The 6-6-6 Strolling Pattern Guarantees Advantages For Weight Loss and Coronary heart Well being. What Do Specialists Suppose?

Trying to shake up your exercises? On platforms like TikTok and Reddit, individuals are swearing by a strolling routine referred to as the “6-6-6” problem. 

Like different number-based strolling traits, such because the 12-3-30 treadmill problem or the 3-2-1 technique, proponents declare the 6-6-6 routine can help weight reduction and enhance every part from coronary heart well being to temper.

“There’s one thing about number-based challenges that actually appeals to individuals,” Libby Richards, PhD, RN, a professor on the Purdue College Faculty of Nursing who makes a speciality of bodily exercise and health-related conduct change, informed Well being. “Individuals are usually motivated by challenges that set concrete, measurable objectives.”

However do well being specialists really advocate this viral health pattern? Right here’s what to know.

It’s unclear the place the 6-6-6 pattern originated, and there seems to be some slight variation within the technique relying on the supply. However most variations describe it as strolling for 60 minutes, six occasions every week, at a brisk tempo. The stroll ought to happen at both 6 a.m. or 6 p.m. and embrace a six-minute warm-up and six-minute cool-down at a slower tempo.

Whereas the 6-6-6 technique could provide some anecdotal well being advantages, you could be questioning if there’s any strong proof to help the claims. Right here’s what analysis and specialists say concerning the completely different components of this train routine.

Timing

The advantage of sticking to a 6 a.m. or p.m. strolling schedule is that the consistency could make it simpler for some individuals to suit strolling into their day, Richards famous. “The perfect time to stroll is when you’ll keep it up,” she added. “It’s not about strolling exactly at 6 a.m. or 6 p.m. It’s about constructing consistency.” 

But when each occasions work to your schedule, the higher choice could rely upon while you eat—although the analysis is combined. Some analysis means that strolling on an empty abdomen—akin to early within the morning—could assist enhance fats burn. Nonetheless, different research have discovered that strolling proper after consuming, like following dinner, can help weight reduction, enhance digestion, and assist regulate blood sugar.

Period

Strolling for 60 minutes a day is a worthwhile purpose, specialists agreed, and might help you meet the really useful 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity train per week.

Any quantity of brisk strolling, however particularly an hour of it, can improve cardiovascular well being, strengthen bones, and increase muscle energy and endurance, stated Richards. One 2025 research discovered that strolling 7,000 steps a day—the quantity you’ll possible get near hitting in an hour—was related to a decrease danger of power circumstances like coronary heart illness and dementia.

The strolling routine may additionally assist with weight reduction, so long as you’re not consuming extra energy than you burn. A research from 2021 discovered that average to vigorous strolling for 50 minutes, 4 days every week, was linked to reductions in weight and stomach fats.

Heat Up and Cool Down

The 6-6-6 technique emphasizes warming up and cooling down, each of that are backed by science. Warming up step by step will increase coronary heart charge and blood move to the muscle tissues, which might help forestall strains or sprains throughout your stroll. Cooling down helps cut back muscle soreness and permits the guts charge to return to regular step by step, which is vital for restoration, Richards stated.

Usually, the American Coronary heart Affiliation recommends warming up and cooling down for 5 to 10 minutes, so six minutes falls properly inside that vary.

Whereas the 6-6-6 strolling technique could enable you to attain your health objectives, take into account that specialists emphasize that persevering with to train—not following an actual components—is what issues most.

“Any exercise that individuals do—and maintain doing—is efficient,” Lennert Veerman, MD, PhD, a professor of public well being at Griffith College who has studied strolling and life expectancy, informed Well being. 

That stated, if the 6-6-6 routine helps you keep on job, that’s all of the extra motive to strive it. 

For many adults, strolling is secure, Richards famous, however verify along with your physician you probably have a historical past of power sickness.

If 60 minutes appears like an excessive amount of, strive 20-minute segments and work your approach up, Richards really useful. “Any enhance in strolling is a transfer in the precise course,” she stated.