Exercising the plaque muscle even in a sitting position can help burn glucose and fat, scientists from the University of Houston found. Their work was published in the journal iScience.The cambal muscle, which is located at the back of the lower leg, is involved in standing and walking. Despite being only 1 percent of body weight, the plaque muscle is capable of increasing the rate of carbohydrate oxidation several times over. When the muscle is properly activated, this process lasts for hours. The other 600 muscles only burn a total of about 15% of carbohydrates within three hours of a meal.To activate the calf muscle, scientists suggest doing the following exercise while sitting: keep the front of the foot pressed firmly to the floor, pull the heel away, and when you reach maximum amplitude, put it back down. This will make the calf muscle shorter and naturally activate the cambal muscle.After activating the cambal muscle, participants were asked to drink water with sugar dissolved in it. The researchers analyzed blood counts for three hours afterward. On average, activation of the flounder muscle resulted in a 52% decrease in glucose levels and a 60% decrease in insulin requirements.The glycogen dependence of the flounder muscle is lower, and this helps it work for hours without effort or fatigue. The other muscles have a limit to muscle endurance due to glycogen stores.Activating the cambal muscle for 15 minutes a day is likely to help people reduce the damage from sitting for long periods of time and improve their metabolic health.
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