If you have ever stepped back on a bike after years away and simply ridden off, you already know muscle memory is real. Your body remembers what you have trained it to do, often far longer than you would expect.
For athletes, that is one of the most encouraging things in sport. All the hard work you put in is still there, waiting for you.
What is muscle memory?
Muscle memory is the ability to perform a physical movement automatically, without conscious thought, because you have repeated it so many times. People use the phrase for two different things, and both matter when you return to sport.
Procedural or motor memory lives in your brain. When you repeat a movement, your brain builds strong pathways that make it smooth and automatic. Riding a bike, using a knife and fork, tying your shoelaces: you no longer think about any of them.
Cellular muscle memory lives in the muscle itself. It is the reason previously trained muscles regain size and strength faster after a period of rest than they took to build in the first place.
How your muscles remember
When a muscle grows through training, its cells take on extra nuclei, called myonuclei. These help the muscle build and maintain new tissue.
How long does it last in people? Human muscle cells have been estimated to be around 15 years old on average, which is where you will often hear “15 years” quoted. The human research is still being worked out, and it will vary with your age and the type of memory involved. What every athlete I have ever worked with can tell you is this: your body comes back quicker than you fear it will.
Why this matters to athletes
Knowing your training is stored in your body is a real confidence boost. It means a break is not the end of the road.
It also explains why rest and recovery matter so much. Every serious athlete knows R&R is part of training. Muscle memory is one more reason to respect it rather than fear it.
Taking a break: injury, off season or years away
Whether you are rehabilitating an injury or simply in your off season, there are things you can do to keep your body working for you rather than against you.
Stay active at a lower level. Fresh air, walking outdoors and light exercise all help your overall wellbeing and keep you moving while you are out of full training.
Choose movement that suits your injury. If you are recovering from an injury, pick a light exercise that is right for it, and follow the guidance of your physio or doctor.
When exercise is not possible yet. Sometimes an injury means you cannot train at all. This is where I use combinations of my balms to stimulate the muscles, tendons and joints through the character of their ingredients. The products I reach for are:
- Activator as step one, to kick start circulation and wake the muscles up without asking your body to work harder than it is ready to. A small amount is all you need. It turns to oil on the skin; wait five minutes before applying your step two product over it.
- Sherpa Rub or Extreme Sherpa Rub as step two.
- Qgel for the cool down part of your routine.
Coming back after years away
You may have been an athlete in your younger years and now feel your body wants to return to the sport you loved. I think that is wonderful.
Back on the ice, with Sherpa Rub in the kit bag.
You will still remember how to do it. Your performance will match your age, and it will take a little longer to reactivate, but you can absolutely be competitive again in your age category.
I know many professional athletes who retired, then took up a new sport or went back to their old one, only to find the same faces at the start line. They are all in the Senior or Veteran category now, and they are often more competitive than they ever were.
You are never too old. Your muscle memory still remembers.
Bridging the gap
Your muscles remember, but that does not mean everything else is where it used to be. Your mindset, your old injuries and your weak spots all need looking after as you rebuild.
That is why I developed Extreme Sherpa Rub. I made it for extreme ultra athletes who needed one product in the kit bag, where every gram counts, to protect their bodies under the hardest training. It gives your body extra support when you need to push your training back towards competition fitness, and it is the product I recommend most to athletes returning to sport, because it supports the areas that carry old injuries while you get fit again.
If you want everything for before, during and after training in one place, my Athlete Performance Care Box brings six products together for an active body.
Ask me about your body and your sport
I am always happy to give advice. Send me your sport, your level and any old injuries, and I will suggest a routine to get your body ready to reactivate. Get in touch.
Rebecca
