Seemingly every month a new workout routine seems to go viral across social media. Recently, the spotlight has been on the 12-3-30 workout. Originally created by Lauren Giraldo, a YouTuber who was dissatisfied with the traditional workout routines commonly found online, this routine aims to be simple, straightforward, and easy to follow. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know to decide for yourself if this workout is worth it.
The 12-3-30 Workout Explained
This workout is incredibly basic: set a treadmill to 12% incline with a pace of three miles per hour, and walk for thirty minutes. That’s all there is to it!
Good practice suggests you should incorporate a warm-up and cool-down into any workout routine. In this instance, a five-minute walk with a 0% gradient before and after the main event should do the trick.
If you’re a beginner, start by doing this workout twice a week. Each week, increase this by a day until you’re working out at least five days a week. According to Runner’s World, this is a good way to avoid injury. Once your body has got used to this workout, you can amp things up by increasing the incline, the pace, or adding weights.
What’s So Good About The 12-3-30 Workout?
According to Lauren Giraldo, this workout has helped her shed 30 lbs and keep the weight off. The workout has many benefits:
- It’s easy to follow and not intimidating, so perfect for anyone who’s not comfortable in the gym.
- It’s lower impact than running so puts less strain on your joints.
- Due to the incline, it increases fitness, stamina and improves your cardiovascular health. In addition, the workout forces you to engage your core, back muscles, and your glutes, providing an all-over workout that encompasses strength training and aerobic exercise.
- If losing weight is your goal, this workout will help you lose more weight than if you were walking on a flat surface.
- It improves stamina and endurance.
- It only involves one piece of equipment.
- It can be adapted for all fitness levels.
How Many Calories Can You Burn Doing The 12-3-30 Workout?
The exact amount of calories burned will be dependent on the individual person, and varies with things such as height, weight, age, gender, and muscle mass. However, it’s estimated that around 283 calories could be burned in one workout session.
To increase the number of calories you burn, make sure you’re working out with optimal form. Swing your arms as you walk and try to avoid resting on the treadmill. The closer you can get to walking with your own body power and not relying on the treadmill, the better the workout and the more calories you’ll burn.
Sounds Good – But What Is This Workout All About?
At its core, this workout is all about a straightforward, easy-to-follow approach to fitness. The particular combination of incline and pace means that this workout is a bit of a double whammy, providing strength training and cardiovascular fitness wrapped up in one simple, sustainable parcel.
The workout is perfect for beginners, and as three miles per hour is an average walking speed, it should be achievable for most people. However, if you’re really struggling, the pace or incline can be easily modified to fit any level of fitness.
On the other hand, if you’re a fitness fanatic, this workout could be fantastic for recovery days, or if you’d like to fit some cross-training into your routine.
Does The 12-3-30 Workout Live Up To The Hype?
The 12-3-30 routine is fantastic for engaging a variety of muscle groups, including your core, glutes, and back while proving a cardiovascular workout. The incline means that your glutes and legs will have to put in some extra work, meaning you get more bang for your buck with this workout compared to walking on a flat surface.
In addition, doing this workout five times a week will mean that you meet guidelines for physical activity set by the US government, which suggest adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, or 75 minutes of high-intensity activity, per week.
However, bear in mind that no workout is a miracle worker, and for a well-rounded exercise routine, it’s important to incorporate other forms of activity.
Final Thoughts
All in all, the 12-3-30 workout is an effective, low-impact routine that incorporates strength training as well as cardiovascular fitness. It’s a sustainable approach to exercise that should provide you with a decent workout while remaining simple enough to prevent feelings of demotivation. Whether you want to lose weight, build strength, or increase fitness, consider incorporating the 12-3-30 workout into your routine.
About the Author
Jenny Williams is a sports and health writer at Speech writing service. She’s also an expert project manager at Lucky Assignments Edinburgh and Gum Essays.
Tags: Conditioning, exercise routine, fat loss, lose fat, lose weight, weight loss, workout routine
