!

Your body needs to build a framework to support new muscle. This includes: enlarging the fasia surrounding the muscle to support it, increasing the blood supply to that area to feed the larger mass, a denser bone structure to support the increased mass, and a nervous system expansion so that your body can put the new muscle to use. Even after you loose this muscle due to atrophy, the framework is still in place. This is what we call muscle memory. You will still have to work hard, just get in the gym and get the first week over with! But it will all start with your diet. You do not go up 10 percentage points in bodyfat from just not lifting, it is from your diet bro and inactivity.

[Stumbo]

I took about a year off of working out and lost around 40lbs. I gained about 20 back within a month. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It was almost too much for me, i was having clothing problems and my lower back was killing me.

However, you have been off for over 3 years, thats quite some time!

[DA-DOG]

Your diet will help you get into things a lot faster. No twinkies for You!

[magic32]

HereWeGoAgain, you should be less concerned about muscle memory and more concerned, as pointed out by Da-Dog, about Twinkie memory.

You’re making this a lot more complicated than it is.
The only memory you need is that of sound diet, exercise and discipline/consistency in both.

back to fold, now get crackin'.

Tack your old swim trunks (when you were LookingToCut) to the wall, and rent 'Pumping Iron' and 'Rocky III'.

M.

[HereWeGoAgain]

Thanks guys, yeah my diet is solid now. I know ( from research and learning from this board ) proper dieting, workout, etc. That is no problem, and I am back at it. I might not be 22%, maybe like 18%. It was a wild guess. I was just curious as to peoples personal experiences with muscle memory

[magic32]

This question is really invalid. Personal experience has to do with inherent characteristics. For example, (and these are hypothetical) "What is your personal experience with..."
Winstrol...I got cut up, but it hurt my knees.
Blondes...they're more fun, but not too bright.
Creatine...gained 7lbs, but had a moonface.
Dobermans...bitten as child, now I hate them.

Muscle memory, or getting back into shape, doesn't fit the schema (a mental codification of experience that includes a particular organized way of perceiving cognitively and/or responding to a complex situation or set of stimuli).

All one can really say is "If you were before, it will be easier to do so again", for a variety of physiological and psychological reasons.

M.

[marcus300]

Write up on muscle memory you may find it intresting-

Muscle Memory: Scientists May Have Unwittingly Uncovered Its Mystery
By Bryan Haycock, MS

Anyone who has lifted weights, on and off, for several years is familiar with the concept of "muscle memory". Muscle memory in this context refers to the observation that when a person begins lifting weights after a prolonged lay off, it is much easier to return to their previous levels of size and strength than it was to get there the first time around. Even when significant atrophy (muscle shrinking) has taken place during the layoff, previously hypertrophied muscle returns to its previous size more quickly than usual.

A recent study looking at fiber type conversions during muscle hypertrophy may have uncovered a possible mechanism for this phenomenon. For those of you not crazy about scientific lingo bear with me. Towards the end you will see what I’m getting at with this study. In this study the distribution of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms, fiber type composition, and fiber size of the vastus lateralis muscle were analyzed in a group of adult sedentary men before and after 3 months of resistance training and then again, after 3 months of detraining. Following the period of resistance training, MHC IIX content decreased from just over 9% to 2.0%, with a corresponding increase in MHC IIA (42% to 49%). Following detraining the amount of MHC IIX reached values that were higher than before and during resistance training, over 17%! As expected, significant hypertrophy was observed for the type II fibers after resistance training, and even remained larger than baseline after 3 months of detraining.

Myosin heavy chain isoforms, or MHCs, refer to the types of contractile protein you see in a given muscle fiber. MHCs determine how the muscle fiber functions. MHCs are what make a fiber "fast twitch", "slow twitch", or something in-between. Certain MHCs are known to undergo a change in response to resistance exercise. In this case, fibers that contain MHC IIX are fibers that aren’t really sure what kind of fiber they are until they are called to action. Once recruited, they become MHC IIAs. So, fibers containg MHC IIX proteins serve as a reservoir of sorts for muscle hypertrophy because the can transform themselves into fibers containing MHC IIX which grow easily in response to training.

Like any great study, these researchers found what they expected as well as a little extra that they didn’t. I think this study caught my attention because it showed a long-term alteration in skeletal muscle following resistance training. It has been this long-term change that has been the focus of my own training philosophy, which incorporates what I call "strategic deconditioning". This study showed that resistance training decreases the amount of MHC IIX while reciprocally increasing MHC IIA content. This was expected and has previously observed with changes in fiber type after resistance training. What they didn’t expect was that detraining following heavy-load resistance training seems to cause what they refer to as an "overshoot" or doubling in the percentage of MHC IIX isoforms, significantly higher than that measured at baseline. What does this mean? It could mean that there are more fibers available for hypertrophy (growth) after a lay off from training than there are before you start training. This could very well explain the "muscle memory" effect many of us have experienced ourselves. It may also have implications for natural bodybuilders looking to overcome long-standing plateaus.

There are a few questions that this study did not answer. For instance, they waited until 3 months after they stopped training before they took final measurements. It would have been nice if they had taken measurements regularly so that the optimal period of detraining could be identified corresponding to peak MHC IIX levels. Because it takes 3-4 weeks for these contractile muscle proteins to turn over, it would take longer than one month and probably less time than 6 months (previous research). Still the optimal time remains to be elucidated.

Also, how would these guys respond to the same training regimen after the detraining period? Would their quads grow to their previous trained size, or even further? How long would it take? These questions, if answered, may add a new twist to typical training regimens. It may very well be that extended breaks from training may actually allow greater growth over a 12-month period than if training is uninterrupted. For serious athletes and bodybuilders, this would be important information and could significantly extend their competitive careers

[InsaneInTheMembrane]

^^^^yeah, that

I went off for six months, after a few cycles, and lost most of my lean gains/strength AND gained a whopping 15% of fat.... then I got back into the training (clean) regimen for 3months, and started a 12 week cutting cycle (at week 12 now) and NOW I'm back at where I left...yeah, It was much much quicker.. in 6 months I got back what previously took 3 yrs to build... muscle memory...what magic!

[HereWeGoAgain]

But you are also on juice. I am staying natural now forever.