Doping is Forever? Find Out What Your Muscles Remember.....

We all have those friends.....  The ones who are always seemingly in shape--effortlessly and obnoxiously to those of us who spend hours mastering our craft (or waistline).  

Obviously genetics play a hefty factor, but new research may indicate that there's more to it than that.  

Muscles actually have a memory of their former strength — and that memory may last indefinitely, says University of Oslo physiologist Kristian Gundersen in a recent NPR interview.  In fact, Gundersen's study seriously challenges the notion that muscles go back to their "starting condition" when you stop strength training.

Gundersen states, "Our findings suggest that there are permanent structural changes in the muscle. We don't know if they're really permanent, but they're very long-lasting in animals, at least."

How did they test it?

They tested with mice--putting them through a strength training regimen to build muscle strength in their hind legs (I envision Stuart Little meets Tony Horton--P90X Guru).  Strength training generates new muscle nuclei, which are "the small factories that will produce new muscle," says Gundersen.  

After a period of time, the mice were removed from their training regimen, and while they found that they did lose muscle mass, the mice still maintained the muscle nuclei--jump starters for retraining.

Let's Get Physical.  And Soon.....

Fact:  It's much easier to develop muscle nuclei when you're young.  

So, whatever the age, the studies are consistently showing to get active earlier with a regular cardiovascular and strength training program--as the effects will be both more significant and longer-lasting.

Implications for Athletes

The only down side from Gundersen's study might be for athletes who take performance enhancing supplements/treatments better known as "doping."  It is true that steroids can facilitate the adaptation of significantly more muscle nuclei and growth hormones can expedite their production.  So would it follow that if the development of muscle nuclei has been found to be at minimum semi-permanent--if not far more sustainable, so would the physiological adaptations gained from doping?  

Gundersen concludes:  "And then, I guess, it's reasonable to suggest that exclusion time after [a] doping offense should be forever."  This is certainly, at least, food for thought over an increasingly controversial topic.  

And for the Average Folks?  

Don't wait for the new year or for "the weather to turn" to begin strength training again.  It might just be easier to get back into shape than you thought.