When I was in high school, I read Edward Bellamy’s book Looking Backward which at the time was interesting in it’s study of the evolution of current technology. Today it would be hysterical, even strange for the current populus studying the origins of things we not only took for granted but may now be obsolete. But walking backward, that’s another thing.
Let me explain. My daily exercise regimen is swimming laps. On the days I don’t swim, I work out in fitness room at the gym. Richard, a gym colleague became a friend because I would continually make fun of his daily backward walk. In reality, I was amazed at how fast and easily he walked backward on the treadmill and without holding on. One day, I stopped the corny comments asked him why he did it. His serious answer was that he was frequently flying to the far east and each trip could be as much as 15 or 16 hours sitting in an airplane. It wreaked havoc on his back. He found that the backward walk keeps his back in proper condition.
Curious, I researched it a bit and found that not only did it help the lower back, but it also was supposed to help sore knees, of which I am a very familiar. So I decided to try it. I started slowly and succeeded in doing it for three minutes, at first, very slowly. I found that it really did help the knees. After a while, I got myself up to ten minutes at a healthy pace, nowhere near Richard’s, but I take note that he’s forty years younger than I am. Now I make it a practice that even on the days I swim, when I finish, I do my backwalk.
The story continues. One day another colleague, David, joked that walking backwards doesn’t let me go anywhere so I’m wasting my time. I responded sensibly. It was not a waste. Walking backward may look like a waste but it rotates my body’s odometer backward, so as a result, I’m actually getting younger, and might eventually reach his age. The real fountain of youth! I’m sure I gave him food for thought.
