Mobilizing the soleus muscle of the calf helps burn fat and regulate blood sugar, while sitting!
- The human body gathers 600 muscles.
- Spending too much time in a seated position increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and dementia.
- To be less sedentary, you should combine cardiorespiratory activities such as walking or cycling, muscle strengthening and flexibility exercises.
We spend too much time sitting. According to’handles, 95% of the adult French population is exposed to a risk of deterioration in their health due to a lack of physical activity or excessive time spent sitting. To remedy this, you should move more, walking regularly, getting up more often from your chair and playing sports. Researchers at the University of Houston in the United States have found a simpler solution: mobilize the soleus muscle of the calf. They give more details in their study published on the site iScience.
The calf muscle pump to improve metabolic health
The soleus muscle of the calf is located at the back of the leg and it extends from below the knee to the heel. It makes up only 1% of total body weight, but according to the authors, it can “do great things to improve metabolic health“. For this, it must be correctly mobilized. The scientists, gathered around Marc Hamilton, director of this research, have developed a technique to use this muscle while sitting: the soleus pump. In a seated position, feet on the ground and the muscles relaxed, you have to lift the heel while the front of the foot stays in place.”When the heel reaches the peak of its range of motion, the foot is passively released to descend”, detail the authors. This movement increases oxygen consumption, while avoiding fatigue.
The soleus pump improves blood sugar regulation
In this new research, the authors explain that the soleus pump’s ability to maintain high oxidative metabolism to improve blood sugar regulation is more effective than any currently popular methods like exercise, weight loss, or intermittent fasting. . “Oxidative metabolism is the process by which oxygen is used to burn metabolites like blood glucose or fat“, they specify. This stimulation of the metabolism can last several hours, and will mobilize different sources of body energy: the glycogen used by the muscles, the fats but also the sugar. “Soleus’ less than normal dependence on glycogen helps it function for hours effortlessly, and without fatigue (…), as there is a definite limit to muscular endurance caused by exhaustion glycogen“, adds Marc Hamilton.
The Unique Effects of Soleus Muscle Activation on Metabolism
In one test, the effects of activating this muscle included a 52% improvement in blood sugar levels and a 60% decrease in insulin requirements within three hours of ingesting a glucose drink. It also doubles the normal rate of fat metabolism between meals, which lowers blood fat levels. “We are unaware of any pharmaceutical in existence or under study, whose effects on increasing and maintaining oxidative metabolism are of such magnitude.”, underlines the main author. With his team, he is working on techniques to teach people to perform this movement at home, without the laboratory equipment used during the study.
