Week 6

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

It’s your final week of walking – on this plan, at least! It’s time to finish what you started.

This week, we are playing around with how to make walks more challenging by changing the intensity. You can do this – you’re a regular exerciser now!

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

Measuring your intensity 

It’s time to ramp up the intensity of your walks – this week, you’ll start doing some interval training during your shorter walking sessions. The goal is to spend at least some of your time at a vigorous intensity (6 out of 10), which means you’ll be working pretty hard. 
 

Long walks (3 x 45 minutes): Your longer walks will be similar to previous weeks. Choose an intensity level between 3 and 5 that you’re comfortable with. Maintain a consistent pace throughout your walk. 

Short walks (2 x 30 minutes): Start out at a normal pace to warm up your body. Next, start incorporating some harder sections (like hills or stairs) into your route to achieve a 6 on the intensity scale. Stay at this level for a few minutes at a time before dropping back to a more manageable pace. Alternate between moderate and high-intensity intervals throughout your walk. 

Stretching exercises

Continue with the same stretching routine from last week. This week, focus on any areas that are particularly stiff and do a few extra stretches in those areas. Don’t forget – your body will thank you for it! 

Strength exercises 

Continue with the same strength routine from last week. 

Here's the video again 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.