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Running back to front is more efficient and beneficial
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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If you like to run in the morning and generally lead a healthy lifestyle, then you are doing the right thing. After all, if you think about it, running is the cheapest, fastest and, perhaps, the most effective way to lose extra pounds and make your figure slimmer. In addition, jogging does not take that much time. In order to feel cheerful and get in the mood for the whole day, just a 20-30-minute run three or four times a week is enough.
Of course, there is a small problem that sometimes prevents us from starting our morning workouts. The name of this problem is laziness, which literally nails our heads to the pillow and does not allow us to get out of bed. Of course, you can persuade yourself and feed yourself with promises every day that tomorrow everything will be different. But we suggest paying attention to a new discovery by Italian scientists from the University of Milan, which you will certainly like and will surprise you a lot. It turns out that running backwards will help to engage other muscle groups that do not participate in the process during normal running. Isn't it a new motivation to help scientists and test their discovery on yourself?
Read also: Climbing stairs slowly helps burn more calories
This is not a joke, experts are quite serious in calling on people who lead a healthy lifestyle to join such runs. And to prove their point, experts explain why running backwards is so useful.
Firstly, this type of jogging will help you get rid of extra pounds faster, because it requires more energy than regular jogging, and this allows you to burn more calories. Scientists also note that when running backwards, the impact load on the foot decreases, and energy consumption increases by at least 30%.
"Running backwards, in addition to reducing the load on the foot, also reduces the impact on the knee joints," says lead author Dr. Giovanni Cavagna. "That is why this type of running may be the least dangerous for older people, especially those with joint diseases. Such runs at a slow pace will help to improve health and will not cause harm."
In addition to all the above-described advantages of running backwards, there is another one - excellent coordination of movements, which is important for older people who have the first signs of Parkinson's disease. Regular classes in this type of running will show the first results in just a few months.
The musculoskeletal system will be able to develop harmoniously, because running backwards activates those muscle groups that are not involved in our usual running.
And scientists from the University of Oregon add that people who practice running backwards do not need to bother themselves with too fast movement; they only need to develop a speed equal to 80% of the speed of a regular runner – the load will be identical.
Researchers from Stellenbosch University also did not stand aside and found that, among other things, this type of running helps strengthen the cardiovascular system.
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