Try This 6-Week Walking Plan for a New You

A lot of us just want to get into shape. Maybe we’ve stopped being as active, maybe we don’t have time to eat right, or maybe we just simply don’t have the energy.

If you’re looking to lose some fat, a progressive walking plan may be able to combine interval training with the effectiveness of walking.

Related - 4 Week Power Walking Plan

This means in six weeks you’ll be able to show off the new physique.

Your New Walking Guide

If you deal with any lower-body pain whether it’s from being overweight or another ailment, it can be hard to motivate yourself to get up and put yourself through it.
Trust me, I’ve fought with a bad ankle for almost 10 years now.

So this walking plan is going to help you get back active and while you progress through the next six weeks, you’ll notice a drastic improvement in your overall health and physique.

In order to properly complete this workout plan, you’re going to have to start using an intensity scale to measure your workouts. It will be a simple 1-10 scale — 5-6 means you are breathing quickly but can still talk, while 8-9 effort should leave you barely able to answer yes or no questions.

Since everyone’s fitness levels are different, using this scale is a great tool for anyone. You can vary your speed and intensity in order to reach the effort range for each walk. One side note — don’t cheat yourself on your scale and be honest with how hard you are working.

So let’s go over the different walking workouts and what you should do for each.

Power Walking

When you think of power walking, you think of the old ladies in track suits with hand weights, right?

For this workout, power walking will be an effort level of 5-6 on your scale. Walk for a few minutes to warm up and then focus on maintaining a 5-6 effort level.

Once your power walking session is done, spend three to five minutes taking a cool down walk.

This is the time you need to spend cooling off and catching your breath. Some light post-walk stretching could help.

High-Intensity Interval Walking

High-intensity interval walking is a great way to go further in less time.

Take a warm-up walk for about three minutes to get your body ready for some sweating. Once you’re warm, you will start your interval sets.

Spend three minutes walking at a brisk pace — an effort of five to six on your scale.

Power walk or jog at an intensity of eight to nine for 60 seconds.

Repeat the intervals until your session is done.

As always, spend three to five minutes post-workout to cool down and catch your breath.

Easy Walking

Many of us underestimate the power of active recovery and simply getting out to walk. Studies suggest that walking is a form of stress relief, which means it helps keep our cortisol levels lower.

When the easy walking part of your week comes, it’s time to get out and enjoy the movement. Walk at a comfortable pace — three to four on your scale.

6-Week Walking Plan

Now that we have what each type of walking session means, here is the 6-week plan to get you into shape and burn off that body fat.

Week 1

• Monday – HIIT walk for 15 minutes
• Tuesday – Power walk for 30 minutes
• Wednesday – Rest Day
• Thursday – HIIT walk for 15 minutes
• Friday – Easy walk for 15 minutes
• Saturday – Rest Day
• Sunday – Rest Day

Week 2

• Monday – HIIT walk for 15 minutes
• Tuesday – Power walk for 30 minutes
• Wednesday – Rest Day
• Thursday – HIIT walk for 15 minutes
• Friday – Easy walk for 30 minutes
• Saturday – Rest Day
• Sunday – Rest Day

Week 3

• Monday – HIIT walk for 30 minutes
• Tuesday – Power walk for 45 minutes
• Wednesday – Rest Day
• Thursday – HIIT walk for 15 minutes
• Friday – Easy walk for 30 minutes
• Saturday – Rest Day
• Sunday – Rest Day

Week 4

• Monday – HIIT walk for 30 minutes
• Tuesday – Power walk for 45 minutes
• Wednesday – Rest Day
• Thursday – HIIT walk for 30 minutes
• Friday – Easy walk for 45 minutes
• Saturday – Rest Day
• Sunday – Rest Day

Week 5

• Monday – HIIT walk for 30 minutes
• Tuesday – Power walk for 45 minutes
• Wednesday – HIIT walk for 30 minutes
• Thursday – Power walk for 30 minutes
• Friday – Easy walk for 45 minutes
• Saturday – Power walk for 30 minutes
• Sunday – Rest Day

Week 6

• Monday – HIIT walk for 30 minutes
• Tuesday – Power walk for 45 minutes
• Wednesday – HIIT walk for 30 minutes
• Thursday – Power walk for 30 minutes
• Friday – Easy walk for 60 minutes
• Saturday – Power walk for 30 minutes (Optional)
• Sunday – Rest Day

How Will This Help You Achieve Weight Loss?

This plan helps you slowly increase the amount of time you are walking. Studies suggest walking for at least 150 minutes per week for improved health — this workout will get you up to 105 to 210 minutes per week.

This plan is just a general guideline — find what works for you and run with it. If you currently walk, don’t be afraid to add time to your walks. Adding in an extra day if you are up to it can help also.

This schedule is set up so you can make it work with your life. Simply follow the schedule and make it work for you. If you have the time, some cross-training performing resistance training, stretching, and other exercises are also great.

Nutrition

Eating nutritious foods that refuel your body is part of getting healthier — you can’t out-exercise a crappy diet.

Start by logging your food and being mindful of what you are eating. As you progress, you can start adding in new foods while replacing foods that are calorie dense. Cooking with fresh ingredients and keeping the processed foods to a minimum will help burn stubborn fat and will get you feeling better faster.

You don’t have to get rid of all of your treats, though. Stick to an 80/20 rule with your calories to enjoy the goodies you normally eat. That is, 80% of your calories should come from nutritious whole foods, while 20% of your calories can come from whatever.

I personally fell in love with Halo Top ice cream, and it fits into my 80/20 rule.

Wrapping It Up

Losing weight takes time, consistency, planning, and testing. We are all unique, so foods that work well for me may not work well for you.

It doesn’t matter what level of fitness you are, if you can get up and move for a few minutes at a time, you can start this routine.

Start 2019 off right by starting this walking workout today and be ahead of your new year’s resolutions.