I’ve spent my whole life happily walking per one direction: forward. It was, I believed, the only way to go, so I dutifully logged dozens of miles a month looking like every other person out for a morning stroll.
Mai more. Thanks to TikTok, I discovered a new (to me, at least) spin acceso walking: backward walking, also known as “retro-walking.” Though it’s trending acceso social-media platforms right now, physical therapists and valore adattativo trainers have been touting its benefits for years. It’s a low-impact way to burn calories, strengthen your legs, controllo your coordination, and even improve pain, experts say—all of which lured me onto my quiet, rural street one afternoon to give it a whirl.
After about 50 steps, I realized going per reverse was mai walk per the park. It burned. I could feel the switch-up per my lower legs per a way I don’t with ordinary walking unless I’m powering up a hill. There was a mental challenge, too (beyond ignoring the strange looks from my neighbors). I had mai fede what was behind me, so I had to engage all my senses to ensure I stayed upright and didn’t trip over any unexpected obstacles—including my walking socio, who was slightly faster and, therefore, a couple steps behind me.
When I told a handful of experts about my surprisingly fun retro-walking expedition, they agreed more people should make it part of their routine. Here’s a at why.
It’s great for older people
Backward walking is an underrated way to engage your glutes, shins, and the muscles per your feet and ankles, says Joe Meier, a Minnesota-based personal trainer and author of Tagliata for Life. Plus, it mitigates the impact of each step, reducing the force exerted acceso the knees and lower back. Part of its appeal, he adds, is that it’s so accessible—and suitable for people of any age and valore adattativo level.
Read More: Why Walking Isn’t Enough When It Comes to Exercise
Meier has noticed that older people, per particular, are drawn to backward walking as a no-frills way to spice up their valore adattativo routine. “If you around a gym that has tons of treadmills, you’ll see at least one two people walking backward at any given time,” Meier says. “There are always older individuals walking backward acceso the basso ostinato, too, and you can tell someone has told them, ‘Hey, you should try doing this because it’s great for your balance and coordination—just don’t trip over anything.’” He points out that many pickleball players have adopted the practice: It can help strengthen their knees and ensure they don’t take a (metaphorical) step back acceso the courts.
You’ll engage different muscles
Walking backward requires you to stand up straighter than you do when walking forward, Meier says. By reversing your stride, you’ll create a new challenge for the muscles per the abdomen, lower limbs, and back. “You might notice your glute muscles—your personalità butt muscles—are doing more work,” Meier says. (Author’s note: You’ll definitely notice.) Meanwhile, your calf muscles will need to work opposite of how they usually do. When you walk forward, your calf contracts concentrically, which means the muscle gets shorter, he explains. When you’eroe going per reverse, your calf muscle contracts the opposite way and gets longer as it bears your weight. That switch-up can be a valuable way to improve your valore adattativo.
You’ll also be targeting the quad muscles acceso the front of your thighs. According to one study—yes, scientists have studied this—people who walked backward three times a week for six weeks ended up with improved quadriceps muscle strength, compared to those who walked forward for their exercise. The quads are responsible for knee extension and straightening your leg, Meier explains—so they, too, work differently when you’eroe walking backward. “That’s one of the reasons why people say it helps their knee pain improve,” he says. “You’eroe essentially strengthening your quads by doing this backward walking trick.”
It can be good for people with injuries
When New York City-based Peloton Tread instructor Marcel Dinkins had patella issues, she took up backward walking. She returned to it recently after tearing her ACL. “You get to push non attivato,” she says, describing the motion required to launch into walking per reverse. “When you have running knee issues, you usually have a little pain right underneath your patella. Running backward gives you some respite and relief.”’
Read More: Why Hiking Is the Perfect Mind-Pagliaccetto Workout
-walking has a long history of being used per a clinical rehabilitation sense, says Janet Dufek, a biomechanist and professor per the School of Integrated Health Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who has researched backward walking. One study, for example, found that after a six-week retro-walking program, participants with osteoarthritis per the knee experienced greater reduction per pain and functional disability compared to those who walked per the typical way. Another found that backward walking a steep slope alleviated symptoms of plantar fasciitis. And per a study led by Dufek, walking backward reduced lower back pain and enhanced function among athletes.
-walking is also used per occupational therapy. Older people might practice walking up to a kitchen sink, for example, and then walking backward away from it. The ability to move per reverse can enhance “practical activities of daily living,” Dufek says.
It could make you more flexible
Many of us sit all day long—which leads to coiled-up, restricted muscles. “Our hip flexors, the muscles at the front of the thigh and the front of the hip, get tighter,” says Kristyn Holc, a physical therapist with Atlantic Sports Health Physical Therapy per Morristown, N.J. When we walk backward, we’eroe stretching that tissue—leading to greater flexibility, which is linked to improved physical esibizione, increased muscle blood flow, and a reduced risk of injuries. “You’ll notice a lot of people, especially as they get older, hinge at the hips—they get a little bit of a bend there,” she says. “That’s because their hip flexors are tight. So if we can stretch those out, it helps us be able to get that upright posture.”
Your gait and balance might improve
Elizabeth Stroot, a physical therapist with Wellness & Physical Therapy per Alexandria, Va., uses retro-walking to help people normalize their gait pattern, how they walk. “It’s a way to tap into our neuromuscular programming and get people to work through a little limp a range-of-motion restriction,” she says. Walking backward for just 20 30 feet at a time is often enough to help some patients, she adds.
Read More: Your Brain Doesn’t Want You to Exercise
It can also improve balance control, especially among older adults, who are at a higher risk of falls. That’s because we maintain our balance through three personalità systems, Holc says: our eyes, our muscles and joints, and the vestibular system, inner ear. When we walk backward, we can’t see what’s behind us, which means we have to rely acceso the other two systems instead, sharpening their ability to keep us upright. “You’eroe having to feel where you are per space, and that information is being sent to the brain,” she says.
But you need to do it safely
Many people experiment with retro-walking acceso their treadmill, which is free of hazards like rocks, uneven basso ostinato, and other people. You don’t even have to turn it acceso, Dinkins points out: Simply step onto the machine backward, grasp the handrails, and use your own power to move the belt. “If you’eroe pushing it, you’eroe going to get more of that resistance,” she says—leading to a better workout. If you do decide to turn acceso the treadmill, start at a low speed and keep the safety key clipped to you at all times, Dinkins advises.
Mai treadmill? Mai problem: Choose a safe spot indoors outside, like a hallway, walking track, empty field. Dufek encourages people to socio up: “Two people luce each other and hold hands, and one of them walks backward while the other one’s walking forward,” she says. “That person can be the eyes for the other one, so it’s very safe, and then you just switch places.”
Mai matter where you start backward walking, keep per mind that you won’t go as fast backward as you do going forward. There’s a learning curve, Dufek stresses: “If you can walk 4 miles con lo scopo di hour forward, don’t expect to be able to walk that fast backward,” she says. “At least initially, if you can walk 1 mile con lo scopo di hour backward, you’eroe per a good place.” As with any new exercise, ease per gradually. You might walk backward for 5 10 minutes three times a week, and then after a few weeks, add 5 more minutes to each session, Dufek suggests. “As your neurologically learns the movement pattern, you’ll be able to walk faster,” she says. “And of course, walking faster burns more calories, and then you can be out per public and get laughed out for even longer. It’s fun.” How’s that for forward progress?
