What is muscle memory? I mean my muscles dont remember a thing. My brain might (occasionally) but if my muscles had any memory after almost 30 years of bowling you think I could do it better than I do.

But on the serious side... I dont happen to subscribe to the premise that muscles repeat actions all on there own. That somehow you can teach your muscles and they will remember. And if you could there are so many involved why do we think it basically refers to armswing?

Convince me. I want to believe but I just have never been convinced.
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I've always thought that 'muscle memory' is really your subconscience mind.  You use your conscience mind to train the subconscience to perform automatically for you by repeated practise, then use a mental key to trigger the sub to take over.  

An infant has to learn to walk by balancing on their two feet and moving them.  That involves shifting the center of gravity constantly until they can walk.  How many muscles are involved in that?  Yet it is done or controlled by the sub after it has been trained by the conscience mind.  That is something that we dont even have to think about now but at one time we did.
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I just want 2C was'zzub.
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I am the SGT Schultz of bowling.
"I know nothing!"

Edited on 11/12/2004 7:37 PM

Muscle memory may be a misnomer but it is the best description available.

When you are answering posts do you think about each letter you are typing?  Do you look at the keys.  Most people don’t.  Your fingers have been “trained” to automatically go to the correct spot.  Try looking at the keyboard while you are typing.  Bet your speed slows way down and you make more mistakes.  The reason is you are thinking about each letter.  Unfortunately your muscles react faster than your thought process.

Same thing with bowling.  Remember the nights you were completely in the zone.  You weren’t thinking about each step of your delivery, you were just concentrating on your target and letting things happen naturally.

Once you start thinking, timing goes to crap along with your game.

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~~~SrK - Have balls, will travel

Spending the kids inheritance one tournament at a time.