Here’s an easy way to flip the switch walking routineexperts say, try backtracking.
Walking briskly is a simple form of exercise that has great mental benefits. physical benefits: Stronger bones and muscles, cardiovascular fitness, and reduced stress to name a few. However, like any training, playing horseshoes for health can be repetitive and even boring after a while.
Walking backwards, also known as retro walking or reverse walking, can add variety and value to your life. exercise habitsif done safely. Changing your orientation not only changes your perspective, but also puts different strains on your body.
Janet Dufec, a biomechanist and faculty member at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, studied the mechanics of both walking and landing from jumps to identify ways to prevent injury and improve physical performance. A former college basketball player and regular exerciser, she’s also done her fair share of backward walking.
In humans, reverse exercises can increase hamstring flexibility, strengthen underused muscles, and tax the mind as the body adapts to new movements and postures.
“I see a lot of people walking around the neighborhood, which is good,” she said. “But they’re still emphasizing the same elements of their structure over and over again. Walking backwards introduces an element of cross-training, making it a subtly different activity.”
on the treadmill
Kevin Patterson personal trainer In Nashville, Tennessee, we recommend treadmills as the safest place for retro walking. You can adjust it to a slower speed. But Patterson prefers to turn off the treadmill, which he calls a “deadmill,” and let his clients run the belt themselves.
“It may take a while to get the treadmill going, but from there, let the horsepower of the treadmill take over,” he said.
Patterson told all of his clients that he performs backward walks either as an “auxiliary exercise” (a weight training term for additional exercises aimed at working specific muscle groups) or during warm-ups. This activity usually makes up only a small portion of the training, he said.
“Treadmills are ideal for older customers because the handles are on the side, reducing the risk of falls,” he said.
take it off the treadmill
Dufek suggests turning your 1-minute backward walk into a 10-minute walk, increasing the time and distance as you feel comfortable.
You can also do it with your partner. Face to face and perhaps hold hands. One person walks backwards and the other person walks forward, monitoring the problem. Then switch positions.
“You start really slow at first, because there’s balance adjustment and brain retraining. You’re learning new skills,” Dufek says. “The way you use your muscles is different.”
Once you start running and get really good at it, give it a try. run a marathon backwards — 26.2 miles or 42.2 kilometers. Yes, people have done that.
Walking backwards as cross training
Dufek classifies backward walking as cross-training, or a form of incorporating combined movements into your fitness program. Performing a variety of exercises can help prevent overuse injuries that can occur after repeatedly using the same muscle group.
For many people, cross-training involves different activities and types of exercise. For example, one day you’ll run, the next day you’ll swim, and the third day you’ll do strength training. However, the changes required to step back work the same way, but at a micro level.
Can small adjustments make a big difference?Dufek, who was once an avid runner, said he owned several pairs of running shoes, but never wore the same pair two days in a row.
“The shoes had different wear levels and different designs,” she said. “Just changing that one element, in this case the footwear, puts a slightly different stress on the system.”
Retro walking as rehabilitation
Physical therapists teach some clients to walk backwards, which can be helpful after a knee injury or for those undergoing rehabilitation or recovering from surgery.
“The backward walk is very different from the forward walk, both from a force standpoint and from a movement pattern standpoint,” Dufek explained. Instead of landing heel-first, “you land forefoot first, often very gently and often without your heel touching the ground.”
“This reduces the range of motion of the knee joint, allowing you to be active without putting stress on the (knee) joint,” Dufec said.
Walking backwards also stretches your hamstring muscles, which are the muscle groups at the back of your thighs. Dufek is interested in finding out whether it improves balance and reduces weight. Risk of falling By activating the body’s senses, it is effective for elderly people.
Athletes do it naturally
There is nothing unnatural about walking backwards. In fact, running backwards is an important skill for top athletes.
Basketball players do that. The same goes for soccer players. American football players, especially defensive backs, do it continually.
“I was playing basketball and I probably spent 40 percent of my time playing defense and running backwards,” Dufek said.
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