Does Walking Backward Burn More Calories? What Retro Walking Research Actually Shows
Walking backward - sometimes called retro walking - has gone from a physical-therapy exercise to something people are deliberately adding to ordinary walks, on the theory that it burns more calories and works muscles a forward stride skips over. That theory holds up better than most fitness trends: there's an actual metabolic-equivalent rating for it and a randomized trial behind the strength claims. Here's what the numbers actually say, and a genuinely different question none of the usual retro walking articles answer - whether your iPhone or Apple Watch even registers it as a step.
The actual number: 6.0 METs versus 4.3
The Compendium of Physical Activities, the reference researchers use to assign a metabolic-equivalent (MET) value to a given activity, added backward walking as its own listed activity in the 2024 update. It rates walking backward at 6.0 METs, compared with 4.3 METs for brisk forward walking at 3.5 mph. Since calorie burn scales directly with MET value for a given body weight and duration, that's roughly 40% more energy expended per minute at those two reference paces.
The caveat that gets dropped from most headlines: those are reference paces, not a guarantee. Backward walking is self-limiting - most people naturally slow down and shorten their stride when they can't see where their foot is landing - so the real-world gap between your forward and backward pace matters more than the MET table alone. Someone who backs off to a cautious shuffle isn't hitting 6.0 METs just by facing the other way. The honest version of the claim is that backward walking, done at a normal effort for that movement, costs more energy per minute than the same person's brisk forward walk - not that flipping direction is a free 40% bonus regardless of pace.
What a 2019 randomized trial found about strength and pain
The most-cited evidence for retro walking's muscle and joint effects comes from a 2019 randomized controlled trial published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders by Alghadir, Anwer, Sarkar, Paul, and Anwar. The researchers split 68 adults with knee osteoarthritis into three groups - retro walking, forward walking, and a no-walking control - and had the two walking groups train three days a week for six weeks.
The retro walking group came out ahead on every measure the study tracked against the control group: a larger reduction in pain intensity, greater improvement in functional disability scores, and a bigger gain in quadriceps strength - a mean increase of 1.7 kilograms versus 0.7 kilograms in the control group (p = 0.008, meaning that difference is unlikely to be chance). It's a specific, mechanistic reason walking backward keeps showing up in physical therapy programs: the toe-to-heel motion recruits the quadriceps differently than a normal heel-to-toe stride, producing a strength stimulus a forward walk doesn't.
It's worth being precise about what this study does and doesn't show. It was conducted in adults with diagnosed knee osteoarthritis, not a general healthy population, and it measured six weeks of structured, supervised training rather than a few minutes tacked onto a daily walk. It's good evidence that retro walking has a real, measurable effect on quad strength and knee pain in that population - not proof that any amount of backward walking produces the same result for everyone.
Why it takes more coordination than walking forward
Part of why backward walking feels harder than the distance alone explains is that you're moving without the visual feedback you normally rely on. Forward walking is largely automatic - you're not consciously placing each foot. Walking backward takes away the ability to see the ground ahead, so your brain leans more on proprioception - the sense of where your limbs are in space - to place each step correctly. That's a real demand on balance and coordination, which is a large part of why physical therapists use it in balance and gait-rehab programs, not just for the strength effect covered above.
Practically, that means backward walking asks for a flat, obstacle -free space and your full attention in a way a normal walk doesn't. It's not a workout to do while scrolling your phone or catching up on a call.
Does your iPhone or Apple Watch actually count backward steps?
None of the retro walking coverage out there answers this, probably because it's a tracking question rather than a fitness one. As covered in Apple Watch vs. iPhone for step counting, both devices detect steps from a repeating motion signature - wrist swing for the Watch, pocket or hand motion for the iPhone - not from which direction you're traveling. A cadence is a cadence: the accelerometer isn't checking your heading, so a backward step with a normal stride and a normal (if reversed) arm swing registers the same way a forward one does.
Where it can quietly undercount is the same mechanism covered in why pushing a stroller undercounts steps: if you're walking slowly and cautiously with your arms held out for balance instead of swinging naturally - common for beginners still getting used to the movement - the suppressed arm motion can mean some of your actual steps go unregistered. The fix isn't different tracking settings; it's simply that your step count will more closely match your real effort once you're walking backward at a natural, confident pace instead of a tentative shuffle.
If you start a Workout in Stepzy before a backward-walking session, it reads whatever steps, distance, and duration Apple Health recorded for that window straight from the Workouts tab the same way it does for any other walk, so the session shows up in your history alongside everything else rather than needing a separate mode.
How to start walking backward without hurting yourself
- Pick a flat, clear, obstacle-free space. A long hallway, an empty track, or an open room works. Skip uneven ground, stairs, or anywhere with foot traffic you can't see coming.
- Start in short chunks. One to two minutes of backward walking mixed into a normal walk is enough to begin with. Build up gradually rather than trying ten minutes straight on day one.
- Use a toe-to-heel motion. Reach back with your toe first and roll through to your heel as your leg straightens, instead of trying to reverse a normal heel-to-toe stride.
- Keep your chest up and resist looking over your shoulder. Glance back briefly to check your path if you need to, then return to an upright posture rather than walking with your neck twisted the whole time.
- On a treadmill, slow down first. Start well below your normal walking speed, keep the safety key clipped on, and hold the side rails until you're confident with the movement.
- Check with a doctor first if you have balance issues, a recent injury, or joint pain. Retro walking is used in rehab settings, but that's typically under supervision - not a reason to skip a conversation with a healthcare provider before starting on your own.
None of this needs to replace your regular walk. A few minutes of backward walking folded into a normal route - like the pace variation covered in does walking speed matter more than step count - is enough to get the strength and coordination benefit without turning your whole walk into something unfamiliar.
Frequently asked questions
Is walking backward actually safe?
For most healthy adults, yes, in a clear space and at a slow, controlled pace. The main risk is tripping on something you didn't see, which is why a flat, obstacle-free area and a gradual start matter more than the movement itself.
What muscles does it work that forward walking doesn't?
The toe-to-heel stride recruits the quadriceps more directly than a forward stride does, which is the mechanism behind the strength gains in the 2019 knee osteoarthritis trial above. It also asks more of your balance and proprioception, since you're moving without a clear view of where you're stepping.
How long should I walk backward each day?
There's no single research-backed number for a general healthy population. The knee osteoarthritis trial used structured sessions three days a week for six weeks; for everyday use, a few one- to two-minute stretches folded into a normal walk, built up gradually, is a reasonable and low-risk starting point.
Will it show up correctly in my Stepzy step count?
Stepzy doesn't run its own step-detection logic - it reads whatever Apple Health recorded, the same reconciled number every Health-connected app sees. Since the underlying accelerometer detects steps by motion pattern rather than direction, a normal-paced backward step counts the same way a forward one does.
The short version: backward walking has a real, ACSM-rated calorie edge over forward walking at matched effort, and a real randomized trial behind its strength and pain benefits in knee osteoarthritis - it's not just a viral fitness trend without substance. Add it in small amounts, in a clear space, and your tracker will pick it up the same way it picks up every other step you take.
Every step counted, whichever direction you're facing.