Our muscles may actually possess a molecular memory in the form of epigenetic marks on our DNA. According to a study published in Scientific Reports, these chemical tags tell a tale of when skeletal muscles grew after exercise and could possibly help them grow bigger later on.
Although you might think that month-long resistance training class that you’ve been meaning to sign up for again was all for naught, your muscles might actually remember it.
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The study conducted by researchers at Keele University – which looked at over 850,000 sites on human DNA – contributes to the epigenetics of exercise.
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Their results show for the first time that epigenetic marks are not only adjusted as a result of resistance exercise, but can be remembered later on for muscle growth, even after the muscles may have returned back to their initial size.
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The results could have far-reaching influence on athletes who have been banned for using drugs to build muscles and enhance performance. It is possible these drugs could actually create long-term changes to the muscles, continuing to affect performance long after the athlete has served his or her short-term ban.
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[A]thletes may be able to improve their recovery from an injury and accompanying muscle loss if we can pinpoint the genes responsible for muscle memory, according to Dr. [Adam] Sharples.
Read full, original post: Muscles ‘Remember’ Previous Exercise in the Form of Epigenetic Tags on DNA
