The 12-3-30 workout for beginners includes modifications that allow you to work up the treadmill workout created by fitness influencer Lauren Giraldo. The original incline treadmill workout is simple: Set your treadmill at 12% incline, at 3 miles per hour (mph), for 30 minutes.
This workout may exclude beginners who might not be able to work at this intensity yet and who’ll need to make adjustments.
Benefits of Steady State, Inclined Walking
There is no scientific reasoning behind the specific numbers of 12-3-30. There is, however, an importance to the type of cardio that is being performed.
“With the 12-3-30 layout, because the speed stays the same the whole time, it is considered a form of steady-state cardio,” Mara Magistad, NASM-CPT, a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach, told Health.
Steady-state cardio can also offer the following benefits:
- Aerobic capacity and muscle endurance improvements
- Beginner-friendliness for consistent workouts
- Ease of recovery from intense workout sessions
- Weight loss in terms of fat loss
The 12-3-30 workout is not a program that works entirely on its own, but it is a great way to supplement your strength training programming, Lesley Bell, CPT, CES, PES, told Health. Weekly physical activity recommendations include at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity at a moderate level or 75 minutes at a vigorous level.2
Making modifications to 12-3-30 provides the same steady-state cardio benefits, said Bell. A modification, or less intense incline, only indicates that certain results may take a little longer to see.
“Any amount of incline walking will still be fantastic for building strength in the posterior chain, building your cardiovascular endurance, and elevating your endorphins. Don’t rule it out completely, even if you need to adjust your incline lower than 12%,” said Magistad.
12-3-30 Beginner-Friendly Modifications
The most common modifications to the 12-3-30 treadmill workout are related to incline. One such modification is 8-3-30. You would set the incline at 8% while keeping the speed at 3 mph for 30 minutes.
Doing any incline at the same speed for 30 minutes may be strenuous for someone who’s just beginning their fitness journey. Magistad instead recommended trying a 10- or 15-minute incline walk, spending one minute at a 6% incline and then the next minute at a 3% incline. This allows you to get some active recovery time. Try switching between 3% and 7% after one week, adding a few more minutes to the workout.
Bell agreed that slow and steady is the better option. “For anyone wanting to ease into the 12-3-30 workout, I would strongly recommend trying to build the habit of walking for 30 minutes two to three times per week first to see how your body feels,” said Bell.
How To Progress to 12-3-30
The best rule of thumb is when your modification feels too easy, go for the full intensity. There are many ways to achieve the same effort level with different variables.
One suggested variable is “holding a slightly less steep incline at 10% but at a faster speed, like 3.5 mph for 30 minutes,” said Magistad. This may have a similar intensity to and get your heart rate up like 12-3-30.
Bell recommended reaching out to a certified personal trainer (CPT) who can safely guide you through a cardiovascular assessment to identify your starting intensity. “If you are consistent with your routine, it is recommended to increase the volume of work, or in this case, the inclination of the treadmill, every four to six weeks,” said Bell.
Considerations
Establishing a baseline is the best way to ensure the safest and most efficient exercise routine. The body will adapt to the physical stress level and eventually require more or varied amounts of stress to produce a higher level of adaptation in the future. This is known as the Principle of Specificity.
“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,” said Magistad. “Doing too much too soon has the potential to lead to injury or some form of pain or strain.”
Bell cited plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis as two injuries that could result from this specific workout. Research has shown that these are a few of the conditions that can develop from overtraining. 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.
Drastic new workout routines can also come with the risk of burnout, which sometimes causes people to quit altogether. You can become defeated and unmotivated when you take on programming you are not yet ready for. The goal of any workout program is to stay consistent, and the best way to do that is to make it manageable.
