Slacked off at the gym? Muscle memory can help you bounce back

04:04 |

by Brittney Melton

December 1, 2024

Good morning. This week, a new congressman nabs his great-grandfather's old office, the Trump team signed a key transition agreement with the Biden White House, and over 500 fossilized poops show how dinosaurs came to rule the Earth.

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Working out is a big part of my weekly routine. Not only do I enjoy it, I need it to feel balanced in my life. But during the holidays, it can be hard to keep that exercise routine. Between trips to visit family and friends, celebrations and shopping for gifts — on top of the normal day-to-day grind — the workout regime can get lost.

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I hate it when this happens. I will be on a streak, the holidays come, the streak is derailed and I have to work to make it a habit again. That in itself can feel scary: Am I about to be extra sore after going back after a little time off? Luckily, according to new research, I don’t have to sweat that.

This is due to muscle memory. When I think of the term I mostly think of the saying, “It's just like riding a bike,” but the brain-muscle connection is only part of the reasoning. Exercise scientists say they have discovered that muscle memory is more than neuromuscular conditioning. Changes deep inside our thread-like muscle cells may also explain why previously trained muscles grow back more quickly the second time around.

The study suggests this phenomenon has real staying power: People can tap into this "memory" and make up lost ground, even if they haven't picked up weights for more than two months. The beautiful thing about that number: It more than matches the length of the holiday season.

Bodybuilder Eeli Halonen, a doctoral student in exercise physiology at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, and his team ran a controlled experiment with more than 40 untrained people, putting them on a 20-week workout regimen. Here’s what their research found.

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The Week That Was

Illustration of the Massacre of Chinese Americans at Rock Springs, Wyoming. Published in Harper's Weekly, Sept. 26, 1885.

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The Chinese Exclusion Act of the 1800s is widely considered the first significant crackdown on immigration in American history. The story of the act has parallels to today and provides insight into the economic consequences of immigration restrictions and mass deportation. The Planet Money newsletter explores the economic and political factors that led to the act and what happened to the economy after it was passed.

A “pledge group” of biracial pastors, nonprofit leaders, lawyers and businesspeople of varying Christian denominations in Mobile, Ala., city meet twice a month. They aim to talk across their cultural differences to understand each other and the issues plaguing the Deep South. The concept grew out of conversations nearly a decade ago when four local pastors — two Black, two white — were together at an ecumenical function. The four men spent an hour talking about the racial divide in Mobile and decided to keep those talks going.

The 2023-'24 school year saw more international students in the U.S. than ever before. Over 1.1 million international students were in the nation during the last academic year, according to a survey of nearly 3,000 colleges and universities. But those increases could be threatened under the incoming Trump administration, which upended the lives of many international students and workers in its first term. A few schools have already recommended that their international students traveling overseas for winter break consider returning before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

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Podcast Picks

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked.

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: Serving you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, books, videogames and more. The Happy Hour team leaves room at the table for exploring a range of reactions and opinions on every bit of the pop universe.

🎧 The musical Wicked is a bold, revisionist take on The Wizard of Oz. It imagines that while in college, the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (Ariana Grande), were best friends. The sprawling film delivers lavish spectacle, costumes, music, and choreography. But does the long-awaited film live up to the hype?

Points North, via Interlochen Public Radio: An award-winning podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes. Through narrative, sound-rich journalism deeply rooted in a sense of place, each episode entertains, informs and surprises listeners everywhere.

🎧 Last December, Theresa Eischen was watching the news when a story caught her attention. The original Star Wars film was being translated into Anishinaabemowin, an endangered language. Theresa had zero voice acting experience, but she loves Star Wars and is fluent in Anishinaabemowin. So she auditioned to voice Princess Leia. It was a long shot.

American Experience Presents, via WGBH Radio: A fresh take on the iconic stories told on TV's most-watched history series. This podcast examines how three transformative figures, Joseph McCarthy, William Randolph Hearst and Sgt. Isaac Woodard shaped pivotal moments in 20th century America, bringing their stories to life for a new generation of listeners.

🎧 In 1950, an obscure senator from Wisconsin stood before a small crowd in Wheeling, W.V., and ignited a firestorm that would change American politics forever. With a single speech, Joseph McCarthy thrust himself into the national spotlight, brandishing accusations of Communist infiltration at the highest levels of government. But was there any truth to his claims? Discover the origins of McCarthyism in this three-part podcast series.

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This newsletter was edited by Carol Ritchie.

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