curious question about retaining strength while not lifting

C

corndogggy

0
Earlier this year I started lifting for the first time in forever. Got pretty ripped, although I wasn't big. When I first started out, I took two 50 pound dumbbells and it was all I could do to do 6 inclined presses with them, I'd be shaking alot. I worked at it alot and finally got up to 17 reps.

This summer I got pretty sick and lost alot of strength, couldn't swim anymore, and gave up the lifting. Now I'm not a fattie, but I'm nowhere near as ripped as I was, and I don't feel nearly as strong. I might do these presses once a month at the most.

However, I can always still crank out the same 17 reps! Why is that? I can tell a huge difference in push-up performance, and my reps diminish, but not these inclined presses. I don't get it. It's not like I use my upper chest and shoulder muscles alot outside of lifting.

Anyway, just curious, figured one of the trainers had a good theory.
 
muscle memory. once your start to lift heavy. your muscle will remember how to contract that way. Though getting to new strength levels is hard to do, getting back to your old strength levels a lot easier. lets say you could bench 200 lbs after a year of working out and i took you another month to reach 205. then lets say you didnt workout at all for another year. and came back to the gym and could only do 120 lbs well since your body has already experienced working with that stress, the muscle s "remember" and it will only take you say 1/3 of the time say 3 months to get to where 1 year took you to get to before. now the shorter the break the quicker you can get back to where you were.
 
Correct: You've established the neurological firing that allows you to push that type of weight. There is a limit to it (past 50 lbs im sure youd require the muscle mass that got you there) but at the early stages it comes to a point of never having to look back.

Also, if you only do it once a month, your muscles are completely fresh and you probably have a huge adrenaline rush for the set. Your next set will drop off considerably though...you wont have the muscle endurance you used to.

Michael
 
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