Muscle Memory

Muscle memory can best be described as a type of movement with which the muscles become familiar over time.  The only way for the muscles to become familiar to new activities is for you to learn how to do these things and then practice them with a great deal of trial and error. Gradually, as you become more skilled you are able to incorporate more complicated activities movements into your routine.

This is the body's natural pattern both cognitively and physically to do an exercise effortlessly. A trained athlete develops muscles that consistently perform the same exercise in the same manner each time. It is great for an athlete increasing a skill that needs duplication, like throwing a football, baseball, shooting a basket or a golf swing…and lifting weights.

In bodybuilding, muscle memory will allow you to train automatically, without conscious thought. If you have to stop and think about what is happening and what the proper movements are, you'll constantly be correcting and possible reinforcing a poor technique. It takes a tremendous amount of repetition to do things correctly and is easily lost without constant reinforcement. It also let's you turn your attention to the "big picture" e.g. to plan the next step in the work to be done, by taking over a large part of your "mental load".

Some argue that if you do the same workouts all the time the body just learns what you want it to do and doesn't really have to think about working at it anymore. Basically you are just "maintaining" maybe even losing some muscle by repetition. This is simply not true. As long as you are constantly applying the right amount of weight for your level, then muscle memory will ensure that you continue to perform your routine correctly. Remember practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.