Does Walking Backward Have Exercise Benefits?
Does Walking Backward Have Exercise Benefits?I’ve seen claims that walking backward gives you ten times the benefit of walking forward. Is that true? What are the exercise benefits of walking backward?Answer: A few small studies have shown that walking backward increases the heart rate when compared to walking forward at the same speed. The most recent peer-reviewed study I found concluded that it increased the heart rate by 17% to 20%. This would suggest that walking backward is a good interval training tactic to add bursts of higher intensity to a walking workout. But claims that it is 10 times better than forward walking are probably an exaggeration. Walking backward is touted as having many benefits in an opinion paper by Barry T. Bates, B.S.E., Ph.D. and Janet S. Dufek, Ph.D., FACSM. They studied backward walking and running in their laboratory at the University of Oregon. They concluded that backward walking and running improved cardiovascular function, improved muscle balance, a
