Muscle memory is your muscle’s ability to snap back into shape.
Coming off the tail end of a pandemic, muscle memory is something we should all be thankful for.
Have you ever gone through a time in your life (for instance, in the past year) where your fitness just fell completely off the wagon? Then, when you finally decided to take yourself back to the gym, your body bounced back and regained its former shape much quicker than you thought it would?
That is muscle memory; the ability of your muscles to ‘remember’ their former shape.
This phenomenon actually has to do with neural pathways that are created between the brain and body. When you rejoin your fitness journey after taking some time off, these pathways already exist.
Essentially, muscle memory is when these pathways reactivate, leading you back to your bikini body with less effort than you imagined.
READ MORE: How to Rewire your Brain for Fitness in 2020
There is no concrete information on how long muscle memory lasts as everyone’s body is different, but the general consensus is that it lasts anywhere from a few months, to your entire life.
The point is, it exists, and you can use it as motivation to get back to the gym. The US has made great strides in terms of vaccinations and it’s looking like we might be heading back to the beach this summer.
So if you feel intimidated by going back to the gym, just convince yourself that muscle memory is the answer to all your problems and get back on the fitness wagon!