Walking Backwards Uphill at 71: How My Heart Workout Got Easier in Five Days
The short version: Last week I started walking backwards up the hill Kathy and I walk in the evenings. The first time, I had to take tiny steps and didn’t make it to the top. About five days later, I’m walking backwards uphill at my normal pace and have made it to the top several times. Pick something a little too hard, repeat it, and before long it isn’t hard anymore.
About a week ago I told you that Kathy and I walk backwards for part of our walks. I also walk up a hill in the evenings, because a hill is where my heart actually has to work. At the end of that post I said I’d keep at the hill until I could make it all the way up, and I’d let you know when I got there.
So here’s the update: I made it.
The First Try Humbled Me
I can walk backwards pretty well on flat ground. Uphill turned out to be a different animal. I had to take really small steps just to keep going, and I didn’t make it to the top.
Five Days Later
After about five days of walking backwards up the hill, I’m doing it at the same pace I walk forward on flat ground. I’m almost a minute past the spot where I gave out the first time, and I’ve made it to the top several times now. I’m still a little out of breath when I get there, which is the whole point.
Why Backwards Uphill Works the Heart
Walking backwards is harder work than walking forward. A 2005 paper in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine notes that the oxygen cost of walking backward at a given speed has been reported to be significantly greater than walking forward. Put that on a hill and your heart has to step up. Heart strength is the reason I’m doing this.
Why I Quit Walking Backwards Downhill
The first two or three times I reached the top, I turned around and walked backwards back down too. Downhill is much easier than uphill, I can tell you that. It was so easy it didn’t do much for my breathing, and it gave me one more chance to trip and fall. That trade wasn’t worth it, so now I walk backwards up the hill and come down the normal way.
The Real Lesson: Make It a Little Harder
This is the part that matters more than the hill. Challenge yourself. Pick something that’s a little harder than you can do today, and do it over and over. Before long, it won’t feel that challenging. Then go find the next hill.
If You Want to Try It
- Get comfortable walking backwards on flat ground first. Part 1 covers how to start.
- Pick a gentle, smooth slope with no curbs, potholes or traffic.
- Expect small steps at first. Your normal pace comes back faster than you’d think.
- Walk with someone who can watch the path ahead of you.
- Skip walking backwards downhill. It adds fall risk without doing much for your heart.
Want to see the rest of what I do? Here are my protocols, my fitness routine, and my tests and stats. And if you want to follow along day to day, join my Facebook group.
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, and doing it uphill raises your heart rate as well. Learn it on flat ground with someone beside you, and talk to your physician before you change anything.
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