I finally caved. After seeing the famous, or infamous, 12/3/30 workout spread like wildfire over social media, I stayed away as long as I could. This week while traveling for work gave me the perfect opportunity to try the 12/3/30 treadmill workout! Check out the details and my thoughts on the results below.
What Is It?
If you don’t already know the details of the 12/3/30 workout, this might seem like a totally bizarre post. The 12/3/30 workout is a treadmill workout that got super popular through TikTok and social media over the last few months. What is stands for is 12 incline, 3 speed, and 30 minutes on the treadmill. Sounds simple enough, and it is! This is a set it and forget it type of workout, which makes it accessible to almost everyone. For reference, I also included a 2 minute warm up and 2 minute cool down at a flat road with no incline.
How Did It Go?
As simple as this workout sounds, the workout itself is anything but easy. A 12 incline is aggressive, even at the speed of 3 mph. After about 10 minutes, my lower back started to hurt a little from being at the angle. Every 10 minutes or so, I would need to hold onto the treadmill for a little relief in my lower back before being able to continue to climb without assistance. On the other hand, 2 YouTube videos later and it felt like I blinked my eyes and it was over!
Results?
If you look at my Apple Watch output, it really doesn’t look that impressive. My calories burned came out to be right around 115, and I finished under the 2 mile mark. But, I was able to add tons of steps to my day with this low impact, cardio driven workout. This is the type of workout that will deliver good results with consistency. You might even be able to challenge yourself with a higher incline or faster speed after doing this for a couple of weeks!
Would You Recommend?
In short, yes! Like I’ve already mentioned, this is a workout that is incredibly accessible. I travel a ton for work, and just about every hotel is going to have a working treadmill. If you don’t want to try to find a boutique fitness studio in a strange new place, but still want to move your body this is a perfect way to do so. This workout is also easily modifiable. If you want to dial it down or up, switching the incline and/or speed will do just that! I also love that this is a low impact workout that, though consistency, will still deliver high results.