Rhythm & Moves 💙 The Life-changing Benefits Of Increasing Muscle Memory

 

The Life-changing Benefits of Increasing Muscle Memory 

You know how a good action flick gets your heart pumping? How experiencing a new destination gives you a sense of awe? How a yummy taste of a new ice cream flavor gives you a burst of joy?

Conversely, how boring it would be to see the same movie over and over again? Stay home 24/7? Eat only vanilla ice cream for the rest of our lives? 

Mixing it up is one of life’s biggest pleasures. Otherwise, we would be bored to death – literally.

The human body is a miraculous and complex machine that is constantly changing and adapting. Like our psyche, our bodies and brain thrive on change. The more we challenge ourselves mentally and physically, the more energized, healthy, and youthful our lives. 

Mental muscle memory is the ability to perform a task without conscious thought or effort. as the result of repeated practice. Neuroplasticity is the physical change that happens to our brain in response to repetition.

You know how learning a new Mojo maneuver you couldn’t do weeks ago gives you a burst of joy and achievement? That is your neuroplasty getting a delicious boost.

When a task is performed repeatedly, the brain creates a neural pathway that connects the muscles involved in the task to the brain. This pathway allows the muscles to contract and relax in the correct order to perform the task without the brain having to consciously think about it.

When we continuously try new things or allow ourselves to experience new, somewhat uncomfortable situations, our brains create new neural pathways that help us learn and remember information.

Doing this on a regular basis is another way to strengthen, empower and add joy to our lives:

• Learn new skills more quickly and easily. This is because muscle memory allows us to practice and refine movements without having to consciously think about them. This can be helpful for learning new sports, musical instruments, or other complex skills.
• Perform tasks more accurately and efficiently. This is because muscle memory allows us to coordinate our movements without having to consciously think about them. This can be helpful for tasks such as cooking, driving, or typing.
• Maintain old skills. If we do not use a skill for a while, the muscle memory for that skill will start to fade. However, if we practice the skill again, the muscle memory will come back. This is why it is important to practice skills that we want to maintain, even if we do not use them very often.

In Mojo we’re constantly weaving between new and old songs and movements.

Not only is this excellent for the creation of new neural pathways, but it happens to be a perfect equation for keeping our muscles alive from head to toe.

Like our psyche and our brain, our muscles are high maintenance. Not only do they crave challenges multiple times a week, but they also need to be “entertained” or they get bored – aka. plateau.

Our bodies plateau when we do the same exercise over and over again because our bodies adapt to the stress of the exercise and become more efficient at doing it. This means that we burn fewer calories when we do the same exercise, even if we do it for the same amount of time or intensity.

What to do to prevent plateauing? 
A strength trainer’s typical solution to plateauing is, “lift heavier, lift more frequently, with more repetitions, etc”.

While these solutions may make someone stronger, they are short-term solutions. In the long run, it’s putting incremental, unsustainable pressure on your joints. 

In Mojo, we have a much more effective, sustainable and FUN solution to plateauing…

• Every single routine is designed with challenging HIIT-inspired cardio and strengthening training techniques
• No two classes are alike. We mix up the playlist in every single class. 
• We are constantly bringing new songs and maneuvers designed to ASK our muscles out to play. 
• Because we avoid dangerously repetitive or strenuous movements, adding on Mojo classes Mojo classes to your regimen is no problem – as long as you listen to your body.

• After one week: No biggie, your body probably welcomes the opportunity to recover. Yet, if you’ve been using this time for cocktailing and dining, you might feel a little bloated (i.e. food baby) 
• Two weeks: Your fitness is on the downhill slide. The number of mitochondria (cell fuel) decreases and your cardio endurance is the first to go.
• One Month: Most of your cardio and strength gains from the past have gone kaput. You’re sporting less lean muscle mass and more body fat. Plus, stress has a tighter hold on you. Without exercise supporting your circadian rhythms, getting a good night’s sleep may be a challenge.
• A few months: Your metabolism joins the ranks of things to go. Besides burning fewer calories, you will feel more fatigued which means you will burn fewer calories, your heart has to work harder with every beat, and your lungs don’t absorb as much oxygen as they used to (putting respiratory and organ health at risk)
• A year: Aside from a soaring body-fat percentage, complete loss of muscle and sluggish metabolism, you’re at greater risk for high blood pressure, disease and high cholesterol.