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Earlier this month, we saw a new world race record – more specifically, running back. In heels. Christian Roberto López Rodríguez claimed the fastest 100m backwards in high heels With an impressive weather of 16.55 seconds.
I may not define this kind of record, but I see that running back and many times as a trendy idea for the average runner. Sometimes called “Running Running”, that’s exactly what it looks like: the runners literally turn around and jogging behind. But does the current current really help to improve racing performance at the front, or is it just another fitness mode intended to fade?
Does running it back really helps?
From a physiological point of view, the backward race fundamentally modifies how your body moves and which muscles carry the workload. The physiotherapist Alex Lee explains the dramatic change that occurs when you reversed the direction: “Your quadriceps do the majority of the work to slow down your body. Your hamstrings also work differently because they do not push you forward. This variation reduces the stress of the knee joint, in particular ACL.” He also explains how to run back also means that your ankles “move with a greater dorsiflexion”, which leads to the balance and consciousness of the body, known as proprioception.
As any runner can attest to it, going slowly on the knees is a major draw. Lee notes additional advantages when he forms athletes, explaining how he incorporates the current to “protect their knees, develop the strength of the legs and improve coordination”.
Additional, not essential
Although the biomechanical advantages are real, Running Coach Will Baldwin offers a more measured approach to running running in training programs. “I think that the biggest advantage of running is that it helps you to engage a part of your posterior chain and your muscles which are generally not recruited in front operation, such as your glutes, some hamstrings, and this helps a little at your step back,” explains Baldwin.
However, it is quick to temper expectations concerning performance gains: “I do not think it makes runners more quickly. It is probably a good additional tool. I don’t even think it is a necessity in training, but it can certainly awaken muscles and can be a fun and different type of coordination skills on which to work which is always similar to the race.”
Baldwin’s perspective highlights crucial consideration in the philosophy of training – the principle of specificity. “The law of specificity applies here. If we want to improve a skill, we must practice this skill in the specific way of the way in which we want to compete. We must pay attention to the amount of time we waste, especially for occupied people. This could be a better time to do basic work or specific force training.”
For most recreational runners juggling with work, family and training, Baldwin suggests that the race to reverse falls into the category “pleasant to have” rather than “must have”: “you would really have to be someone with a lot of overtime to experience and play with things like this.”
Start safe
Running behind is at best clumsy and really risky at worst. You can fall and it is easy to twist your ankle or pull something because you cannot see where you land. If you want to experiment with the ride back, start in a conservative way. Baldwin suggests starting with walking: “If someone wanted to try it, I will start with walk back. Especially uphill, on a treadmill or outside, it can really hire, work and stretch certain muscles. It can be a fun skill to play with it, but I will certainly start walking before running back. “”
What do you think so far?
This progressive approach allows your body to adapt to different models of movement while minimizing the risk of injury. The treadmills provide an ideal controlled environment for the initial practice of backward movement, eliminating the danger of invisible obstacles.
According to Baldwin, the biggest concerns concern the efficiency of the training: “The lost time and the lack of specificity are probably the biggest, but again, not major.” For runners short of time, the opportunity cost of backward racing sessions could prevail over the additional advantages.
The bottom line
The back racing offers legitimate advantages – improved proprioception, reducing knee stress, improved muscle activation models and increased coordination.
However, for the average leisure runner who seeks to improve their front operating times, the race upside down is more a fun bonus activity, rather than a real game changer. Temporal investment could be better allocated to proven training methods such as tempo races, interval training, force work or simply the construction of a more advanced mileage.
The back race is comfortably found in the category of “useful but not essential” training methods. It is not the revolutionary breakthrough that certain social media publications could suggest, but it is also not entirely baseless. Like many fitness tendencies, the truth is somewhere between the two.
Thus, for runners with specific needs – such as the rehabilitation of knee injuries, athletes requiring increased proprioception, or those who simply seek variety in their drive routine – back racing can serve a precious objective. For everyone, there remains an interesting option to consider if the time and security conditions allow it, but not a priority that should move more fundamental aspects of the training.
