What if there was a way to burn calories without leaving your desk?
Scientists have discovered that exercising a ‘special’ muscle in the calf can promote glucose and fat burning for hours while sitting.
One of the 600 muscles in the human body, the soleus is a posterior muscle of the lower leg that extends from just below the knee to the heel.
Although it only accounts for 1% of your body weight, your calf soleus muscle, if activated correctly, can significantly improve metabolic health in the rest of your body.
The groundbreaking discovery by Marc Hamilton, Professor of Health and Human Performance at the University of Houston, is set to change the sedentary lifestyle.
Hamilton has discovered ‘soleus flexion’ (SPU) for optimal muscle activation. The seemingly effortless exercise effectively elevates muscle metabolism for hours, even while sitting down.
Recently published in the journal iScience, Hamilton’s research indicates that soleus pushups are more effective than exercise, weight loss, and intermittent fasting in maintaining elevated oxidative metabolism and improving blood glucose regulation.
Oxidative metabolism is the process by which oxygen is used to burn metabolites such as blood glucose or fats. However, it depends on the immediate energy needs of the muscle when it is working.
‘We never dreamed that this muscle has this kind of ability. It’s been inside our bodies all along, but no one has investigated how to use it to optimize our health, until now,” said Hamilton.
“When properly activated, the soleus muscle can elevate local oxidative metabolism to high levels for hours, not just minutes.”
When SPU was tested, whole-body effects on blood chemistry included a 52% improvement in blood glucose (sugar) variation and 60% lower insulin requirements for three hours after ingesting a glucose drink.
How to do a soleus flexion?
- Start with your feet flat on the ground and your muscles relaxed.
- Raise your heel while the forefoot remains in place
- When your heel reaches the top of its range of motion, release your foot to come back down.
Exercising the soleus muscle was also found to be effective in doubling the normal rate of fat metabolism between meals and lowering blood fat levels.
“The soleus flex looks simple from the outside, but sometimes what we see with the naked eye is not the whole story. It’s a very specific move that right now requires wearable technology and expertise to optimize the health benefits,” Hamilton said.
While the SPU movement may look like walking while sitting, it’s the exact opposite, according to the researchers.
When walking, the body is designed to minimize the amount of energy used, due to how the soleus moves. Hamilton’s method turns this on its head and makes the soleus use as much energy as possible over an extended period of time.
PLUS : Electric bikes don’t help people achieve recommended levels of exercise
PLUS : How to stay motivated to exercise when it’s colder outside
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