Recent research led by Marc Hamilton, Professor of Human Health and Performance at the University of Houston, has come up with a groundbreaking discovery that can change a sedentary lifestyle: the soleus muscle in the legs is capable of activating metabolism and burning of fats in the rest of the body if it works correctly.
The soleus, a small muscle with many benefits
The soleus muscle (in Latin, soleus muscle) is a wide and thick muscle, located on the posterior aspect of the leg, below and behind the calves, which is directly involved in bipedal gait (standing). Its function is the plantar flexion or extension of the foot and the elevation of the heel in the standing position.
Despite its size, which only represents 1% of a person’s body weight, it is a very powerful muscle, vital for walking and running. Specifically, the soleus has an important function in the standing posture; if you weren’t constantly pulling, your body would fall forward.
The Hamilton’s investigationpublished in the journal iScience, suggests that the ability of soleus flexion to maintain elevated oxidative metabolism to improve blood glucose regulation is more effective than any popular method currently considered a solution, including exercise, weight loss, of weight and intermittent fasting.
Oxidative metabolism is the process by which oxygen is used to burn metabolites such as blood glucose or fat, but it depends, in part, on the immediate energy needs of the muscle when it is working. Glycogen is normally the predominant type of carbohydrate that fuels muscular exercise.
However, research has revealed that soleus has a much lower glycogen dependency and can use other types of fuels, such as glucose and fats in the blood, to be able to work for hours effortlessly and without fatigue during this type of exercise. muscle activity.
We never dreamed that this muscle has this kind of ability. It’s been inside our bodies all along, but no one has researched how to use it to optimize our health – until now. When properly activated, the soleus muscle can raise local oxidative metabolism to high levels for hours, not just minutes, and it does so by using a different fuel mix.
says Marc Hamilton.
The soleus flexion, the most effective exercise
This newly published study builds on years of research. Hamilton and his colleagues have developed an exercise they call soleus push-up (SPU), capable of activating the soleus muscle in a different way than when standing or walking.
The SPU specifically works the soleus and is performed in a very simple way: seated with the feet flat on the ground and the muscles relaxed, the heel rises while the front part of the foot remains fixed. When the heel reaches the top of its range of motion, the foot is passively released to come back down. The goal is to simultaneously shorten the calf muscle while the soleus is naturally activated by its motor neurons.
Although the movement performed in the PES may appear very similar to walking (although it is performed while sitting), it is 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 reverses this and makes the soleus use as much energy as possible over a long period of time.
The soleus flexion appears to the naked eye from the outside, but sometimes what we see with the naked eye is not the whole story. It is a very specific movement that we have studied in depth with wearable technology and our experience to optimize the health benefits
explains Hamilton.
Following this exciting finding, Hamilton and his fellow researchers are working on additional publications focused on how to instruct people to correctly learn this unique movement, but without the sophisticated laboratory equipment used in the study. Those responsible for the research also emphasize that it is not a miraculous exercise, but a powerful physiological movement that takes advantage of the unique characteristics of the soleus.