A Brief Overview of the Well-Known ’12-3-30′ Treadmill Exercise on TikTok

Someone you saw jogging steadily on a treadmill at a steep inclination in a gym recently was adopting a popular exercise regimen.

The “12-3-30” exercise regimen, created by social media personality Lauren Giraldo, entails walking for thirty minutes on a 12% incline and at a speed of three miles per hour.

In a video on her fitness regimen that she posted on YouTube in 2019, Giraldo initially discussed the low-impact cardio exercise.

She said to “Good Morning America” that she had to “trial and error” to figure out the mix while looking for a realistic and inspiring exercise regimen.

“I was going through a rough patch and always found the gym scary. She remarked, “I wanted to figure out what motivated me to stick with consistency and worked for me. “Through this, I could play with the settings on the treadmill and found that the 12-3-30 combination was challenging but fun.”

What does a treadmill’s 12-3-30 mean?

The exercise is a simple two-step routine that takes place on a treadmill and lasts for thirty minutes:

Slope: 12

Tempo: 3

In her TikTok video, Giraldo claimed she usually works out five days a week.

How is the 12-3-30 treadmill workout performed?

It’s much easier than it sounds, so don’t panic. To complete this treadmill exercise, just:

• Walk on a level surface for five minutes or at a little slope.

• Adjust the treadmill to a 12% incline. 

• Adjust the treadmill to run at 3 mph.

• Take a half-hour stroll

Whether or not to hang onto the treadmill’s bars must be clearly stated. According to Giraldo, she uses her hands-free 70% of the time and holds the bars roughly 30% of the time.

What Advantages Does the 12/31/30 Workout Offer?

Unless you’re an exercise enthusiast who enjoys working out purely to work out, you want your exercises to be as productive and successful as possible.

In light of this, is the 12-3-30 treadmill workout effective?

The 12-3-30 workout can help you get in better shape and feel better overall.

Among the advantages of the 12 3 30 workouts are the following:

1: Gaining Strength

Walking works the core and lower body muscles (as long as you’re not gripping the treadmill handrails).

The exercise for 12/3/30 is walking at an incline of 12%.

Because of the steep incline, the posterior chain muscles—the hamstrings, calves, and glutes—are put under much more strain.

Therefore, you can improve your leg muscles by walking at any elevation, particularly when the grade is as high as 12%.

During exercise and regular activities, people typically find their posterior chain muscles noticeably weaker and more difficult to recruit and activate correctly.

For instance, “dead butt” syndrome is a typical occurrence in runners. It involves not being able to use the glutes to their full potential for strong leg extension in the running stride.

When you walk, run, or leap, your glutes are the main muscles that pull your hip and leg backward, making them one of your body’s strongest and most powerful muscles.

But many athletes, including runners, rely too much on their hamstrings to extend their hips.

This is troublesome because, in addition to flexing the knee, the hamstrings extend the hip while being comparatively weaker than the glutes.

As a result, a running stride that favors the hamstrings over the glutes will not only be less effective and strong but also put undue strain on the comparatively weak hamstrings, raising the possibility of low-back and hamstring injuries.

2: Elevating the Heart Rate

The fact that the 12-3-30 workout is an excellent cardio exercise is one of its main advantages.

Maintaining optimum health and lowering the risk of conditions including high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some malignancies require regular aerobic activity.

The 12/3/30 workout is a great way for adults to meet the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise each week, as stated by the UK Government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The 12-3-30 treadmill workout will count toward your weekly minutes for either moderate-intensity or vigorous-intensity exercise, depending on your fitness level.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the moderate-intensity cardio zone is between 64 and 76% of your maximum heart rate, while the vigorous cardio zone is at or above 77% of your maximum heart rate.

Fitter walkers will probably have a lower relative exercise heart rate during the 12-3-30 workout. As your fitness improves, You may move from the “vigorous” exercise heart rate zone to the “moderate-intensity” exercise zone.

You can meet the recommended amount of physical activity if you perform the 12-3-30 workout five days a week and your heart rate rises into the moderate-intensity activity zone. If, on the other hand, you prefer intense activity, you only need to perform it three times a week.

3: Diminishing the Effect

The 12/3/30 TikTok workout’s low-impact but relatively high intensity is one of its best features.

The 12-3-30 workout is an excellent cardio exercise that is considerably easier on the joints than activities like running or jumping rope.

For osteoarthritis, joint problems, and low bone density, incline walking may be more comfortable and secure than jogging.

4: Calorie Burning

Walking on an inclination has a far higher metabolic cost than walking on a level surface. Thus, you will burn calories much more effectively throughout the 12/3/30 workout.

For instance, research indicates that walking at a 5% grade raises the energy cost of walking by 17% at a 5% inclination, while walking at a 10% incline increases the caloric expenditure by an astounding 32%. These findings compare to walking on flat land.

Creating the calorie deficit required for weight loss is easier the more calories you burn.

Do any drawbacks exist?

Before starting a new fitness regimen, people should see a healthcare physician.

Schaefer also suggests that people should know their baseline before beginning a new practice.

For example, ensure you can walk on a level outdoor surface for thirty minutes before attempting the “12-3-30” program. Next, confirm that you can finish a treadmill walk lasting thirty minutes.

Schaefer advises adding an incline and making necessary modifications, such as reducing the rise and using the handrails for safety.

“The most biomechanically appropriate way would be to do this without holding on to the rails and having a really good arm swing,” she stated. “But honestly, it can be too hard for some people to start from walking on flat ground to going at a 12% grade, which is pretty high.”

Schaefer continued, “Starting with holding the handrails is OK, and then as you feel more comfortable and as you feel more balanced and stronger in your posterior chain muscles, letting go of those handrails as much as you can will give you a better workout with good form.”