Calf raises better than meds to lower blood sugar levels and increase metabolism

[Elie]

Could this simple "exercise" done seated have such a profound impact on sugar and lipid metabolism?
‘Special’ Muscle Can Promote Glucose and Fat Burning to Fuel Metabolism for Hours While Sitting - Neuroscience News

 

[Dolomite]

See also this post by @joaquin : Calf muscle and glucose metabolism

 

[RealNeat]

Could this simple "exercise" done seated have such a profound impact on sugar and lipid metabolism?
‘Special’ Muscle Can Promote Glucose and Fat Burning to Fuel Metabolism for Hours While Sitting - Neuroscience News

Amazon product ASIN B0B38YYNV5View: https://www.amazon.com/SPART-Tibialis-Anterior-Exercise-Equipment/dp/B0B38YYNV5/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=15SF8FCJITH1P&keywords=office%2Bcalf%2Braise%2Bmachine&qid=1663959040&sprefix=office%2Bcalf%2Braise%2Bmachine%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-2-spons&th=1

 

[EvanHinkle]

This is something else. My mind went right to “restless leg syndrome” as perhaps a protective mechanism for high blood sugar?

 

[Inaut]

I do calf raises at the end of my work outs Thanks for sharing

 

[aliml]

Sitting in the traditional Japanese posture (Seiza) may have the same benefits. The original idea of blood flow restriction training (Kaatsu) actually taken from Seiza.

 

[miquelangeles]

Maybe that’s why jumping rope is so effective for losing weight.

 

[RealNeat]

Now I know why this guy is ripped...


View: https://youtu.be/ZyRgRcHubV8


I'm buying a double pedal now.

 

[Mossy]

I wonder if the under-desk cycles would affect the calf muscles in the same way; as well as plyometrics.

 

[RealNeat]

I wonder if the under-desk cycles would affect the calf muscles in the same way; as well as plyometrics.

It seems a little too far off from what the guy is suggesting in the video. It's possible though.

 

[Elie]

See also this post by @joaquin : Calf muscle and glucose metabolism

thanks

 

[Elie]

Maybe that’s why jumping rope is so effective for losing weight.

oh? it is? how long?

 

[Elie]

Sitting in the traditional Japanese posture (Seiza) may have the same benefits. The original idea of blood flow restriction training (Kaatsu) actually taken from Seiza.

View attachment 42718

very cool. thanks for sharing.

 

[Elie]

Now I know why this guy is ripped...


View: https://youtu.be/ZyRgRcHubV8


I'm buying a double pedal now.

cool

 

[MarcelZD]

I am a bit sceptical about these findings. The calf muscle should be activated almost constantly even when you're just walking. The calf muscles are also notoriously resistant to hypertrophy exercises as many bodybuilders can attest.

It sounds too good and I personally haven't noticed any profound effects from doing calf exercises. Perhaps it would be more pronounced in completely untrianed individuals?

 

[David PS]

I am a bit sceptical about these findings. The calf muscle should be activated almost constantly even when you're just walking. The calf muscles are also notoriously resistant to hypertrophy exercises as many bodybuilders can attest.

It sounds too good and I personally haven't noticed any profound effects from doing calf exercises. Perhaps it would be more pronounced in completely untrianed individuals?

Do you need to focus on the exercises that work the soleus muscle?



WHAT AND WHERE IS SOLEUS MUSCLES?

The soleus muscle lies underneath the gastrocnemius, as shown in this picture, and overlaps in position with much of the gastrocnemius muscle bulk, hence the difficulty that can be found in differentiating between strains of the two muscles.



DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2 IMPORTANT CALF MUSCLES

The difference between the two lies in the fact that the gastrocnemius muscle crosses the back of the knee joint, meaning that it must be stretched with the knee straight. The soleus, in contrast, does not cross the back of the knee, and as such is more effectively stretched with the knee bent. For this reason, if you are only performing a straight knee stretch as part of your training or rehab, you will not be stretching the soleus muscle.





STRENGTHENING – CALF RAISES

For the same reasons, to target the soleus muscle in strengthening, performing calf raises with bent knees is preferable. This is a sensible addition to any training programme for those partaking in mid to long distance running.

 

[hierundjetzt]

Could this simple "exercise" done seated have such a profound impact on sugar and lipid metabolism?
‘Special’ Muscle Can Promote Glucose and Fat Burning to Fuel Metabolism for Hours While Sitting - Neuroscience News

Doing this soleus pushup 4.5 hours in a 7-8 hour period seems like a lot of movement to me...

 

[schmolch]

Doing this soleus pushup 4.5 hours in a 7-8 hour period seems like a lot of movement to me...

LOL, maybe they were inspired by Rich Piana's 8h arm workout.

 

[JohnA]

This is super interesting. Stanislav Pekarski wrote a book called "Essential hypertension as adaptation to excess gravitational stress." In it, he argues that humans are prone to hypertension because being bipedal can create large pressure gradients between our feet, heart, and heads when we are standing or sitting. As a result, hypertension can develop to ensure enough pressure to get blood to our brains.

Luckily, the soleus muscles work like a second heart and can help pump blood back up the body. But they only work when they are activated. If you read the full research report for this study, the authors explain how walking does stimulate these soleus muscles (albeit to a lesser extent than the Soleus push-up, they claim), but the blood glucose benefits end pretty shortly after you stop walking. So unless you have a treadmill desk, it's pretty much impossible to activate the soleus muscles enough during the office workday. This is why they had the subjects do the low-intensity soleus push-ups for so many hours each day. According to the study, the activated soleus muscles keep using blood glucose for energy and don't fatigue.

Putting that book and this article together, this is my theory: When we used to be active most of the waking day, our soleus muscles were constantly working, and we got the benefit of lower blood pressure and blood glucose levels. In our current sedentary environment where we're not continually activating our soleus muscles, our blood glucose stays elevated because the soleus muscles are not siphoning glucose out of the blood and our blood pressure increases because the soleus muscles are not pumping blood back up the body.

 

[Sefton10]