What is the 12-3-30 Workout? All Hype or Worth Trying?
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Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
By: Mark Sisson
What is the 12-3-30?
A quick dive into Google explains the “12-3-30,” aka the 12.3.30 treadmill routine, is walking at a 12 percent incline at 3mph on a treadmill for 30 minutes. Credited to influencer Lauren Giraldo, this workout’s short time frame and relative ease have piqued people’s interest. I’m sure the testimonials from people claiming to have made big physique gains in a short time don’t hurt either.
To answer your question: yes, from what I can tell, the 12-3-30 workout is basically just walking uphill. From a Primal perspective, I’d give it a qualified thumbs-up. Here are a few reasons why:
Pros of the TikTok 12-3-30 workout:
The biggest pro is simply that it gets people moving. As you probably know, I’m a particularly big fan of walking. It’s the ultimate Primal exercise and one of the best ways to combat the myriad health problems that result from a modern, mostly sedentary lifestyle. If I was being cynical, I might say something about how disconnected we are from Primal human movement patterns if it takes a viral TikTok trend to get people walking for 30 minutes, but far be it for me to rain on people’s parade. If this is what motivates people to get moving, who am I to argue?
Uphill walking can also be easier on the joints because it involves less impact, and it works the muscles somewhat differently than walking on a flat surface.
Potential cons of the 12-3-30 workout:
My biggest concern is that this could become just another form of chronic cardio depending on how challenging this workout is for you. Generally speaking, I define chronic cardio as sustained, repetitive exercise that keeps your heart rate pegged in the “black hole.” That’s the middling ground where workouts are too hard to be considered truly aerobic and not hard enough to achieve the benefits of high-intensity workouts like sprinting.
The best way to know if you’re in the black hole is to use a heart rate monitor. To keep your effort level in the aerobic zone—which is what I’d recommend here—you’d want your heart rate to stay below the MAF threshold of 180 minus age. For example, a 50-year-old wouldn’t exceed a heart rate of 130 beats per minute at any point during the workout.
From what I read online, people often find the 12-3-30 routine pretty challenging, especially at first. If you’re panting away on the treadmill, that’s a pretty good sign your heart rate is in the black hole. The Primal recommendation would be to adjust the treadmill speed so you can keep your heart rate under 180 minus age. That will deliver more overall fitness benefits than grinding away at a moderately hard—and thus overly stressful—workout intensity. In lieu of wearing a heart rate monitor, try breathing only through your nose. Nasal breathing serves as a decent proxy of aerobic threshold.
A couple other caveats:
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