The 12-3-30 workout has taken the fitness world by storm, offering a simple yet effective treadmill routine that’s captured the interest of fitness enthusiasts all around the world. This low-impact cardio workout performed on a treadmill involves setting the incline to 12%, walking at 3 miles per hour for 30 minutes. But is this viral trend really worth the hype? Let’s dive into the details, exploring the benefits, risks, and how to safely incorporate it into your fitness routine.
What is the 12-3-30 Workout?
The 12-3-30 workout is a low-impact cardio workout performed on a treadmill. Set the treadmill to a 12% incline and walk 3 miles per hour for 30 minutes. That’s it. It really is that easy.
The Origin Story
Like many fitness trends, this one took off on TikTok. Lauren Giraldo, a social media influencer, created the routine to overcome her gym intimidation. She credits the workout with helping her lose 30 pounds. Since then, it has gained popularity among college students and professional athletes because of its simplicity and efficiency.
How it Works
The 12-3-30 workout primarily targets the posterior chain muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and calves. The incline helps improve muscle-building benefits, especially for beginners. It improves lower body strength and provides a balance challenge.
Benefits of the 12-3-30 Workout
The 12-3-30 workout offers several potential benefits, making it an attractive option for those seeking a simple yet effective cardio routine.
Cardiovascular Health: Any form of cardio can be good for your heart. It betters heart health, lowers the risks of heart disease, and aids fat loss. Incline walking, a form of uphill walking, burns more calories, increases heart rate, and helps in maintaining healthy blood pressure. The added resistance makes the workout more intense than a regular stroll on a flat surface, making your heart and lungs work harder.
Low-Impact Exercise: The 12-3-30 workout is low impact, meaning you’re not exerting major force on your joints by running or jumping. This is good if you’re healing an injury or if you have joint pain already. With 12-3-30, or any higher intensity incline walking, there is one foot soundly planted on the ground at one time, making the body more stable and the risk of injury lower.
Muscle Strengthening: The routine primarily targets the posterior chain muscles (aka the back half of your lower body), including the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and calves. It’s a great way to activate multiple muscle groups in your legs.
Weight Loss: Walking at a 12% incline burns significantly more calories than walking on a flat surface, making it an efficient way to create the calorie deficit needed for weight loss. It also works large muscle groups like the glutes and hamstrings, which increases metabolic demand and enhances fat-burning both during and after the workout.
Accessibility: The 12-3-30 workout is suitable for individuals of all ages and fitness levels! It’s easy to make it your own. Simply adjust the speed or incline to your preference and comfort level. Because the 12-3-30 workout is so versatile, accessible, and customizable based on your fitness level, it’s a valuable addition to any routine that can improve your physical health, mental well-being, and overall quality of life.
Mental Well-being: Walking can boost your mood.
Risks and Considerations
While the 12-3-30 workout offers numerous benefits, it’s essential to be aware of the potential risks and considerations before incorporating it into your fitness regimen.
Potential for Injury: The biggest risk of doing 12-3-30 if you aren’t at a level of fitness to do so is a possibility of injury and overtraining. Doing too much too soon has the potential to lead to injury or some form of pain or strain. The steep incline can create joint or muscle strain. Beginners or those with pre-existing knee, hip, or lower-back issues may find the incline taxing. The workout isn’t without drawbacks either, walking at an incline can put more pressure on your lower back. The calves and Achilles tendons would be most at risk.
Not a Low-Impact Workout: This isn’t a low-impact workout, and it can stress the body more than you think.
Cardiovascular Concerns: If you are new to exercise or have a heart condition, you should be aware that the sustained incline may raise your heart rate too high.
Monotony: The repetitive nature can get monotonous.
Overtraining: It’s important to note that weight loss is determined by many factors from caloric intake to your genetics to moving your body regularly, and any potential weight loss from doing the 12-3-30 workout will vary from person to person. Experts claim that the 12-3-30 workout can help improve your stamina, but the workouts got harder as the week went on because you weren’t taking any rest days.
How to Do the 12-3-30 Workout Safely
To minimize the risk of injury and maximize the benefits, follow these guidelines when starting the 12-3-30 workout:
- Start Slowly: If you’re new to this training method (or fitness in general), aim for two to three 12-3-30 workouts a week.
- Modify the Incline: Start at 3 mph and a lower incline, like three or five percent. Then, gradually add one percent incline each week as your body adjusts to the added resistance. You can still challenge your cardio and your legs at a lower incline, like level three or five.
- Warm-up: You’ll also be working your hamstrings and calves harder when walking at an incline, so it’s a good idea to ensure you’ve done a proper warm-up before jumping on the treadmill and increasing the incline. Warm up for 5 minutes, walking flat or at a slight incline.
- Cool-down: Start with a five-minute warm-up and a five-minute cool-down, both without any incline.
- Listen to Your Body: It’s also important to pay attention to your body as you walk. When we start to get tired, our bodies will naturally start to compensate. Your body might start relying on other muscles to help you power through (like your lower back muscles). This can cause discomfort or a change in your stride. If you’re feeling any aches and pains beyond your usual post-workout tiredness, consider lowering the treadmill’s incline, taking a break, or stretching your muscles out. If you’re feeling any pain or discomfort while doing this treadmill exercise, it’s probably a sign to stop before you put unnecessary strain on your body.
- Stay Consistent: Find ways that you can add in your walks that will help you stay consistent, because the more often you walk, the more weight loss you will have.
- Mix it Up: Like all forms of exercise, it’s a good idea to mix the 12-3-30 workout up with strength training, stretching, and other forms of cardio to work the entire body, and keep you from getting bored. A balanced weekly fitness routine –– with different cardio workouts, strength-training sessions, and rest days –– can help you avoid injuries and overtraining. Variety can also help you challenge your muscles in new ways, which may prevent a workout plateau and boredom.
- Consult a Professional: Bell recommended reaching out to a certified personal trainer (CPT) who can safely guide you through a cardiovascular assessment to identify your starting intensity. It’s important to see a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) if you think you have developed an injury that needs examining. They can help make modifications to your program.
- Use the Safety Features: There’s no firm guidance on whether or not to hold on to the bars of the treadmill. Giraldo says she holds the bars about 30% of the time and goes hands-free for the rest. Use the safety strap of the treadmill.
- Stay Hydrated:
Modifications and Variations
The 12-3-30 workout can be modified to suit different fitness levels and preferences. Here are some variations to consider:
Beginner Modifications:
- Reduce the Incline: The easiest way to modify this routine is by reducing the incline. For those who don’t incline walk too often, level 12 can feel pretty steep. Instead, Araujo recommends first timers start at level 6 or 7. Generally, this incline feels more doable for the full 30 minutes, but you can definitely bring it down more if needed.
- Cut Down the Time Per Session: “Don’t get too attached to the numbers,” Araujo says. “There’s no rule that says you have to do this workout for 30 minutes, especially if that doesn’t feel manageable for you.”
- Add Intervals: For those who need to modify the workout, do one minute at level 12 at 3 miles per hour, and then do two or three minutes at level 5 at 2.5 miles per hour. Then, alternate between these two levels until you hit 30 minutes.
- Keep the incline at zero: Start by walking for 30 minutes at 3 miles per hour, with no incline. As you progress, slowly increase the incline.
- Try intervals: Split the workout into three 10-minute sections. Walk for 8 minutes at 3 miles per hour at 12 percent incline (or whatever you can do), then rest for two minutes (or walk with no incline). Repeat two more times to complete the 30 minutes.
Advanced Modifications:
- Increase the Speed: But you can bump the speed to 4 miles per hour for one minute and then bring it back down to 3 miles per hour for two or three minutes.
- Slowly increase the incline: Start by walking at 3 miles per hour and zero percent incline. Slowly increase the incline by 0.5 percent to 1 percent every five minutes, for a total of 60 minutes.
- Create a 60-minute interval session: Do 10 rounds of 5 minutes at 12 percent incline and 3 miles per hour with one minute rest.
Alternatives to the 12-3-30 Workout
If the 12-3-30 workout doesn’t appeal to you, or if you’re looking for variety, several other low-impact cardio exercises can provide similar benefits:
- Walking
