The 12-3-30 workout trend might help you live longer, here's how

The 12-3-30 treadmill workout scraps running and instead focusses on walking but with the addition of an incline to bump up the intensity. Despite it gaining much attention for the weight loss results people have seen from it, the walking workout could also help your heart health and increase longevity.

The creator behind the workout is called Lauren Giraldo and claims it helped her lose 30 pounds, without dieting or calorie counting. It was just her and a treadmill (find a best treadmill for your home gym plus grab a bargain deal on one via our Black Friday treadmill hub). 

Giraldo's Tiktok went viral, gaining over 12.2 million views. All the workout requires is setting a treadmill to a 12% incline, walking at three miles per hour for 30 minutes. And it turns out it could be a really great way to build on your overall health, helping you live longer. 

Steven Virtue, Fitness Development Manager at Total Fitness explained to us , "As the incline of your walk increases, your body is forced to work harder to travel forward, therefore more muscle mass is engaged resulting in more calories are burned.

"To really see the health benefits of incline walking – you should aim to walk for at least three hours per week, at a pace of mild discomfort, with an incline of 5 – 10 %," he added.

It appears that adding a 12% incline to a treadmill and walking for a half hour can help to improve your cardiovascular capacity while incorporating a level of resistance into your workout. We all will know that as we age it is very important for us to maintain good cardiovascular health in order to avoid harmful diseases such as a heart attack or stroke.

Watch this fitness Tiktoker demonstrate the 12-3-30 workout:

@juliaosyfitness

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The user, @juliaosyfitness, who shared the video above states that she personally favours this form of cardio as it includes a level of resistance training, which helps to lose fat without losing muscle. She makes a good point, and if you are seriously concerned about protecting your health as you age there is scientific evidence to promote resistance training for aging adults.

Of course, though the incline provides resistance, proper resistance training is known mostly for training with weight. The 12-3-30 workout is a good stepping stone toward adding weighted exercises into future strength training.

It is good to note here that this doesn't mean the bigger your muscles are the longer you are guaranteed to live. But incorporating regular strength training into your current exercise regime has been proven to help lower mortality - as highlighted in this 2006 study.

It is evident that the 12-3-30 treadmill workout can help do more than blast belly fat. If practiced regularly, the resistance based walk can help combat ageing, therefore increasing your longevity. 

Even better, you don't need to use a treadmill to make this walking style workout a daily habit. Why not go for a walk outside (make sure your feet are protected in a pair of best shoes for walking), preferably a route with a hill or some steep inclines to create resistance as you exercise and build on your strength.