Walking is absolutely free and doesn’t call for any specialized equipment or gym subscriptions. The majority of us walk without thinking about it. Since it doesn’t require any deliberate effort, many of us forget the advantages of walking for our health. But what would happen if we started going backwards instead of forwards, pushing our bodies and minds instead? This change in course not only necessitates more of our focus, but it also might have additional positive effects on our health.
Exercise doesn’t have to be challenging. Whether you are habitually active or not, even a brisk 10-minute daily walk can provide a number of health advantages and can contribute toward the minimum 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week advised by the World Health Organization.
But walking is trickier than most of us think. Our visual, vestibular (sensations connected to motions like twisting, spinning, or moving quickly), and proprioceptive (knowledge of where our bodies are in space) systems must work in unison to keep us upright. Our brains need more time to handle the additional demands of coordinating these systems when we walk backwards. However, this higher degree of difficulty also has higher health advantages.
Stability and balance are two of the advantages of walking backwards that have received the most research. For healthy persons and people with knee osteoarthritis, walking backwards can help with balance and forward gait (how a person walks). We take fewer, shorter steps when moving backwards, which improves the muscular endurance of the lower leg muscles while easing the strain on the joints.
As one of the most frequent causes of heel discomfort, adding changes in incline or drop can also improve the range of motion for joints and muscles, providing pain relief for disorders like plantar fasciitis.
Walking backwards alters our posture and makes use of more lumbar spine-supporting muscles, which suggests backward walking may be a particularly effective exercise for those with persistent lower back discomfort.
Even after a persistent stroke or neurological illness, patients’ balance and walking speed have been identified and treated using the backwards-walking method.
However, the advantages of altering course go beyond simply medicinal; a fascination with moving backwards has prompted studies to identify a number of additional advantages.
Walking normally can aid in weight maintenance, but walking backwards might be even more beneficial. One study found that women who completed a six-week backwards walk or run training program experienced reductions in body fat. The energy expenditure when walking backwards is almost 40% higher than when walking at the same speed forwards (6.0 Mets versus 4.3 Mets – one metabolic equivalent (Met) is the amount of oxygen consumed while sitting at rest).
When we are comfortable moving backward, moving on to running can increase the demands even further. Backward running, albeit frequently researched as a rehabilitation technique, strengthens the key muscles involved in straightening the knee, which benefits injury prevention as well as our capacity for power production and athletic performance.
Running continuously backward reduces the amount of energy we use when moving forward. Even seasoned runners who already have an efficient running style can benefit from these increases in running efficiency.
If running backwards is difficult for you because of space constraints, but walking backwards seems too simple, you can up the difficulty by beginning to pull weights. The knee extensor muscles are recruited more often when the overall load is increased, but you also put a lot of stress on your heart and lungs quickly.
The risk of injury when loading and dragging a sledge backwards is low because the sledge will likely not move if we are too exhausted. Young athletes can enhance their sprint speeds by pulling weights that are as small as 10% of their entire body weight, which can generate the right amount of resistance to drive noticeable improvements in lower limb power.
What to do first
Although it is simple, walking backwards is not necessarily straightforward. How can you incorporate walking backwards into your fitness routine, then?
To be safe, it’s preferable to start inside where you won’t smash into someone or outside in a flat, open place. When walking backwards, we’re more likely to miss obstructions and hazards that we could crash into or tumble over.
Refrain from bending your body and peering behind you. Roll through the foot from toe to heel, keeping your head and chest high. Reach back with your big toe on each step.
Whenever you need to, use the guide rails. Once you feel more comfortable walking backwards, you may start to speed things up and perhaps switch to a treadmill. Start out slowly when utilizing weights. Focus on doing several sets rather than going a long way, and bear in mind that you should first only try to retain the integrity of your technique throughout a 20-metre distance.
