6-6-6 Walking Challenge and Other Viral TikTok Walking Trends I Love
While I heavily emphasize strength training both in my own personal habits and in my work with clients, there’s no doubt that moderate-intensity movement (like walking) makes up the largest volume of my actual exercise, and I recommend the same for clients. I’ll get onto the trends like the 6-6-6 Walking Challenge in a moment, but first I want to talk about general movement recommendations and how these walking trends fit into the bigger picture of public health.
When it comes to official health recommendations, the minimum cutoff tends to be 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise. However, this is just a baseline. Many people who are managing health conditions like Type 2 Diabetes or PMOS/PCOS, or even simply wanting to maintain significant weight loss, benefit from higher volumes of exercise – perhaps upwards of 300 minutes per week. This target tends to lead to better outcomes in terms of improving insulin sensitivity and maintaining weight loss.
Of course, these timed requirements can be cut practically in half if the intensity is higher. But practically speaking, hitting these exercise recommendations looks like 30-90 minutes of movement per day about five days a week, depending on whether it’s more or less intense, respectively.
The problem? This can sound like a lot of exercise, especially if someone doesn’t have movement naturally built into their lifestyle – especially if you consider that this is on top of the recommended twice weekly strength training sessions.
This is where walking trends like the 6-6-6 Walking Challenge, the Japanese Walking Method, and the 12-3-30 Treadmill Workout can be really helpful in creating realistic (and fun!) prescriptions for movement goals. While I don’t usually love TikTok trends (and in fact, because I don’t have TikTok, they are usually explained to me by my clients!), usually I am a sucker for the walking ones!
In this article, I’m going to explore the 6-6-6 Walking Challenge, and what makes it useful, how it compares with two other popular walking methods: the Japanese Walking Method and the 3-12-30 Treadmill Workout. I’ll also zoom out to consider how you might construct a weekly exercise routine that hits baseline movement targets without these goals taking over your life!
What Is the 6-6-6 Walking Challenge?
The 6-6-6 walking challenge calls for a six-minute warm-up, a 60-minute brisk walk, and a six-minute cool-down, performed at either 6 a.m. or 6 p.m. The routine is strictly presented as a six-day-a-week challenge, often for six weeks.
In practical terms, one session takes about 72 minutes:
- 6 minutes: Easy walking to warm up
- 60 minutes: Brisk walking
- 6 minutes: Easy walking to cool down
Honestly, the 6 a.m. or 6 p.m. timing is more about creating consistency than unlocking a special physiological benefit. There is no established reason that 6 a.m. is inherently better than 6 p.m. for most people. The best time is the one that fits your schedule well enough that you can keep doing it. I think that the reason for these specific time prescriptions is to continue the “6” repetition.
Similarly, the 6-week timeline is a little arbitrary. Walking an hour a day is a goal that can be done indefinitely.
The consistency is arguably the most useful part of the challenge. Rather than simply telling yourself to “walk more,” you have a specific appointment with yourself every day.
What the 6-6-6 Walking Challenge Gets Right About Duration and Steps
A brisk 60-minute walk most days of the week can provide a substantial amount of moderate physical activity, which can help you hit those recommended movement goals.
Walking is particularly attractive because it is relatively low impact compared with running. It can also be incorporated into everyday life: you can walk outdoors, on a treadmill, around a neighborhood or in another convenient location.
Personally, I love outdoor walking! A lot of research shows how important being in nature actually is, and outdoor walking helps significantly with stress reduction, almost like a meditation.
The main edit I would make to the 6-6-6 Walking Challenge would be to do it less frequently. The standard 6-6-6 challenge amounts to roughly 360 minutes of walking per week, which is even more than the higher-volume recommendation of 300 minutes that I mentioned earlier. Plus, over-focusing on this walking workout could edge out other types of workouts, like strength training, if you really only have one “time slot” for exercise per day (as many people do).
Later in this article, I’ll discuss a realistic schedule for incorporating the 6-6-6 Walking Challenge.
Japanese Walking: A More Interval-Based Approach
Another walking trend that has taken off on TikTok is Japanese walking, also known as Interval Walking Training (IWT). Instead of maintaining one steady pace for an hour, like the 6-6-6 Walking Challenge, this method alternates periods of brisk walking with periods of easy walking.
The commonly used format is three minutes of brisk walking followed by three minutes of slower walking, repeated for about 30 minutes. The original research-based approach was developed by researchers at Shinshu University in Japan.
The difference between the two speeds is important. During the faster three-minute periods, you’re supposed to work noticeably harder; during the slower intervals, you recover before increasing your pace again.
For example, a 30-minute session could look like this:
- Three minutes easy
- Three minutes brisk
- Repeat the six-minute cycle five times
The advantage is efficiency. Japanese walking provides changes in intensity without requiring you to run. For someone who finds a continuous hour-long walk difficult to fit into a schedule, 30 minutes of interval walking may be a more practical alternative.
You could do this walking workout outdoors, or you could also do it on a treadmill, alternating incline as well as pace to increase the intensity of the intervals.
Speaking of the treadmill…
What About the 3-12-30 Treadmill Workout?
The 3-12-30 Treadmill Workout is another popular walking routine, but I will be honest – it is harder than it sounds! You’re packing a lot more intensity and energetic output into these 30 minutes than you are in 60 minutes of the 6-6-6 Walking Challenge.
The three numbers represent:
- 3: Walking speed of 3 miles per hour
- 12: A 12% treadmill incline
- 30: Thirty minutes of walking
The 12% incline can feel… epic. But it’s important to note that even though this “workout” has a fixed name and description, it can be edited. You might choose to do a lower incline to make it easier, or you might choose to do a faster pace or a longer period of time if you’re fitter. You might also do a shorter duration if you’re chasing a strength workout with a cardio finisher. You can also do it outdoors if you live in a hilly area. Or, if – like me circa 2017-2020 – you live near one steep hill that you can repeat over and over!
I use variations on the 3-12-30 Treadmill Workout frequently in my own cardio repertoire. For me, it’s a great way to recover from strength workouts if I feel that the “stress” of running would be excessive after a hard workout. I can get my heart rate up, but not tax my muscles unnecessarily.
Also, keep in mind that incline walking, although it’s easier on the joints overall than running, can put considerably more strain on the calves and lower back than flat-terrain walking. The 12-3-30 workout is not one I would recommend doing every day, just for this orthopedic reason.
So… Which Walking Challenge Is Best?
There isn’t one universal winner. Each method emphasizes something different, and I honestly believe that people should switch them up throughout the week to challenge different energy and athletic systems in the body. I love the structure that it can lend to walking, which can make step goals feel much more achievable than arbitrary.
The 6-6-6 challenge is primarily about consistency, volume, and possibly enjoying nature. It’s about getting in those steps.
The Japanese Walking Method emphasizes changes in intensity. It can be a good option if you want a shorter workout that feels a little harder and more focused.
The 3-12-30 Treadmill Workout focuses on the challenge of incline walking. It’s particularly suited to people who enjoy treadmill workouts and want a more challenging session (including mentally!) without running.
An Example Weekly Routine
Okay, so you’re sold on the 6-6-6 Walking Challenge, but you’re wondering how you sew everything together to create a manageable exercise schedule that incorporates a lot of walking? I have some ideas for you!
If you prefer cardio to strength training:Â
- Monday: 6-6-6 Walking Challenge
- Tuesday: 30 minutes of strength training, 30 minutes of the Japanese Walking Method
- Wednesday: 6-6-6 Walking Challenge
- Thursday: 30 minutes of strength training, 30 minutes of 12-3-30 Treadmill Workout
- Friday: 6-6-6- Walking Challenge
- Saturday and Sunday: do whatever you want, but do something to be active and have fun!
The above routine will have you hitting 300 minutes of cardio (some of it somewhat intense!) and you’ll also get in your strength training sessions.
But if you prefer strength training to cardio:Â
- Monday: 60 minutes of strength training
- Tuesday: 6-6-6 Walking Challenge
- Wednesday: 30 minutes of strength training, 30 minutes of 12-3-30 Treadmill Workout
- Thursday: 30 minutes of Japanese Walking Method
- Friday: 30 minutes of strength training, 30 minutes of 12-3-30 Treadmill Workout
This provides a much bigger muscle strengthening stimulus, but still hits 150 minutes of cardio movement (with 90 minutes of it being somewhat higher intensity).
The Bottom Line
The biggest strength of the 6-6-6 walking challenge isn’t the number six itself. It’s the structure. By assigning walking a specific time, duration and frequency, the challenge turns a vague fitness goal into a concrete habit. Instead of chasing steps, you’re doing a “workout.”
At the same time, you don’t have to follow any viral formula perfectly to benefit from walking. Just remember those specific numbers of 150-300 minutes per week, and figure out what schedule will work for you in hitting those goals.
Ultimately, the most effective walking routine is the one you enjoy! And if following specific viral workouts helps you derive more satisfaction and fun from exercise, that’s exactly what I want you to do, and it can even shift from week to week to keep things interesting.
Want help in personalizing your own exercise routine so that it gives you the results you’re really wanting, without taking over your whole life? Set up a free 30-minute consultation so that we can talk about custom goals for you! Fill out the questionnaire to get started.
References
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition
Personalizing Physical Activity for Glucose Control
Exercise in the Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
