Week 6

You've made it to Week 6 of your Personal Walking Plan!

It’s your final week of your walking plan. It’s time to finish what you started. 

This week, you’ll be upping the duration of your walks if you can. And you can – you’re a regular exerciser now! 

Here’s what you’ll be doing in Week 6:

Short on time?

Forty minutes might sound like a big chunk of time, but all the exercise you’ve done so far means your body is more than ready to give it a go. If you can’t spare it in one go, you can break your walk up into 2 x 20-minute sessions if you need to.

Measuring your intensity 

To achieve a 5 out of 10 intensity, you might need to add a few hills or stairs into your walk to really get your blood pumping. Mix it up a bit by incorporating harder sections into your route before dropping back to a low-to-moderate pace. Make sure you’ve warmed up your body before you start increasing your pace. 

Stretching exercises

Continue with the same stretching routine from last week. Spend a bit of time on the stretches you find most challenging – this can help you improve your flexibility. 

Strength exercises 

By now, your body might be getting used to doing the same strength sessions every week. It’s time to add a bit of extra load if you can: try adding another set of some of the exercises.

Here’s a reminder of some of the combinations you can try.

Beginner = 1 set of 6–10 reps

Intermediate = 2 sets of 10 -15 reps

Advanced = 3 sets of 10–15 reps 

Here's a video to help you:

How to make the strength exercises harder

If you’re finding these strength exercises too easy, here’s how you can make them more challenging:

1. Sit-to-stand Squat
   Try this same movement without the chair. You may need to adjust the depth of your squat to be able to stand back up without extra support.
   
   
2. Calf raise
   Instead of using both feet, try one at a time (this is called a single leg calf raise). You will find this is much more challenging!
   
   
3. Step-up
   Look for a slightly higher step do the same exercise.
   
   
4. Wall push-up
   Instead of a wall, try pushing up from a kitchen bench or table. This will shift more of your bodyweight to your upper body. Alternatively, you could try conventional push-ups from your knees.
   
   
5. Single-leg balance
   Complete the same exercise as before but try not to hold onto a balance support.
   
   
6. Bridge
   Set up for your bridge the same as before. Imprint your back into the floor before rolling up to the bridge position. Hold your bridge at the top of the movement for a count of five seconds (but don’t hold your breath!) , then slowly roll back down to the start position.