Prevention's readers are walking superfans, and for great reasons: Walking is a simple way to get exercise, costs nothing, and is something most of us can do at any time, anywhere. But even the most passionate step collector can start to feel a little blah about their routine, and it’s true that the same-old, same-old won’t push you through plateaus. “Any repetitive motion in one plane of motion, such as walking forward, will activate the same muscles each time,” says Amy West, M.D., a sports medicine physician at Northwell Health in New York.

Not only does doing the same type of walk day after day get dull, but it also means you may not be working complementary muscle groups. Mixing things up will get those muscle groups engaged, enabling you to get stronger, and may help you avoid injury from overusing the same muscles in the same way as well. “Our muscles support our joints, so by improving muscle strength you can help reduce impact on your joints,” Dr. West adds. “When you use different walking methods, different muscles are activated each time, which promotes balanced muscle development and postural alignment—and could potentially prevent future aches and pains.”

Lindsey Benoit O’Connell, C.S.C.S., a certified trainer, a meditation teacher, and the founder of The LAB Wellness, agrees: “Different walking styles can help improve balance, coordination, and agility,” she says. Aside from building strength throughout your body, walking in multiple ways “challenges your brain to work harder to coordinate the steps,” O’Connell adds. Once you feel confident in your variations, she suggests adding intervals or “mixing up your walks during the week by doing different styles on different days—over time, you’ll see big payoffs!” We asked fitness experts about their favorite wacky walks and how to do them properly and safely. Next time you lace up, give these walking styles a try.

backward walking