Incline Walking, 12-3-30 and the Stair Climber

Not everyone wants to run, and not everyone's joints enjoy it. Incline walking and the stair climber offer a tough cardio workout with far less impact, and they are easy to adjust for any fitness level.

Why They Work

Walking uphill or climbing steps forces your legs to lift your body weight with every stride. That raises your heart rate quickly without the jarring landings of running. They are also easy to keep at a steady, conversational effort, which makes them a natural fit for zone 2 cardio.

Incline Walking Basics

Start at a comfortable speed, around 4 to 5 km/h, with an incline of 5 to 8 percent.
Increase incline before speed as you get fitter. Many people work up to 10 to 15 percent.
Stand tall and swing your arms naturally.

Stair Climber Basics

Start slow. The stair climber is harder than it looks.
Take full steps, placing your whole foot on each stair.
Keep your torso mostly upright. A slight forward lean is fine.

The 12-3-30 Workout

The 12-3-30 workout went viral on social media: set the treadmill to a 12 percent incline, a speed of 3 miles per hour (about 4.8 km/h), and walk for 30 minutes. It is a simple, repeatable session and a genuinely hard one for beginners.

If 30 minutes at 12 percent is too much, start at 5 to 8 percent or for 15 minutes and build up week by week.
Expect your calves and lower back to feel it at first. Shorter sessions are fine while they adapt.
Do not grip the rails to make it bearable. Lower the incline instead.

There is nothing magic about the exact numbers. Any incline walk you can repeat several times a week will build fitness.

The Most Common Mistake

Holding the handrails and leaning back takes a big share of your body weight off your legs. It makes the machine feel easier but cuts the work and changes your posture. A light touch for balance is fine. If you need to grip hard, lower the speed or incline instead.

If you can hold a conversation in short sentences, you are in a good zone for steady cardio. If you can only manage a word or two, you are working at interval intensity.

Sample Sessions

Beginner: 20 minutes of incline walking at a moderate incline, 3 times a week.
Steady endurance: 30 to 45 minutes at a pace you can sustain while breathing through your nose most of the time.
Intervals: after a warm-up, alternate 1 minute at a steep incline or fast step rate with 2 minutes easier, 6 to 8 rounds. See the HIIT workouts guide.

Fitting It Around Lifting

Low-impact cardio interferes less with leg training than running or hard sprints. You can do it after a lifting session or on separate days. More on order in cardio before or after weights.

For Fat Loss

These machines burn a decent number of calories per session, but remember that diet sets the deficit. Cardio helps create it and supports heart health. See walking for fat loss and cardio vs weights for fat loss.

No Machine?

Real hills and stairs work just as well. A local hill, a stadium staircase or the stairs in an apartment building can give you the same workout for free. See home cardio with no machine.