6-6-6 Walking Routine Is Being Discussed, It Has A Connection With The Health Of Heart And Brain

Walking is considered to be the easiest exercise. There is no harm in it, no matter how you do it.

There is no doubt that the habit of walking daily has a good effect on our health. A recent study published in Lancet Public Health says that walking seven thousand steps every day reduces the risk of cancer, dementia and serious heart diseases.

There are many such studies, which count the many benefits of walking. But different methods and rules are given about how to walk, how much to walk.

For the last few months, there is a discussion on social media about a walking trend or walking challenge, which is being said to be beneficial for heart health as well as mental health. It has been named, 6-6-6 walking routine.

So what is this 6-6-6 walking routine? How can it be beneficial for our health? How to follow this walking routine? And most importantly, what things should be kept in mind while following it?

Table of Contents

What is the 6-6-6 walking routine

The 6-6-6 walking routine involves walking for 60 minutes every day at 6 am or 6 pm. Along with this, a 6-minute warm-up and a 6-minute cool-down are also to be done.

Dietitian, wellness therapist and founder and CEO of Metamorphosis Divya Prakash says that this has to be done 6 days a week.

Lakshya Strength and Conditioning founder and head coach Kailash Menon says that different meanings are being derived from the 6-6-6 walking routine.

He says, “Some people are talking about 6 thousand steps, while some people are talking about following this routine for 6 days. The important thing here is to walk for 60 minutes a day. Even if it is 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening.”

Experts say that its purpose is to make walking a part of your daily routine.

How does 6-6-6 walking routine improve heart health

A recent study published in Lancet Public Health says that walking seven thousand steps every day reduces the risk of cancer, dementia and serious heart-related diseases.

According to both experts Divya Prakash and Kailash Menon, 6-6-6 walking routine can be helpful in keeping the body healthy, heart and mind healthy.

Divya Prakash says that to keep the heart healthy, it is advisable to walk for 150 minutes a week, while Asians are advised to walk at least 250 minutes a week.

She explains, “When we walk for 60 minutes 6 days a week, it becomes a total of 360 minutes of walking in a week, which is healthy for our heart.”

However, for heart health, she emphasizes on 60 minutes of brisk walking in this walking routine.

Explaining the condition of brisk walking, she says, “In this, your heart rate should be between 60% to 70% of your maximum heart rate. This is called zone 2 heart rate.”

What should be our maximum heart rate? Divya Prakash tells a formula for that

First subtract your age from 220. Suppose your age is 50 years, then subtracting 50 from 220 will give 170. This is the maximum heart rate for a 50-year-old person.

Calculate 60 to 70 percent of this 170, which comes between 102 to 119. So a 50-year-old person has to walk at a speed such that his heart rate is between 102 to 119 beats per minute.

Heart rate can also be tracked through fitness trackers and smartwatches. The normal heart rate of an adult is between 60 to 100 beats per minute.

According to Divya Prakash, when the heart rate increases during brisk walking, blood circulation increases and this is the purpose of this walking routine, which keeps the heart healthy.

How is the 6-6-6 walking routine beneficial for mental health

Experts say that the 6-6-6 walking routine is also very beneficial for our mental health. The reason for this is that taking out some time in the morning or evening to walk in an open space gives a lot of relaxation to the mind.

Divya Prakash says, “Walking well is also a kind of meditation. When you walk alone at a pace, the mind becomes calm.”

She says that if you follow this walking routine in the morning, in a way you are well prepared for the whole day.

Kailash Menon says that if you walk in the evening, it helps in reducing the stress of the day, the mood is good and you are able to process your whole day.

Experts say that by making a habit of walking at a fixed time in this way, everything from getting good sleep to everything else moves in a cycle.

What to do for a healthy lifestyle

Divya Prakash says that two things are important for a healthy lifestyle –

1. Balanced and nutritious diet

2. Physical activity

It has become very difficult for most people in today’s time to be physically active. In a way, most of us have a sedentary lifestyle.

Kailash Menon says, “Nowadays there are so many facilities that we are not using our body at all. Even the lift is being used to go to the first floor. Apart from this, physical activities are decreasing due to increasing screen time of people.” In such a situation, adopting the 6-6-6 walking challenge can prove to be a positive step towards a healthy lifestyle.

Also, it is easy to follow as you can adopt it according to your routine and daily busyness.

Kailash Menon says, “Everyone can follow the 6-6-6 walking routine. You don’t need a gym membership or any fancy equipment for this. You just need walking shoes.”

Divya Prakash says that everyone can follow this routine, whether they are older or younger.

She says, “For those who are already overweight, jogging or running can be difficult, but if they walk, they won’t have any problem.”

Kailash Menon says that you have no excuse for not doing this, you just have to take out time for yourself.

Keep these things in mind

Both experts emphasize that there is no need to follow this immediately. You can gradually adjust yourself to this routine.

Kailash Menon says, “I think when we set a goal, it becomes difficult for many beginners. Like, someone may not be able to walk continuously for half an hour or an hour, so it would be good if he starts with even 10 minutes.”

He says that you can decide your walking routine yourself. According to him, the essence of the 6-6-6 walking routine is that you should walk in the morning and evening.

Dibya Prakash also says that the 60-minute walk at 6 o’clock, 6 days a week or 6-6-6 walking routine has been created so that people can remember it, but it is not that if someone does not walk, he should go for a brisk walk for 60 minutes on the first day itself.

Dibya Prakash says, “You also have to listen to your body. The 6-6-6 walking routine sounds very good, but the practical guideline needs to be understood.”

Regarding the 6-minute warm up and cool down in the 6-6-6 walking routine, Kailash Menon says that although walking does not require any kind of warm up or cool down, but if you are doing brisk walking, then stretching can be done before and after walking.

According to experts, warm up and cool down means that nothing should be started suddenly or stopped suddenly.

In the beginning of walking, one can increase one’s pace by walking slowly and the best cool down in brisk walking is to reduce its pace gradually.

Experts say that if this routine is adopted in a positive way along with a healthy diet, then it can be really effective.

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