Let us guess, you’ve always been told to keep your eyes on the road when running? Sure, keeping an eye out prevents one from crashing into things and injuring oneself, but a popular technique is turning everything on its head (or at least back to front).
Running backwards, or “reverse running” as it’s also known, involves the individual doing just that. Whereas traditional running targets your glutes and hamstrings, reverse running works your quads and shins. This makes it a particularly good exercise following an injury to the knees or hips as it does not place as it places less stress on those joints.
Running in reverse can also improve your posture and balance because it requires you to be in a more upright position.
For those trying to burn calories, retro running also seems to have more benefits than its front-facing counterpart. Running backward burns double to triple the amount of calories, conditions the heart by 2-3 times more, and also strengthens the core by the same amount.
In addition, reverse running has the ability to enhance breathing efficiency, and can make you a better runner overall.
We do, however, recommend that you look behind yourself every now and again.
