muscle "memory" or just "getting it"

R

rachel3

Cathlete
Hi Cathe:
In anticipation of the upcoming dvds, I just wanted to comment on something I have noticed. Whenever a get a new video/workout routine there are always places in which the choreography is difficult for me. It doesn't have to be complex or anything, for a while I just don't "get it" on certain parts of any video. That said, once I have done the video a few times, the move will come to me effortlessly. For example, in IMax 2 the straddle taps, I didn't think I could ever do them at all, especially not within any finess! Then one day, I just did them and did them well. Is this muscle "memory" or do our brains just eventually "get it"?

Thanks,
Rachel
 
RE: muscle "memory" or just "getting it"

I'm not Cathe but...
I know what you mean and the straddle taps are a perfect example.

I seem to have this happen on moves that are counter-intuitive or not like the other moves I have done. Its almost as if my brain has to cut a new groove and not follow the old path. The straddle taps, for me have a different accent, like the first motion of the movement is NOT the first beat of the music measure, and for the most part when you start a move you start on the first beat (the down beat).

Once I get that new brain groove going (neural pathway?) then I 'get it'

-joy
 
The funny thing is that my very first Cathe cardio was MIC. I didn't think I would get anything on that entire video!! I just kept plugging for a couple of weeks and boom, the next thing you know it is effortless!
 
RE: muscle "memory" or just "getting it&...

I have found that I can master a difficult move by not getting frustrated and try, try, trying. Once I manage to do the correct move, it's "ah ha, that's it and I can feel what I need to do to do it again. I have also found that counting helps when a move is tricky. I know how many beats I need to move through and it somehow clicks.

I also find triple steps confouding and always modify them to 8 counts. I did CTX Step Intervals yesterday and there's a part where you go across the board, then triple around to the inside and triple back down the board. I go across and do an 8 count run, turn and end up in the right position for the next move.

I definitely think what you are doing is "getting it" but also feel we develop a memory in regard to these things. I haven't done CTX in a year but I fell right back into it. Having done these moves, they are stuck in ours brains and new ones are just a variation we need to learn!
Chicks's Rule! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif Bobbi
 
not getting it is good too!

The thing that keeps me coming back to a video is not "getting it." If I don't have the moves down then my brain has to concentrate and I am not thinking of the 1 million plus things I need to do or about whatever happened at work, school etc..Plus Cathe's coreography is the perfect combination of complexity and simplicity/athleticism. Enough to keep my brain a bit busy and enough to keep my heart pumping and the endorphines running! That said, I cannot wait until the new dvds are here!
 
Its funny you should bring this up. I think about how difficult the straddle taps used to be every time I do Imax 2. I never thought my 41 year old body would ever be able to master the straddle taps and the air-borne jacks. For a long time I would do a modification such as regular jacks instead of air-borne jacks. Then one day it just hit me (while doing #9) that I was ready to attempt them. And lo and behold I could do them!! At first I could only do a couple, but now I can easily do the routine. I had a similar experience with the straddle taps. Being able to achieve a tough exercise as one gets older feels great(I almost feel like my age is being reversed!!).
 
I think our muscles and minds are being stimulated to grow, or at least not atrophy. Both our minds and our bodies are becoming more agile, so hey, we are aging in reverse!
 
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