We’ve all heard the saying “It’s like riding a bike”. This, of course, refers to the fact that once we have learnt to do a routine task, we never forget how to do that task. Even if it is a long time since we last performed that task we are able to do it again without any trouble or much if any thought. This is often referred to as ‘muscle memory’.
What do we really mean by muscle memory? This actually refers to the process by which the brain recalls a previously learnt movement pattern and performs that movement without any conscious thought.
Contrast this with when we try to perform a new task for the first time, even one that may be relatively simple. We tend to feel a bit wobbly, or uncoordinated, like when a baby takes its first tentative steps. These initial wobbly, stumbling steps are not the result of the fact that the child’s legs are too weak. Rather it is a result of the fact that the child’s brain is learning a new movement pattern and it takes time for the brain to lock this pattern down before it becomes natural.
Studies show that it takes around 300 repetitions of a new exercise or movement for the brain to fully map that movement pattern so that it becomes a simple as “riding a bike”. So for someone learning a new exercise, and who is doing 30 repetitions per session, it will likely take 10 sessions before that exercise becomes completely natural.
Crucially, the same studies have shown that it takes 3,000 repetitions to retrain the brain once it has learnt an incorrect movement pattern. That is 10 times more repetitions than in takes to learn a new movement pattern in the first place.
This demonstrates very clearly the importance of learning correct techniques for exercise from the start. Doing so not only ensures that you are completing the exercise safely, thus reducing the risk of injury, but it also allows you to progress an exercise faster, helping you to achieve your health and fitness goals faster.
That is why at Be Your Best Health and Fitness we have a particular focus on teaching proper exercise technique, with our small group sessions limited to a maximum of six people so that we can spend time ensuring that everyone learning a new exercise does so properly. This is also why every client completes a movement appraisal so we understand your current physical capabilities and limitations and we can identify movements that you may find difficult before you even start to do them.
Interested in learning proper technique and fast tracking your health and fitness goals?
If you are interested in ensuring that you learn the correct exercise techniques form the outset so you can achieve your health and fitness goals faster and safer, email us at Be Your Best Health & Fitness for a free consultation: [email protected]
