Jennifer Rae Vliet
If you have trouble walking forwards with any kind of klutz curse like yours truly, this is something to be very careful about and best to use a treadmill with bars to hold on to with each hand to safely get acclimated, but wow, the benefits are amazing. Also, if you are concerned about the whole knees over toes thing, there is even a whole theory now out there about how that really isn't bad for the knees, and I suggest that this does go hand in hand in the research for walking backwards. There is even a YouTube channel called Knee Over Toe Guy. The goal is to not hurt oneself and get the maximum bennies out of walking backwards. Here we go...retro style!
What are the benefits of walking backwards?
Researchers say that with regular walking, the forward thrust or power is from your ankle. With backward walking, the power is from your hips and knees. This switch-up offers many benefits.
1. Builds muscle strength
When you walk, your gait or walking pattern is heel-to-toe. So with each step, your heel hits the ground first, followed by your toes. With backward walking, it's the opposite. Your toes hit the ground before your heel. This changes how the muscles work in your hips and legs.
The movement pattern in reverse or retro walking has been shown to make your legs work harder than walking forward. For example, as you walk backward, you engage the quadriceps at the front of your thigh to straighten your legs and propel you back. This can help you build lower-body muscle strength. Studies have shown that walking backward enhances quadriceps strength better than forward walking.
2. Improves balance and gait
Walking backward can improve gait, walking speed, and balance, especially after an injury or illness. One review found that when combined with other physical therapy treatments, retro walking improved gait and muscle strength in people with knee osteoarthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and ACL injuries.
Another study examined a backward walking training program in people who had a stroke. It improved balance and walking speed better than standing balance training. A more recent study had similar findings. People recovering from a stroke walked backward on a treadmill for 30 minutes three times a week. They had better balance, walking speed, and cardiorespiratory fitness in four weeks.
3. Burns more calories than forward walking
Because your muscles work harder, reverse walking can help you burn more calories than regular walking. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) found that walking briskly –– at 3.5 miles per hour –– burns 4.3 METs or metabolic equivalents. Walking backward, on the other hand, burns 6.0 METs.
A MET measures how much energy your body uses during physical activity. One MET, for example, is the amount of oxygen you use at rest. So according to the ACSM, reverse walking burns about 40% more calories per minute than walking briskly. This is a great way to raise the intensity of your exercises.
4. Boosts cardiorespiratory fitness
Walking is an excellent form of cardio that can boost your heart and lung health. Changing directions is effective, too. Reverse walking can improve your cardiorespiratory fitness, allowing your heart and lungs to provide oxygen more efficiently during exercise. In a small study, young women completed a backward walking and running training program. After 6 weeks, they had less body fat and better cardiorespiratory fitness.
5. Increases flexibility and range of motion
Retro walking changes your usual gait, which may improve your flexibility and range of motion and help with aches and pains. When you step backward, your knee straightens before your foot lands. This repeated movement can improve your range of motion if you have trouble extending your knee fully due to injury or illness. It can also boost flexibility in the ankles and hamstrings at the back of the thigh.
6. May help limit knee pain
Experts say that walking in reverse puts less pressure on the knee joint and kneecaps. It also strengthens the quads, which help support the knee. This may ease knee pain from illnesses or injuries like knee osteoarthritis and runner's knee. That explains why walking backward on a treadmill is one of many techniques that physical therapists use in rehabilitation programs.
The change in walking direction also engages low back muscles that stabilize your spine. Researchers believe this may help people with chronic low back pain.
7. Challenges your brain
Walking backwards is good for your brain, too. For many people, walking is an automatic process that doesn't need too much thought. But reverse walking challenges you to pay more attention and consciously think about how you move. This can help proprioception and body awareness as you move.
Learning new things, like mastering the retro walking technique, is one of many ways to keep your brain sharp. A study in Cognition found that people who walked backward — or even thought about it — had better short-term memory of past events.(SOURCE)
This is a great very short video from Dr. Patrick the motivationaldoc on YT ~
Why I WALK Backwards...This Can Change Your Life! Dr. Mandell
And of course, my favorite, Dr. Berg has a 2 minute video on how it can help your knee problems greatly!
Here are some controlled studies on retro walking to check out if that is your thing.
In summary, God gave us an amazing body and has designed our brain to right the body at all costs! Not only does Retro-Walking help the body in many ways as you can see but it challenges our noggin and as we age, that is always a good thing.
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