BACKWARDS RUNNING
Robert K. Stevenson, N.D.

The following is not advocating this practice, but supplying initial information on what can be called a different lifestyle of running

Reader beware!

Dr. Stevenson as he crosses the finish
line at the Pigeon Pass Marathon.

In 1981 Doctor Robert K. Stevenson wrote and published an extraordinary book: BACKWARDS RUNNING. The following are excerpts from his book.

INTRODUCING BACKWARDS RUNNING

The secret is out: there’s a new way to run and jog which you can start benefiting from today. This new form of exercise is backwards running. For years backwards running has been practiced by a small but dedicated group of athletes. Many of these athletes are now champions in their respective sport. That this is so is no accident; for athletes who have incorporated backwards running into their workouts almost unanimously agree that the exercise gets you in super condition, and saves you time in doing so. This fact is very important since too many people - athletes and non-athletes alike - are not in good enough physical condition to enjoy life and sports the way they should. Such people often feel sorry for themselves, and will frequently complain to anyone who will listen about all their aches and pains and illnesses. Sometimes the negative atmosphere these people seem to love to create gets so overwhelming that no one within hearing distance can escape the depressing effects. One effective way, however, for you to rise above all this negativism and avoid the rut which produces it is to take up backwards running.

Backwards running, by vastly improving your physical condition, allows you to better achieve you full athletic potential. It also provides you with more energy and pep, which boots your morale as well as freeing up more time for enjoyable living. On top all this, backwards running restores balance to your body. Athletes who only rely on forwards running to get in condition invariably pay the price; they overdevelop certain sets of muscles, especially the hamstring (the muscle located on the backside of the leg between the knee and hip). An overdeveloped hamstring throws the body out of balance, and often leads to serious knee injuries, muscle pulls, swayback condition, persistent lower back pain and stiffness, and other physical problems. Backwards running, though, exercises complementary muscles to the hamstring; this promotes stronger muscle connections, increased stamina, quickness, improved posture - in short, all facets of your physical condition achieve greater perfection and a more harmonious state of balance.

The evidence in favor of backwards running is conclusive: anybody seriously interested in improving his athletic performance, physical condition, and outlook on life would do well to take a close look at backwards running and its benefits.

THE TECHNIQUE OF BACKWARDS RUNNING

The basic backwards running technique is quite easy to master. Simply turn in place; then, impart a slight backwards momentum, and you’re now on your way! When you run backwards, your body will be more erect than when you run forwards. Your shoulders will be drawn back, you’ll hold your head up, and your back will be straight. You’ll quickly notice that this posture you adopt while running backwards is far superior to the posture you often assume while running forwards.

Backwards running is like sprinting in a couple of ways: for one thing, it tires you out very quickly; for another, you run only on your toes and don’t land on your heels. The traditional heel-to-toe foot-strike which occurs during forwards running has been criticized by doctors because of its jarring impact, resulting in all sorts of injuries. this criticism is not unjustified. For example, several studies report that 33% of all runners have been sidelined with “runner”s knee.” In fact, it’s almost unheard of for any serious runner to have never suffered a debilitating foot injury. It’s for this reason that many doctors recommend that you take up walking or, if you are absolutely impelled to run, sprinting. They assert that sprinting leads to fewer injuries and is less jarring because the runner is on his toes. A little experimentation on your own should confirm this; you can really feel your back and spine compress when you run heel-to-toe, as well as the constant jolting on the knees. By contrast, you hardly feel anything when you run on your toes. If sprinting leads to fewer injuries, backwards running must be considered an even safer form of exercise. Backwards running is done at a much slower pace than sprinting; and, this slower pace virtually eliminates the occurrence of muscle pulls and tears, which are the bane of sprinters.
Many people wonder if backwards running is dangerous, since you can’t see what’s behind you. The answer is “not if you take the proper precautions.” In general, it’s safest to run backwards in thick grass at a park or in the soft sand at the beach. Il by chance your stumble and fall, it’s doubtful you’ll be hurt when you land in the grass or the sand.
No matter how safe the running condition, it’s wise to frequently look over your shoulder when running backwards. You’ll find that this precaution saves you from a lot of potential falls, and is easy to execute. You can look over you shoulder without breaking stride.

The surest way to eliminate worries about tripping and falling down while running backwards is to enlist the aid of a partner. While you run backwards, have your partner run forwards and keep an eye out for possible hazards. If you want, do this for a while, and then switch roles: you run forwards and be the scout while your partner runs backwards. Not only does this make running backwards safer, but also running with a partner adds a lot of fun to the workout.

BENEFITS OF BACKWARDS RUNNING

1. Aerobic training strengthens the muscles of respiration and tends to reduce the resistance to air flow, ultimately facilitating the rapid flow of air in and out of the lungs.

2. It improves the strength and pumping efficiency of the heart, enabling more blood to be pumped with each stroke. This improves the ability to more rapidly transport life sustaining oxygen from the lungs to the heart and to all parts of the body.

3. It tones up muscles throughout the body, thereby improving the general circulation, at times lowering the blood pressure and reducing the workload on the heart.

4. It causes an increase in the total amount of blood circulating through the body and increases the number of red blood cells and the amount of hemoglobin (matter which conveys oxygen to tissues), making the blood a more efficient oxygen carrier.

If you run backwards for one lap around the local track, you have done a respectable amount of aerobic. Exactly how much aerobic training you do when you run one lap backwards depends on many variables. However, many athletes find one lap of backwards running to be equivalent to 8 laps of forwards running, and this seems to be a reasonable comparison. Some people find this hard to believe - until they try to run a lap backwards themselves! Most of the skeptics gas out and/or their muscles tighten up, forcing them to quit way before finishing the lap. The message therefore is this; the first time you run backwards, expect to be unpleasantly surprised by how out of condition you are.

STRENGTHENS LEG MUSCLES

In general, a balanced and normal condition exists when your legs possess a 60-40 quadricep/hamstring strength ratio. (The quadricep is the muscle located on the front of the leg, between the knee and hip.) However, many athletes, especially long-distance runners, do not enjoy this balanced state in their legs; their quad/hamstring strength ration is 50-50, 40-60, or worse. This comes about when long-distance runners and other athletes train by only running forwards, which overdevelops the hamstring muscle; they aggravate matters even more by neglecting to do any strengthening exercises for their quadriceps, such as backwards running or various weightlifting drills (knee extension, squats, etc.). With an overdeveloped hamstring muscle, the athlete risks pulling or tearing his quadricep; this is most likely to occur during situations when the quadricep is called into action, such as when one must run uphill or sprint. Other injuries, particularly knee injuries, can also result.

Backwards running does a sensational job of strengthening the quadricep, and is one of the few natural ways to bring about in your leg a balanced 60-40 quad/hamstring strength ratio. In forwards running the quadriceps ca be strengthened by one’s running up hills; but, that’s non help for those of us living in the flatlands. As for the shin muscles, only backwards running seems capable of maximally developing them (remember: you’re pushing off on your toes). In fact, most athletes don’t even realize they possess shin muscles. They’re there, though, just waiting to be exercised.
The calf muscles are also vigorously acted upon by backwards running.
It’s no mistake to say that, with the exception of the hamstring, backwards running strengthens all your leg muscles.

The prevention of knee injury, as well as the rapid rehabilitation of the knee after incurring such an injury, are direct spin-off benefits from this strengthening of the leg muscles which backwards running brings about.

Once again, if you experiment on your own, you can actually feel how much easier backwards running is on your knees than forwards running. This is son despite the fact that backwards running more rigorously exercises the muscles connected to the knee tendons than does forward running. It seems somewhat paradoxical that backwards running can tremendously strengthen the knee while being easy on it at the same time; but, that’s been most athletes' experience with the exercise.