What Is the 12-3-30 Workout Like?
Since I'd been rowing daily for four months straight, and before that, I was used to running, strength training, and walking my dogs in the woods a few times a week, I thought this walking workout would be really easy. I was so wrong!
The first day, my heart rate increased much higher than when I'm rowing or running (which made me realise I could push myself harder for both!). Walking on an incline actually felt harder than running on a flat surface, because I couldn't just use the momentum of bouncing off the balls of my feet to keep my pace. There were several minutes when I had to hold on to the treadmill handles, and I even had to hop off a couple times because my calves were getting so sore. It was definitely humbling to get my butt kicked by a walking workout!
By the third day, I was able to walk without stopping, but on the fourth day, I had to stop right before I was almost done because my foot started to hurt (always listen to your body!). My PT said that it's important to make sure I wasn't heel striking (stepping and landing on my heel instead of the ball of my foot).
I took two days off to rest and then finished off the week, and that helped. The following week I did four days, rested one day, then did two days. After my foot hurt on day four, I switched to my most supportive running sneakers, took more time to warm up with actual walking, and was more mindful about how my feet landed with each step. Taking a few extra minutes to stretch my feet and calves after the workout also helped.
By the second week, this walking workout was still feeling intense, but in a fun way. I loved how I could swing my arms harder to elevate my heart rate, or hold the handles if I wanted to tone down the intensity. I also loved how I could set the treadmill and just forget it, allowing this to be a very meditative form of movement.