So having lost all gains through illness etc some time back I startedfrom square one. Now over 40 I was pleased to get back about 25-30 lb in the last 3 months, its muscle memory I guess and I notice fat remembers well too! Anyway, you ever had to start over after age 40ish? Interested in reading any experiences and thoughts on muscle memory
[quote]gswork wrote:
So having lost all gains through illness etc some time back I startedfrom square one. Now over 40 I was pleased to get back about 25-30 lb in the last 3 months, its muscle memory I guess and I notice fat remembers well too! Anyway, you ever had to start over after age 40ish? Interested in reading any experiences and thoughts on muscle memory[/quote]
I started again at 42 after about 15 years layoff. I knew sort of what to expect, but I had changed my training so much from what it had been when I was younger that I didn’t know how far it could go. It’s gone much further than anything I accomplished in my 20’s and I like to think I’m still improving.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
[quote]gswork wrote:
So having lost all gains through illness etc some time back I startedfrom square one. Now over 40 I was pleased to get back about 25-30 lb in the last 3 months, its muscle memory I guess and I notice fat remembers well too! Anyway, you ever had to start over after age 40ish? Interested in reading any experiences and thoughts on muscle memory[/quote]
I started again at 42 after about 15 years layoff. I knew sort of what to expect, but I had changed my training so much from what it had been when I was younger that I didn’t know how far it could go. It’s gone much further than anything I accomplished in my 20’s and I like to think I’m still improving.[/quote]
Do you think there was any ‘muscle memory’ after all that time?
[quote]gswork wrote:
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
[quote]gswork wrote:
So having lost all gains through illness etc some time back I startedfrom square one. Now over 40 I was pleased to get back about 25-30 lb in the last 3 months, its muscle memory I guess and I notice fat remembers well too! Anyway, you ever had to start over after age 40ish? Interested in reading any experiences and thoughts on muscle memory[/quote]
I started again at 42 after about 15 years layoff. I knew sort of what to expect, but I had changed my training so much from what it had been when I was younger that I didn’t know how far it could go. It’s gone much further than anything I accomplished in my 20’s and I like to think I’m still improving.[/quote]
Do you think there was any ‘muscle memory’ after all that time?[/quote]
I guess I didn’t address that, did I?
Long answer:
I think that having a history somewhere of having done weight training, it made it easier to know what the effects of training would be when I started up. So maybe I didn’t make a lot of the same mistakes as in my youth. What you call muscle-memory I would call nervous-system-memory. I think my brain remembers former capabilities and so the barriers aren’t as high to gaining back that strength as they were acquiring it the first time.
Short answer:
Yes.
It’s not just muscle memory…
When you’re young it is easier to split fibers (well bundles of muscle fibers covered in Endomysium). If you have then you have more bundles. It gets much harder to split as we age…
I’m praying for muscle memory right now, been on house arrest for almost a year and a half now, I’m 40, I have a bar in the garage, and I squat and bench once a week,(two workouts) thats all I,ve been doing, deads every 4th squat session, anyway managed to keep strength on lifts, but I look like shit. My Hope is that with muscle memory, and by keeping my strength, I shouild be able to shape up fast, when I finally get green light to go back to gym. mabey I’m dreaming.
Gswork goodluck on your come back
In my experience it goes a helluva lot faster the second time around. Call it muscle memory, experience or whatever.
Us ancients (I’m 42…) can blow away anyone roughly the same age that haven’t gone down that road before in terms of progress and getting ‘where we once were’, to put it that way. Getting beyond that is another kettle of fish. But it can be done, absolutely.
Fat remembers too… That’s a good one. Maybe it does 
Maybe part of muscle memory is knowing you could do it and therefore working that bit harder