EVER felt your fitness regime was heading into reverse gear? Yes, we've all been there -- but now comes a new workout phenomenon whose purpose is precisely that. Retro walking is big, and growing: what it involves is running (or walking) backwards, and increasing numbers of enthusiasts say it is giving their exercise program a whole new perspective. Indeed, so popular is this bizarre activity that events such as the New York Road Runners Backwards Mile are now being staged. This year's was held in Hudson River Park and was run, appropriately, on April 1. Meanwhile, backwards fun runs around Europe are attracting huge numbers of entrants.
Such is the growth of this sport that records are being set and broken at a far faster rate than those of forward-moving counterparts. Last year, Arthur Magni reached the finishing line of the New York event first, breaking the tape with his back in a time of six minutes 28 seconds while Timothy Badyna, known as Backwards Bud, back-pedalled his way through a full 41.9km marathon in under four hours. Why, you may ask? Proponents claim the technique is kinder to knee and hip joints, with less of the pounding associated with regular jogging and, inspiringly, burns a fifth more calories.
"Your balance increases. Your hearing increases. Your peripheral vision increases," Badyna says. One wonders whether neck strain from twisting to see where you are going is common, but Badyna insists that while being blindsided is a downside, as long as you run somewhere safe, you can cut down the chances of unforeseen obstacles in your way.
Remarkably, scientists are beginning to discover there is some truth in the claims of retro runners. A study conducted at South Africa's Stellenbosch University, published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine last year, found that backward training improved cardiorespiratory fitness while helping to streamline the physique of a group of novice runners. Researchers in the university's department of medical physiology looked at the effects of a six-week, thrice-weekly backward running program on female students compared with a group who stuck to their regular activity schedule. At the end of the study, the retro-runners were found to have significant decreases in oxygen consumption, meaning they had become aerobically fitter, and had lost an average 2.5 percent of their body fat. "Our results provide evidence that backward locomotion can improve cardiorespiratory fitness and possibly lead to positive body composition changes in young women," was the researchers' verdict.
Retro-running dates back to the 1970s, when a small group of physio-therapists began recommending it to injured athletes and footballers. There is less movement of the hips running this way which means impact on the joints decreases, making it an ideal substitute for rehabilitation from knee and back problems. "It's a reasonable way to incorporate another means of exercise to lessen the stress on any given part of the body," says Professor Barry Bates, a biomechanics researcher at the University of Oregon who has carried out extensive studies on the activity. His findings indicate that retro runners need move at only 80 percent of the speed of forward runners to gain the same physiological and fitness benefits.
Getting started requires some forward thinking. Aside from the fact that you are going to attract some bemused glances should you step backwards out of your front door and proceed to retro-run down the local high street, there is the significant drawback of a lack of hindsight. Professor Jon Wang, an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Arizona and an adviser to Runner's World magazine, recommends newcomers to start somewhere safe such as a track or familiar road where you will avoid potholes, road signs and other hazards. He says backwards running works well as part of a cool-down at the end of a gym session. "Easing into a gentle backwards run lets you gradually decrease your heart rate, and it stretches your calf, quadricep and hamstring muscles, which have all been working hard during forward running," Wang says.
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