We've probably all heard of the Achilles tendon, hamstrings, glutes and quads but maybe fewer of us know about the soleus muscle.
What is the soleus muscle?
The soleus is a deep, pancake-like muscle—one of your three calf muscles—that extends from the Achilles tendon on the heel up behind your knee. It is responsible for plantar flexion, which means the push-off when you are running or walking.
Obviously, that push-off is crucial to the movement of running. And while the fast-twitch fibers of the gastrocnemius—or outer calf—are responsible for your explosive sprinting power, those lower, deeper muscles, which are full of slow-twitch fibres, are your distance muscles. The soleus is heavily relied upon for enduring mile after mile, which is why long-distance runners are usually the first ones to experience soreness and overuse pain in their soleus.
The soleus is often called a 'second heart' because of its ability to pump blood into the lower leg— and that means when its tight or lacks strength, it actually inhibits the flow of blood to your foot and ankle. In some cases, over time, the combination of micro tears and weakness means your calf area may literally lock up, making you unable to flex your foot and leaving you hobbling home. This is when you start to realise the role of this small, hidden muscle.
How the soleus muscle impacts your running
While true soleus injuries are rare, overuse—a dull, recurring, annoying pain—is very common in runners who often forget the fact that the calf is absorbing shock from every step. The muscles that are going to allow you to brake are your gastrocnemius and your soleus, in that order., therefore the soleus is the last muscle to absorb the shock. Midfoot and forefoot runners demand even more from their soleus; the fact of impact being absorbed by the ball of the foot is actually a protective measure to keep that shock from going right up into your knees. So if you want to transition to a more minimal style of running make sure you take it slowly and gradually build up the amount of time landing on the ball of your foot while also rolling, stretching and strengthening the soleus.
How to strengthen your soleus muscle
Fortunately, the soleus an easy muscle to strengthen if you give it some TLC. The most common strengthening exercise is a wall sit variation:
Begin in a seated position with your bare feet flat on the floor
Your knees should be at a 90-degree angle and your thighs parallel to the floor
Roll up on the balls of your feet to your end range of motion
Pause for a moment
Slowly return to the starting position
Do a set with your toes pointed straight out, then with your toes pointed inward, and lastly, your toes pointed outward
You may also perform this exercise one leg at a time to avoid compensation
Start with 5 reps x 3 sets then add a hand weight lying across thighs
Build to 10 reps x 3 sets over time
Alternate double leg sets with single leg sets
Don't forget to
add weight. When we run, it’s a single-leg stance and the force is two, three, four times our body weight. So bodyweight exercises alone aren’t going to help. Instead you can try:
Single-leg calf raises with a dumbbell in one hand
Single-leg deadlifts with dumbbells, or balancing on an unstable surface to work the deeper, slow-twitch muscle fibres
You may also want to add in the odd the treadmill session as there’s no lateral movement—no turning right here and left there or jumping over curbs—from your knees down, so it allows the soleus muscle to chill a little bit. Plus, it’s technically a softer surface. Those things add up to a little bit of a reduced impact on this area.
The soleus may not be the biggest muscle in the calf, but a little bit of strengthening can go a long way—and help you last much longer on the road.
from an article in Runners World , July 20
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