Is This Treadmill Walking Trend Good for Your Fitness?

The Trend: Perhaps you’ve spotted people on your feed walking on treadmills at steep inclines. If so, you’ve stumbled onto a growing fitness genre — the 12-3-30 (set your treadmill to a 12% incline and walk at three mph for 30 minutes) has recently seen an online resurgence. The format joins a wave of other number-coded workouts that have taken over social media, likely because the formula feels like a plan — and a plan feels like something you can repeat.

What People Are Saying: Trainers are generally on board with these workouts. The 12-3-30 is low-impact steady-state cardio that can support cardiovascular health and works well when combined with a strength training routine. Experts aren’t particularly fixated on the specific numbers, however. Instead, they say the important part is that incline walking keeps your heart rate elevated for a sustained stretch of time. The 12-3-30 is just one example — these structured, formula-based workouts are growing in popularity across the board. (If the original feels too easy, try the 30-15-3 workout instead.) 

What to Know: The 12-3-30 works because it gets you moving at a real intensity for 30 minutes. If that feels like too much, dropping to a lower incline (aka the 10-2-20) and gradually working up to it will deliver similar cardiovascular benefits as you progress to the full version.