#muscle-memory

#muscle-memory

Muscle memory refers to procedural memory, actions taken that do not require conscious thought (like riding a bike) as the motor movement has been embedded in the brain through repetition. Contextual mistakes in muscle memory—such as someone attempting to zoom in while drawing on paper versus a tablet computer or double-tapping a photograph instead of a social media feed—prove a potent starting point for Doe's latest body of work.

In 2018, Sharples and his research lab, now at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, were the first to show that exercise could change how our muscle-building genes work over the long term. The genes themselves don't change, but repeated periods of exertion turns certain genes on, spurring cells to build muscle mass more quickly than before. These epigenetic changes have a lasting effect: Your muscles remember these periods of strength and respond favorably in the future.