The 12-3-30 Workout
Another day, another viral workout. The 12-3-30 workout is the latest in a long line of fitness fads, but does it work? What are the benefits? And should you be incorporating it into your workout routine?
What does 12-3-30 involve
The 12-3-30 method involves setting a treadmill at a 12% incline at a speed of 3 mph and then walking on it for 30 minutes. Sounds pretty easy right? However, with that level of incline the intensity does start to add up so it is certainly tougher than it sounds! The method was created by Lauren Giraldo and became a viral hit amid TikTok with people touting transformative results. Let’s take a deeper dive shall we?
What is the workout good for?
12-3-30 is a method of Low Intensity Steady State (LISS) cardio. Such methods are easier on the joints and reduce the risk of injury compared to HIIT. 12-3-30 therefore is a great workout for beginners and/or those looking for a low intensity solution to active rest days.
However, the application is limited. If you are looking to lose weight then great, any additional activity is going to help you burn calories and therefore create a deficit. If you are looking to build muscle, improve performance or work on your flexibility then you need to look elsewhere.
Does 12-3-30 burn fat?
If you are interested in the 12-3-30 workout, likelihood is you are looking to burn fat and lose weight. However, a workout alone isn’t going to help you with these goals. Diet is always at the heart of success with fitness goals and you need to be in a deficit to lose fat. Sure 12-3-30 is going to help you burn additional calories, but if you consistently eat more than you burn off then you are never going to lose weight!
This is where it becomes important to track your weight. I suggest a minimum of 3 weigh ins per week (in the morning before you eat or drink anything) this will then give you a clear picture of the direction you are heading. I personally tend to use the Fitdays scale for weigh ins, they are pretty cheap and weight and BF% is automatically tracked to the app via Bluetooth. The app then provides a nice dashboard where you can see your progress.
If you are still struggling to lose weight, you might want read our top reasons for not losing weight article.
How long does it take to see results with 12-3-30?
This really depends on how you define results. If by results you mean weight loss, then assuming you are eating in a calorie deficit you should start to see the weight falling each week. If you don’t, then you need to reduce your calorie intake. From a health and energy perspective, you should start to feel improvements after a few weeks.
What speed should I be on treadmill for 12-3-30 UK?
The workout was pioneered in the USA, which means it’s using miles per hour rather than our UK metric of kilometres per hour. So the far less catchy 12-4.8-30 is the UK equivalent. That is a 12% incline on the treadmill at a speed of 4.8 kilometers per hour for a 30 minute timeframe.
Summary
The 12-3-30 workout certainly has benefits in terms additional calorie burn through low intensity activity. However, its benefits are limited to weight loss (in conjunction with a calorie deficit) and moderate gains in cardiovascular endurance. If your primary goal is weight loss, you will need to ensure the workout is supplemented with a calorie deficit.
Gains in cardiovascular endurance will also be capped due to the nature of the workout. Typically we improve performance over time through periodisation, meaning we apply increases in weight, distance or difficulty in order to force adaptation. With 12-3-30 this is capped as you will never be doing more intense activity (by increasing speed or incline) or more of the activity (30 minute cap). There will be initial changes therefore, but continual transformation is limited.
What’s your verdict of 12-3-30? Have you tried it and do you agree with our take? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
