Try this hack for back pain & weak knees

Sometimes to make progress, you’ve got to take a step back.

If you’re looking for an easy, effective and research-backed hack to elevate your routine (aren’t we all?) allow us to introduce walking backwards.

Why is walking backwards good for you? And what are the benefits?

1. Prevent and treat knee pain by strengthening and balancing the joints and muscles of the feet, calves and quads.
2. Ease chronic lower back pain by recruiting the muscles that support the spine and back.
3. Improve your posture. Many of us lean forward when we walk the traditional way, and there’s evidence that walking backwards can improve our posture by activating the posterior chain muscles that keep us upright.
4. Unlock better coordination by moving in a different way and improving your mind-body connection.
5. Run faster. One small study found that just one bout of backwards running for 5-7 minutes improved sprint times in experienced runners.

How to do it: First, go outside and find an open space with relatively even ground. Alternatively, use a largish room in your house, but make sure you remove the coffee table or kick any stray socks out of the way. Start slow. Focus on making contact with the front part of your foot first, then roll through to your heel. And maintain an upright position – it’s harder than it looks! If you’re practising walking backwards on a treadmill, keep the incline level and stay safe by holding onto the handrails.

Looking for more tiny health and well-being hacks? We’ve got 15 more right here.