Member-only story
Soleus Push-Ups — The Ultimate Workout?
A Bite-Size Read for Your Health and Waistline
We often hear about high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts as the best way to improve metabolism, burn fuel and get the biggest bang for your buck out of a workout. But what if it could be WAY easier and WAY less intense. In fact, you could do it while sitting at your desk all day!
Have you heard of soleus push-ups? Most likely not, considering the soleus muscle and corresponding exercise were first discussed in October of 2022. To understand, let’s start with the soleus muscle. It’s located in the back of the lower leg, between the calf and achilles tendon. This muscle accounts for half of the calf in combination with the gastrocnemius (the scientific name for the calf muscle).
What’s particularly interesting about the soleus muscle is two-fold:
1. It is difficult to fatigue. It’s designed to be used continuously for stabilizing the body while standing and walking.
2. It uses blood sugar and fats as fuel, rather than glycogen (stored carbohydrates) as other muscles do.
These elements combined prompted researchers to conclude that while the soleus muscle accounts for a mere 1% of the musculature in the human body, it may significantly improve metabolic health!
