Have you ever wondered why you can ride a bike perfectly even though you haven’t sat on it for years? Or thought about the fact that you can pick up playing the piano pretty quickly – it all comes back to muscle memory! This might confuse you, as you might believe that you have a bad memory in general, always forgetting names, misplacing items, and forgetting where you put them, sounds about right?
Well, muscle memory works a bit different as your brain is connected to your muscles, creating a special bond between them. This is why you are able to so effortlessly pick up riding a bike or a skateboard or even an instrument you haven’t touched in years. Here are some ways to enhance muscle memory!
Practice does make perfect
The saying practice makes perfect isn’t there for nothing. Every skill is best learned if the action is repeated over and over until it becomes ingrained in us. This is the sole purpose of muscle memory. As we practice more, we learn to do things automatically. The more often you repeatedly do something, the more your body will be familiar with it.
Practice builds the link between your mind and the muscle. But once you reach the level of mastery, your brain will remember it and apply it the next time you pick up that activity. This is why you can never forget how to ride a bike or how to ski, your body is simply used to it, and your brain to muscle reflexes already know what to do.
Take breaks
Sometimes you just can’t wait to learn a new skill or a new hobby, and it’s totally understandable, especially if the practice is enjoyable. If you’ve got the time and energy to practice something until you drop, why not do it, right? Well, you are not a robot.
Practicing way too much can sometimes be counterproductive, as shocking as it might sound. But, it makes sense as the experts at myisense.com/blogs/blog/improve-muscle-memory-with-better-sleep state that rest plays a big role in enhancing muscle memory. To achieve the best results, your body needs the proper rest. Your health is important, and it shouldn’t be played around with. Replacing sleep with practicing anything, from sports to instruments, won’t do you any good. The additional hours you want to put into practicing are better spent resting or sleeping. Let your body relax a bit!
Switch it up
Practicing regularly and repeating a particular action does make you learn the skill eventually. But you should consider other methods as well. A lot of people might not know this, but you can actually reach faster and better results if you switch your learning methods a little bit.
Our brains continuously need new info and materials to feed on, and if you are giving it the same old stuff again and again – it might not be as efficient to most people. So try to be creative about whatever you may be doing, be it learning to play that super hard song or doing an ollie on your skateboard. Try to trick yourself into thinking that you are learning something new – but in reality is the same old skill you’ve tried to get down in months!
Always learn new things
The best way to keep your brain active and to practice your memory is by doing new things and constantly trying to better yourself in already learned skills. We, as people, continuously need to do and learn new things. It’s simply in our nature. When getting started with a new skill it’s essential not to skip the simple and easy first steps, as they are extremely important in the long run.
It might seem insignificant, but those first baby steps are the starting point that pushes you further. Having a base to start with is vital, and it shouldn’t be so easily ignored, even if you really want to learn something fast. Every step of the way is important, but you are set for life once you get it.
Never give up
The bottom line is: you should never give up! It gets intimidating sometimes, and sure, learning any skill takes time and effort. But the beautiful thing about muscle memory is that once you know something – the knowledge stays with you for good. Building and enhancing your muscle memory is super important if you want to learn stuff fast and easy.
Be enthusiastic and creative while doing so. The creative approach will surely help your brain memorize specific stuff. Remember to stay safe and take your time to learn new skills and try to make this into a fun but efficient project!