I tried the 6-6-6 walking challenge — here's how it boosted my calm

Here on the Tom’s Guide fitness desk, we love nothing more than a new walking challenge. Last month, I gave this Japanese walking trend a go, as well as the 5-4-5 walking technique. Sam, our fitness editor, delved into the “fart walking” trend, and grabbed a weighted vest and went rucking. Next on my list? The 6-6-6 walking challenge. Read on to find out what happened when I added it to my routine for a week.

Walking is a great way to get fitter, lose weight, and boost your mood, but if you’re returning to exercise following an injury or a pregnancy, it’s always a good idea to check with your doctor before starting a new workout routine.

What is the 6-6-6 walking challenge?

The 6-6-6 walking challenge involves walking for 60 minutes, either at 6 a.m. or 6 p.m., with a 6-minute warm-up and a 6-minute cooldown. The warm-up and cool down should be at a relaxed pace, whereas the 60-minute part of the walk should be done at a brisk pace that raises your heart rate, but one that you’re able to maintain for the entire workout.

Of course, the workout doesn’t have to be done at 6 am or 6 pm, but the idea is that it helps you stay consistent. Whether you choose to walk in the morning or the evening depends on you and your schedule. If you’re an early riser, a morning workout might be a great way to start your day. If you’re more motivated in the evenings, perhaps adding a walk before dinner can help you wind down from work. Walking at the same time each day can help regulate your circadian rhythm and might help you sleep better.

What are the benefits?

An hour of walking has tons of benefits, whatever your goal. From boosting your metabolism, strengthening your muscles and joints, and working on your cardiovascular fitness, a brisk walk is a great way to get fitter. Walking can also help lower stress and boost your mood.

Walking for an hour at a brisk pace will help you build endurance and leg strength faster than doing short sporadic walks. The warm-up and cool-down elements of this workout also help reduce the likelihood of injuries.

This is a low-impact workout, suitable for most people. There’s no specified pace or terrain, so you could do this workout on a treadmill in the gym, or do laps of your local park — whatever works best.

I tried the 6-6-6 walking challenge — here’s what happened

Here’s what happened when I laced up my sneakers and gave the challenge a go for a week:

The early starts didn’t bother me

I’ve always been a morning person, and then I had a baby. Most days, my day will start at 5 a.m., so getting out the door for a walk at 6 a.m. wasn’t really a chore. Forget your daylight alarm clocks, my toddler has it covered.

That said, on the one morning when I couldn’t leave the house on time, the 6 p.m. walk felt like a chore. Like any working parent will know, I’m exhausted by the end of the day, so exercising in the evening isn’t for me.

I did find that having the workout almost scheduled the night before removed all the messing around that usually precedes my workouts. I had my sneakers by the door, the workout programmed on my watch, and all I had to do was grab the dog (and a coffee if I had time) and go. I loved that by 7:30 a.m., I’d walked around 5,000 steps, closed the movement ring on my Apple Watch Series 10, and got my heart rate up.

I preferred the interval walking workouts

As mentioned above, I’ve been doing a lot of these walking workouts recently as I recover some a slight knee twinge, and another nursery bug that left me on antibiotics. While walks are already part of my daily routine, they don’t normally have a lot of structure.

Having tested a lot of workouts, I definitely prefer the interval walking sessions, where I have to alter my pace and boost my heart rate.

It really boosted my mood

While this workout didn’t leave me as sweaty as the interval walking workouts or an hour-long run, I really found starting my day with a 60-minute walk boosted my mood and set me up for the day. On the days when my toddler didn’t go to nursery, I strapped him into his stroller and let him watch the trees go past in the woods, while we chatted (and I supplied him with never-ending snacks). The walk left me feeling much calmer than my normal doom-scrolling with a cup of coffee.

The best part? This workout is completely free to try — all you need is the motivation to get going. If you’re looking to tone up or lose weight, investing in one of the best fitness trackers is a great way to keep an eye on your progress, but it’s not essential. I found listening to a podcast or an audiobook helped the hour fly by, and by the end of the week, I was looking forward to my morning walks.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tried the ‘Japanese walking’ method for a week — and I’m hooked
• I walked 7,000 steps with the Apple Watch 10 and Garmin Forerunner 265 — and one was way more accurate
• I did the 12-3-30 treadmill workout for a month — here's my results