The shape of the legs is not only formed by fat, but also by leg muscles. When doing leg shaping, many people focus on slimming the fat in the legs and do not pay attention to stretching the leg muscles. The leg muscles are composed of gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. So what do you think is the difference between gastrocnemius and soleus muscles? Let’s take a look together!
The difference between gastrocnemius and soleus muscles
The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles form the triceps surae muscle, which is one of the main muscles that maintain the human body upright. The gastrocnemius muscle plays a vital role in the human body's ability to stand, walk, run, and jump. If there is tension in the gastrocnemius muscle, it will undoubtedly have varying degrees of impact on standing, walking, running, and jumping.
Standing: When standing, the gastrocnemius muscles should contract moderately isometrically to maintain the stability of the ankle. Especially when a person stands on uneven ground, the muscles of the calf are controlled by the proprioceptive nerves to keep the ankle from over-flexing to one side to avoid excessive flexion of the ankle. A sprained foot or a fall.
Walking: refers to walking with two legs alternately stepping on the ground and reciprocating forward without obvious flexion and extension of the knee joint. The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the calf are the main driving muscles.
Running: The difference between running and walking is that when walking, one leg is in the air, that is, one swing leg and one supporting leg are alternately performed; while in running, there will be a moment when both feet are in the air at the same time.
Jump: Jump is divided into straight leg jump and bent leg jump. Whether jumping with straight legs or with bent legs, the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles on the back of the calf must be fully contracted to complete the rapid heel raising movement.
How to effectively stretch the soleus muscle
We said before that the two heads of the gastrocnemius muscle are attached to the thigh bone, and one head of the soleus muscle is attached to the calf bone, so when the knee joint is straightened, the gastrocnemius muscle is in a stretched state, and the soleus muscle is very It is difficult to stretch; when the knee joint is bent, the gastrocnemius muscle becomes relaxed, and the soleus muscle can be stretched.