Walking Backwards at 71: Better Balance, Stronger Legs and a Sharper Brain
The short version: Kathy and I now walk backwards for part of our daily walk. It trains balance without your eyes leading the way, and it works the leg muscles differently than walking forward. A small 2022 study of adults 60 to 79 found that eight weeks of backwards walking improved walking speed and mobility scores. Do it on a flat, empty path, and hold a friend’s shoulder if you don’t feel steady.
Walking backwards. That’s right, walking backwards.
I walk every morning, about two miles, and another mile in the evening. My target isn’t distance, it’s 7,500 steps a day (I explain why in The 10,000 Steps Myth). That’s the number where a Harvard study of 16,741 women averaging age 72 found the drop in mortality risk leveled off.
Lately my wife Kathy and I (we walk together most mornings) have started walking backwards for part of the walk, and it turns out to be one of the best things I’ve added.
1. It Trains Your Balance
Balance is not a small thing after 70. According to the CDC, about 1 in 4 older adults falls every year, and falls are the leading cause of injury death for adults 65 and older. Anything that trains balance is worth doing. It’s the same reason I walk curbs, do heel-to-toe walking, and take falls so seriously. Half the funerals I have been to lately were from falling down.
Walking backwards forces your body to balance without your eyes leading the way. In a small 2022 study of adults aged 60 to 79, eight weeks of backwards walking training improved walking speed and Timed Up and Go scores. Forward walking training did too, so backwards walking isn’t magic. It’s a different challenge you can add to the walk you already take.
Do it safely. If you don’t feel steady, walk with a friend and hold their shoulder while you both go backwards. Choose a flat, empty path. The goal is better balance, not a fall.
2. It Works Your Legs Differently
Going backwards puts different demands on your quadriceps, calves, hamstrings and glutes than walking forward does. UCLA Health notes that it uses the same muscle groups in different ways and may be easier on the knees and hips.
The hill on my route proved it. I can walk up it forward at a strong pace, and on flat ground I can almost jog backwards. Going up that hill backwards, I made it only about 250 feet before I had to stop. I took shorter steps and had to concentrate on every one. A 2016 study found that walking backwards on a 10% incline improved balance, step length and walking speed more than walking forward. Those subjects were young adults, but I’m not waiting for the over-70 version.
3. It Makes Your Brain Work
When you walk backwards, you’re doing something your brain doesn’t do on autopilot, so it has to keep up. In a set of six experiments published in Cognition in 2019, researchers found that moving backwards, and in some cases only imagining it, improved people’s recall. It’s early research, but a brain that’s being challenged is a brain that’s working.
Thanks, Robert
This post exists because of my friend Robert, who I’ve known since second grade. When I told him I’d started walking backwards, he said I should do a show about it. So Robert, this one’s yours.
My plan: keep walking that hill backwards until I can make it all the way up. I’ll let you know when I get there.
Want to see the rest of what I do? Here are my protocols, my fitness routine, and my tests and stats.
Live long and prosper,
Gary
A note from Gary: I am not a doctor, and I am definitely not your doctor. Walking backwards carries a real fall risk, especially if you have balance or vision problems. Start on flat ground with someone beside you, and talk to your physician before you change anything.
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