When I set out to try the 12-3-30 workout, I'd already been rowing five to six times a week. Before that, I was used to running, strength training, and walking my dogs in the woods. Frankly, I thought the 12-3-30 workout would be easy. I was quickly proven wrong.
The first day, my heart rate increased more than it usually does when I'm rowing or running (as reported by my Apple Watch). Walking on an incline felt harder than running on a flat surface because I couldn't use momentum to bounce off the balls of my feet to keep my pace. There were several moments where I had to hold on to the treadmill handles, and I even had to hop off a couple of times because my calves were getting so tired. It was humbling to get my butt kicked by a low-impact workout I assumed would be easy.
By the third day, I was able to walk without stopping, but on the fourth day, I had to stop just short of 30 minutes because my foot started to hurt. This is exactly why Rodriguez recommends talking it slow at first. I talked to my physical therapist, who told me 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 the week without any foot pain. The following week, I did the 12-3-30 workout four days in a row, rested for one day, then did two more days of the workout. After my foot started to hurt again 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 calves and feet after the workout also helped.
By the second week, the 12-3-30 workout was still feeling intense, but in a fun way. I learned that 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 appreciated how meditative the movement was, seeing as I could leave the treadmill settings the same for the entire workout.
During 12-3-30, I also noticed that setting the pace to 3.0 mph forced me to maintain that speed. This made it so that my heart rate range was about 20 BPM (beats per minute) higher than my usual rowing, where I'm in charge of my own pace.
