What the 12-3-30 Workout Gets Wrong (and What It Gets Right)

The 12-3-30 workout has taken over TikTok, which is a testament to the algorithm and the ability of a few influencers to play it. It’s really just walking on a treadmill, with specific parameters and exaggerated promises. So let’s break down the pros, cons, and caveats, and come up with a plan on how to achieve a similar workout that makes sense for You.

What is 12-3-30 training?

This is walking on a treadmill with the maximum incline. In other words, you will be walking uphill. You set the incline to 12% (the highest you can go on many treadmills), the speed to 3.0 miles per hour (a pretty typical walking speed for most of us on level ground), and you do it for 30 minutes.

Her extensionist, Lauren Giraldo, said she does it five times a week. She also said it was the main thing she did at the gym, with other exercises done less consistently, and she shared before and after photos of other women who credit the workout with helping them lose weight.

Is 12-3-30 training good for weight loss?

Trick question! No individual training will be responsible for weight loss. You lose weight by eating slightly less than you burn, measured on average over time. Exercise can help you burn more calories, but your body often compensates by burning fewer calories when you’re at rest. So you can’t just trust a treadmill walk to burn a certain number of calories each time.

To try to find out whether 12-3-30 is better for weight loss than other types of treadmill workouts, this study compared the results of people who did 12-3-30 to those of people who did their own self-guided treadmill workouts. They compared these workouts to calorie burn, so the question wasn’t “what burns more calories?” » but rather “what are the advantages and disadvantages of using This a workout to burn a certain number of calories?

The good news for fans of 12-3-30 is that it burns a slightly higher percentage of calories from fat. But it is undoubtedly the less important part of a weight loss workout, since your body constantly stores and burns fat, throughout the day. What matters is total fat loss or total calorie expenditure over the long term. So I would not make decisions based on this data.

There was also bad news: 12-3-30 took longer to burn the same amount of calories as a self-guided treadmill workout. The researchers concluded that if you want to burn your calories efficiently, you should do a treadmill run rather than 12-3-30. And if you want to burn the greatest percentage of your calories from fat, you should do a Easier workout, reducing the incline and staying on the treadmill even longer.

Is 12-3-10 training suitable for beginners?

Listen, this workout is hard. This is often suggested for beginners, but if you’re not used to walking uphill, your calves will burn and you’ll be out of breath within the first few minutes. Giraldo herself says she was out of breath after two minutes the first time she tried, and she told Today that at first she had to stop and rest after the first 10 or 15 minutes.

If you’ve never taken a treadmill walk, let’s take a quick look at the numbers. Three miles per hour is a pretty normal pace for walking on level ground; if you ask Google Maps for walking directions to somewhere a mile away, it will estimate that it will take you 20 minutes to get there, or three miles per hour. So this part is quite reasonable.

But then you start increasing the slope and everything changes. A 1% slope is significantly more difficult than walking on level ground. 2% is already quite high. Keep pressing the “Increase Incline” button and by the time you reach 12% it will be ridiculous. (For comparison, riding lawn mowers are generally not recommended for a 15% slope. Imagine looking at a hill and thinking “hmm, I don’t know if I can mow that safely,” and that’s pretty close to what you’re aiming for here.)

Such a steep slope will be a cardio challenge and will probably also cause muscle soreness the first time. (Think calves, hamstrings, glutes, and quads. Maybe your back, too.) If this is a challenge for your muscles, you probably shouldn’t do this for 30 minutes the first time, and you definitely shouldn’t repeat it four more times this week.

Is the 12-3-30 workout so good that you don’t need strength training?

No. Once your body gets used to this workout, it cardio. Cardio is very, very good for you, but it’s not the same as resistance training, which is the other essential part of an exercise routine.

So if you want to do this and your body is up for it, great! Just be sure to add a strength training program before, after, or instead of your treadmill walking at least two days a week.

What 12-3-30 training brings good results

First, walk on inclined treadmill Really East a great alternative to running. Find a speed and incline that makes you breathe a little harder than at rest (not out of breath), and your heart and lungs will work as hard as if you were jogging at a leisurely pace. If you hate running but want to use a treadmill as your primary cardio machine, incline walking is a great option.

Second, it’s simple. This is attractive to beginners because you know exactly where you will go in the gym and what settings you will clock in. This eliminates a ton of obstacles that people often encounter when starting a new exercise program. Get in there and do it.

And finally, if you stick to the program (30 minutes, five times a week), you’ll meet exactly the exercise recommendations from the United States and the World Health Organization, which call for a minimum of 150 minutes of cardio per week (in addition to at least two days of strength training).

What to do instead of the 12-3-30 workout

If you like the idea of ​​a simple treadmill workout to build up your cardio for the day, you can do that, but you don’t need to start with 12-3-30. Exercise routines are not one-size-fits-all and you need to find the workout that suits your needs. You.

So start by finding a speed on the treadmill at which you can walk for at least 20 minutes. If you need to take breaks or can’t manage a full 20 minutes at first, that’s no problem. Set the speed to 3.0 (or lower if you need it) and work toward a goal of 20 minutes. Once you can get 20, extend it to 30. If you’re not in good shape to begin with, this whole process may take a few weeks.

In the meantime, work on your consistency. Can you exercise three times a week? Again, start with whatever you can do and add to it. Now you’re at 0-3-30 and you’re doing this three times a week. Maybe that’s enough for now.

When you’re ready for a bigger challenge, start increasing the incline. Can you still last 30 minutes if the incline is set to 1%? How about 2%? You get the idea: use the hardest setting that allows you to leave the treadmill feeling like you’ve had a good workout and are ready to do it all again tomorrow. It doesn’t matter if the incline is 1% or 12%. And if you hate walking on a treadmill, there’s nothing magical about it: you can hop on an elliptical or spinning bike instead.