"Sitting too much is not the same as exercising too little," says human performance researcher Marc T. Hamilton of the University of Houston. We often assume the solution to modern metabolic disease is sit less and move more. 💃 Both are true, but there’s nuance.

In 2022, Hamilton's lab identified an exercise approach to activate one of the body’s most metabolically unique muscles — the soleus, a small calf muscle that accounts for about 1% of body weight.

It’s nothing short of a contradiction. Smaller than most muscles, the soleus is somehow more metabolically active, and the most effective way to target it? Sitting. 🪑 What can the soleus pushup do for you?

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In the Hamilton study (published in the journal iScience), 25 participants did continuous soleus push-ups while researchers tracked metabolism. Basically, they just did a ton of seated calf raises. 

Compared to sitting still:

A 2025 Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome review found that 3 minutes of soleus pushups after 30 minutes of sitting cut insulin spikes 26% in at-risk adults. 

Early trials suggest that 8 minutes of soleus pushups can even support patients with existing heart disease, reducing harmful LDL cholesterol while having anti-inflammatory effects on the cardiovascular system. ❤

These studies are outliers, though, pitching sitting as part of the solution to metabolic diseases. Sitting is usually linked to poorer metabolic health and aging.

Americans sit 10 hours daily, on average, according to the CDC/NHANES, and it’s a habit that can wreak havoc on metabolic and functional health, contributing to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, dementia, joint pain, inflammation, arthritis, and frailty. 

Aging can worsen the risk, with an estimated 80% of adults aged 65+ will develop at least one chronic condition. 

Movement offsets metabolic decline, but even walking 🚶‍♀ (top research-backed longevity activity) activates the soleus less than the pushup.

In fact, the soleus pushup is the "exact opposite of walking,” Hamilton tells University of Houston reporters.

And, while most muscles are fueled by glycogen—a form of glucose stored in the liver and muscles 💪—the soleus is not. 

Training slow-twitch (endurance) fibers may be associated with muscle preservation, reduced inflammation, and better mitochondrial function in mice in aging studies, with mitochondria being a key hallmark of longevity.

The soleus is one of two major muscles in the calves, considered the body's "second heart" for its ability to pump blood back toward the heart, aiding in circulatory and vascular function. 

💫 The calves are linked to healthy aging and longevity in other ways, too:

Japan’s national fitness guidelines even feature calf raises among 3 core longevity exercises. ✅

⛔ This is not an excuse to sit more… Sitting is a metabolic risk, even with soleus pushups in your back pocket.

More than 90 minutes without moving promotes visceral fat accumulation — an inflammatory fat tied to brain fog, diabetes, and heart disease. 

There are a few other limitations.

Most soleus research is done in small trials, often with sedentary or metabolically-compromised adults. So the benefits for healthy adults need more data. 

‼ It also can’t rival the decades of evidence for cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle mass, and general movement in preventing heart attack, dementia, and death.

Sit with feet flat. Lift your heels while keeping the balls of your feet down. Lower slowly down. Repeat.

That’s it! 🥳

Time: Often done 30–60 minutes after eating, it’s been studied for 3 minutes up to 3 hours under supervision. For daily use, start with 3 minutes after a meal, or every 30 minutes of sitting, and build from there.

➕ For broader calf health: add standing calf raises and heel drops.
Aim for 3 sets of 10–20 reps, 3–5 days per week

At 1% of your body weight, the soleus is small but metabolically mighty. Whether it’s 3 hours or 3 minutes, strategically adding this exercise to your day may meaningfully improve blood sugar and metabolic health, one heel raise at a time.

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We asked, you answered: Would you give up salting food to add 2 years to your life?

“It’s more difficult when your spouse also cooks meals and thinks they are 'just adding a little salt…’” This is so relatable. Whether it’s a spouse, friend, or restaurant, navigating sodium intake when others season the food is tough! So, what can you control? Using the salt shaker.