- Walking provides many health benefits, including better heart and brain health.
- Walking backward may have additional brain and body benefits.
- Start slow and try adding some backward walking to your day.
You’ve likely heard it time and time again—walking is one of the best forms of exercise for your body and brain. In addition to being free and easy to do, walking has been associated with a boost in mood, improved fertility, weight loss, enhanced heart health and so much more. And if you’ve been convinced that only running and higher-impact exercise “counts” as “real exercise,” we can confirm that walking can be a legit, super-effective workout.
But how about walking backward—also known as retro walking?
“Our gait pattern changes when we walk backward…and the stride length is often shorter than when we are moving in a natural forward trajectory,” explains Erin Nitschke, Ed.D., a certified personal trainer and health coach, and a health and human performance college professor. “Walking backward is uniquely more challenging than walking ‘normally.'”
Besides being more challenging, what specific benefits does walking backward have—if any? And should you be doing it?
“Walking—and doing other motions—backward can be a way to add some locomotion to your training. It can be a new mental and physical challenge if you’ve never tried it before,” says Katie Kollath, M.S., a certified personal trainer and gym owner.
Since we utilize muscles differently and it’s a slightly more unnatural movement, Nitschke says it will likely burn more calories than walking forward because “the body has to work harder than if you were walking naturally.”
Research supports these ideas and more. For example, one review that included people with knee osteoarthritis suggests that when walking backward is combined with conventional knee rehabilitation, it significantly reduces knee pain and disability compared to the various control groups. Backward walking may also have positive effects for people who are rehabilitating from a stroke.
Another study reports that for people with flat feet, backward walking combined with conventional rehabilitation may better improve foot posture and enhance balance compared to physical therapy alone. When we walk forward, the heel strikes first; then we roll through the ball of the foot to the toes, where we push off to create forward momentum. In backward walking, the toe strikes first, then the ball of the foot, then the heel plants. It’s entirely different, says Nitschke, and this may benefit the foot and ankle.
If you’re looking to improve body composition, cardiopulmonary fitness, inflammation and metabolic markers, including blood sugar, there is evidence that backward walking may help with all that, too.
What about the brain? We already know that walking and physical activity in general boost brain health, including thinking skills and memory, as well as reducing dementia risk. So it makes sense that doing activities that require more attention and thought, like backward walking, will work the brain even more—which is a good thing. In fact, one study suggests that backward walking may improve global cognitive function better than forward walking in people with dementia. Global cognitive functioning relates to overall mental performance, including memory, attention, language, reasoning and problem solving.
Of course, walking backward can also provide a new challenge and combat any boredom you may be feeling with your regular exercise routine. And in the long run, this may help motivate you to get moving.
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Try Walking Backward
Individuals who have injuries for which exercise is not recommended, as well as those with balance concerns or any fall risk, should steer clear of backward walking. Otherwise, anyone who can safely walk forward should be able to practice walking backward, says Nitschke.
Nitschke recommends starting slow by adding a few minutes of backward walking to your warmup and cooldown. Compared to walking outdoors, a treadmill’s handrails can be helpful when starting to walk backward. If you have access to a treadmill, while facing backward and holding on to each handrail, try a slow speed of around 1 mph. Once you’re comfortable, pick up the pace, eventually working up to a brisker rate of about 3 mph, as long as it’s comfortable for you.
Though the treadmill has the advantage of handrails and a smooth surface, there is the disadvantage of not having as much control over your speed when your back is to the control panel, so be careful about how fast you set it to. Or practice outside on a surface with no obstacles (like large rocks or potholes). You could also use walking sticks if you need to hold something for balance.
Once you’ve mastered walking backward, Kollath recommends adding variations of movement, like shuffling backward and sideways and reverse bear crawls. “Moving in different directions—laterally, backward and diagonally—and in different planes is important in all of our fitness routines throughout life,” says Kollath.
Our Expert Take
Walking is one of the best exercises you can practice for your overall health, plus it’s essentially free. Frequent walking can help you live longer, boost your mood, strengthen your joints and muscles and more. Adding backward walking may enhance some of these benefits, including coordination and balance, physical endurance and brain function.
