#Photox cardio full#

While walking at incline definitely targets different muscles to when walking on the flat, there are plenty of other forms of cardio that will work you just as hard. Of course, no workout is 100% injury-proof, but are there any risks associated with the 12-3-30 workout, and is it better than other forms of cardio? In a word, no. Are there any risks with the 12-3-30 workout? Like all good workouts, this one is easy to adapt should you need to - you can easily break up the workout with minute breaks where you lower the incline, build up to walking at 12% over a number of weeks, or reduce the speed of the treadmill as you get fitter.Īlternatively, as you get fitter, you can speed the belt of the treadmill up, walk at a steeper incline, or like I did, challenge yourself to hike up a little higher each session. While I’ll definitely stick to running outside as my exercise of choice, this was a brilliant, low-impact way to get my heart rate up. On some days, I continued walking until I'd hit 1000 feet. On most days, I hiked around 948 feet over 30 minutes. After a week, I could also feel that I’d really worked my glutes and my hamstrings, which are areas runners often neglect, so this would be a great form of cross-training a couple of times a week. Doing the workout every day for a week, my hips and calves really felt the effects of hiking up a hill, even if that hill was in a gym. The workout used different muscles to runningĪs mentioned, the first time I did this workout I was a few days out from running 26.2 miles, and I noticed about 20 minutes in that I was working muscles I wasn't used to targeting. I definitely prefer to exercise outdoors, and as much as I enjoyed the challenge of the 12-3-30 workout, I struggled with boredom strolling on the treadmill.

#Photox cardio full#

Giraldo herself said it took her a while to build up to walking for the full 30-minutes and had to take breaks when she first started, so don’t be afraid to lower the incline, or press pause on the treadmill should you need.Īfter a month, I'd gotten used to my strolls up hill on the treadmill, but I really missed running outside. Again, 30 minutes is on the longer side of a workout for beginners. The first few times I tried this workout, I found myself staring at the ticking clock on the treadmill, willing it to go faster. That said, due to the tough incline, if you do suffer from upper or lower back pain, you should be careful, as it can put more pressure on your spine. I definitely felt my calves working harder than they would on a treadmill run. I can see how doing this several times a week would increase your fitness levels. Over the month, I definitely got used to walking at this incline, but I could feel it down the back of my legs for the first few walks. I’d suggest that those not used to walking or running regularly might start a little lower, as it was a bit of a shock to the system for the first few minutes. We’re talking about hiking up a steep hill for 30 minutes, not the gentle stroll in the park I’d expected when setting out to test this workout. The first thing that struck me when I set up this treadmill was that 12% is pretty high. Being in a taper, I was paranoid about pulling my calves walking up hill, so I've revisited this workout recently to give it a proper try over the course of a month - read on to find out what happened.ĭuring this month, I did the 12-3-30 workout three times a week, in place of my running workouts. To caveat, I first tried this workout and wrote about it for Tom's Guide when I was ten days away from running my fourth marathon.

I tried the 12-3-30 workout - here’s what happened Giraldo says she holds the bars about 30% of the time and goes hands-free the other 70%. There's no firm guidance on whether or not to hold on to the bars of the treadmill. Warm-up for 5 minutes, either walking on the flat or at a slight incline.To follow this treadmill workout, you simply: How do you do the 12-3-30 treadmill workout?ĭon’t panic, it’s much, much easier than it sounds.