Muscle memory is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition. It is a neurological process that allows you to remember certain motor skills and perform them without conscious effort. Muscle memory is found in many everyday activities that become automatic and improve with practice, such as riding bikes, driving motor vehicles, playing ball sports, typing on keyboards, entering PINs, playing musical instruments, poker, martial arts, swimming, dancing, and drawing.

There are two different kinds of muscle memory: neurological and physiological. The neurological form of muscle memory is tied to the recall of learned activity, and it appears that our muscles are "remembering" specific movements. The physiological side of muscle memory has to do with the ability to quickly regain lost muscle. This is often seen in people who frequent the gym, then have a prolonged break in their routine. While they may lose muscle mass due to their inactivity, it will typically return more quickly than when they first put it on.

Muscle memory consolidation involves the continuous evolution of neural processes after practicing a task has stopped. The exact mechanism of motor memory consolidation within the brain is controversial, but most theories assume that there is a general redistribution of information across the brain from encoding to consolidation. Recent research has suggested that epigenetics may play a distinct role in orchestrating a muscle memory phenomenon.

In conclusion, muscle memory is a real phenomenon that allows us to remember motor skills and perform them without conscious effort. It is found in many everyday activities that become automatic and improve with practice. There are two different kinds of muscle memory: neurological and physiological. The exact mechanism of muscle memory consolidation within the brain is still being studied.