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When it comes to exercise, so many people – beginners; die-hard enthusiasts; reluctant participants; and everyone in between – they’re looking for the holy grail: workouts that involve minimal time and effort and deliver maximum results.
We live in the most scientifically advanced age of fitness. Exercise is a multi-billion dollar industry, and much of that money is spent on new research and development of new technology. If there was an easier way to get the benefits of a squat or pull up without actually doing a squat or pull up, you’d think we’d have found it by now.
Despite the absence of a magic pill or a one-minute, low-impact full-body workout that will burn fat, build muscle, and prevent all serious health problems, the industry is full of savvily marketed plans and potions, promising the world for a little time and work.
The latest fad regimen to fall into this category is the cardio workout known as the 12-3-30. Devotees say that 12-3-30 lives in that ideal intersection of minimum effort and maximum results.
Could it be true? Have we unlocked the biggest exercise secret? Or is this another lie perpetrated by Big Treadmill?
The coaches and personal trainers I spoke to said 12-3-30 is a net positive. People who move their bodies generally do better than people who don’t, and anything that makes people exercise is a good thing. But they also believe that 12-3-30 offers a look at how people have traditionally thought of exercise as complicated, and how much simpler it can be.
No one alive today can truthfully say that he invented uphill walking. But fitness influencer Lauren Giraldo is widely credited with rebranding this physical act as 12-3-30. Giraldo published a YouTube video about 12-3-30 in 2019; in 2020, she claimed that walking on the treadmill at a 12 percent incline at a speed of 3 mph for 30 minutes helped her lose 30 pounds and keep the weight off. In an interview with Good Morning AmericaGiraldo said she started using the 12-3-30 formula because it was a way to work that wasn’t intimidating.
The great thing about 12-3-30 is that it’s simple. There is a finite number of settings on a treadmill, and the most difficult thing about this routine is to remember which number goes where. The incline is set to 12. The speed input is where the three go. And 30 is the number of minutes needed to complete this ritual.
“12-3-30 works for what it was designed to do: a low-impact cardio workout that’s easy to repeat,” Charlie Atkinsa certified personal trainer and the founder of the guided exercise app The sweathe told Vox. “I categorized 12-3-30 as LISS, or stationary low intensity cardio.”
I tried 12-3-30 at the gym this week and I was surprised: I didn’t expect that walking at this seemingly poor pace was difficult enough to work up a sweat.
Atkins explained that 12-3-30 and other LISS routines are effective because they allow you to get your heart rate up with relatively lower effort and less use of your body than something like running. This makes 12-3-30 particularly attractive for beginners, people returning after an injury or an extended break, and anyone who wants to recommended amount of cardio for better health but he doesn’t want to do his full-time job.
James McMillian, a certified personal trainer and president of Tone Housea strength and conditioning facility in New York City, agreed with Atkins that 12-3-30 is good for many people. Because it does not require a particularly high skill level and is relatively easier on the articles, its barrier to entry is lower. People turned off by more challenging forms of cardio, such as running or group cycling classes, may find 12-3-30 more doable, which could lead to more consistency.
“You’re walking on an incline, so your heart rate stays up, you burn calories, and you get some lower-body resistance work without beating yourself up,” McMillian said. “The more friction you remove, the more people stay consistent.”
I tried 12-3-30 at the gym this week and I was surprised: I didn’t expect that walking at this seemingly poor pace was difficult enough to work up a sweat. Yes, 12-3-30 is super simple (almost annoyingly so), but it’s not really something you can collect. The pace is just a smidge above a brisk walking pace, the kind you’d use to pass someone lollygagging in front of you on a sidewalk. The incline feels like a steep hill. And while it’s certainly not as challenging as the spinning or HIIT classes I’ve taken, I’ve worked up a sweat. (I generally don’t trust treadmill calorie counters, but, for what it’s worth, the machine told me I burned 390 calories).
The experts I spoke to told me that to really get the most out of the workout, you shouldn’t hold onto the treadmill. If you take this advice, it makes for a cardio experience that is quite uncomfortable that you really have to pay attention (I couldn’t text or scroll on my phone while doing it) but it wasn’t impossible to finish.
While the experts I spoke to said that 12-3-30 is not a magic bullet and strength training could be more beneficial if your goal is to become stronger or enhance athletic performance, there is also a saying in the industry that the best workout is the one you actually do. 12-3-30 is a plan that many people can achieve consistently. By that standard, it’s a good one.
How much of 12-3-30 is just great marketing?
While effectiveness and consistency are crucial components, perhaps the biggest factor when it comes to the popularity of 12-3-30 is that it is easy to sell.
“12-3-30, it’s like the $5 footlong,” Bobby McMullena personal trainer and fitness app founder Adonishe told Vox. McMullen’s app matches customers with personal trainers based on goals, budget and location, and it spends a lot of time thinking about how to meet gym-goers where they are.
McMullen pointed out that workouts like P90X and Hard 75 are becoming immensely popular in part because of how they’re packaged. It turns out that some people like it when their workouts, like their sandwiches, have a numerical identifier. Branding matters, in part because participating in hot training, called numerical, that everyone else publishes can be a form of motivation.
“It stays with you, so you know exactly what to do,” McMullen said. “You push a few buttons, you don’t change for 30 minutes. It’s just a very catchy viral workout.”
McMullen and the other experts I spoke with noted that the 12-3-30 gimmick also works for the simple fact that many people go to the gym and don’t know what to do or want/need to be told exactly how to use their time. Work is an escape for many people, and who wants to think when they are actively trying not to think?
Unlike the lure of bootcamps and other workouts that pride themselves on pulverizing you, the charm of 12-3-30 is that it should be fairly easy—something that a wide swath of people can, in theory, accomplish. Its approachability is its strength, and a big part of why it’s so popular. McMullen said that one could also customize the program, and tinker with the speed to make it as easy or as difficult as needed. (But, he said, “going steeper is crazy.”)
“Moving your whole body is a victory, and I don’t, nor should any workout, pooh-pooh, an overly commercialized three-number system that allows you to move your body,” said McMullen, adding that the most important thing about 12-3-30 is that it shows people that working out doesn’t have to be as complicated as it seems.
“Whatever you can put in is better than nothing,” he said. “If that’s all you’ve got time for, run up that hill like Kate Bush, baby.”
