Muscle Memory

What is muscle memory?

Muscle memory is your ability to move in a particular way without thinking about it. You develop this type of memory through repetition and practice — doing the same task over and over again.

Let’s say the last time you rode a bicycle was when you were a kid. You used to ride to school every day. But as an adult, you haven’t had time to take your bicycle out of storage in the garage. If you decide to hop back on the bicycle today, you may feel a little shaky at first, but your body automatically knows what to do.

Other examples of muscle memory include:

• Typing on a keyboard.
• Driving a car.
• Tying your shoes.

It’s a type of long-term memory, housed under implicit or non-declarative memory. It’s a form of procedural memory.

How does muscle memory work?

Your brain and skeletal muscles work together to learn movements that eventually become automatic.

You train your muscles to do a task. As your muscles don’t have the capacity to retain memories like your brain does, they increase the amount of muscle fiber nuclei (myonuclei) within the trained muscle cells. Think of these as crew members on a boat. The more crew members rowing the boat, the better it will perform in a race. As myonuclei increase, so does your muscle mass. This helps you build strength so you can perform the task with ease.

What are the stages of muscle memory?

Your muscle memory works in phases or stages. You need to physically perform a task several times until the task becomes automatic. This is how your procedural memory learns. The phases include:

1. Cognitive phase. You think about doing the task as you do it. For example: You count the steps of the dance as you move your body.
2. Associative phase. The task improves with repetition and practice. You don’t need to think as much about the steps of the task in order to complete it. For example, you replay the same song several times and practice the dance from start to finish to improve your dancing skills. It becomes easier to do the more you do it.
3. Autonomous phase. You’ve practiced the task enough that you no longer have to think about it to do it. It happens automatically. For example, when the song plays, you start dancing.

How long does muscle memory take to establish?

There isn’t a set amount of time that’s right for everyone. A lot of factors go into the length of time it could take for you to learn something until the behavior becomes automatic, including:

• Complexity: How difficult the task is
• Frequency: How often you practice
• Experience: How familiar you are with the task

How long does muscle memory last?

The exact length of time is unknown. In some cases, you may have it your entire life. Research is ongoing to learn more about how long you can retain muscle memory.

How long does muscle memory take to come back?

The amount of time it takes varies from person to person. Having previously learned a skill means that you could significantly reduce your relearning time. The knowledge of the skill is in your brain, but your muscles need retraining to get in shape again.

For example, if you played basketball regularly but stopped playing at the end of a season, you’ll still be able to pick up a basketball and shoot hoops in your free time. Your brain still remembers how to play and your muscles still have the myonuclei within previously trained muscle cells. You still have the motor memory that allows you to pick up the ball and dribble it. But your speed and accuracy may not be where it used to be without practice.

Many factors go into the amount of time you’ll need to get back into physical shape, including:

• How much time you took off.
• Your general health.
• Your physical activity level.

Where is muscle memory stored?

You store your muscle memory in your brain, not your muscles. Long-term memories form in your hippocampus (in your temporal lobe). Muscle memory is a type of non-declarative, procedural memory. These are stored in your frontal lobe (motor cortex), cerebellum and forebrain (striatum).