Kourtney Kardashian is back at the gym. In a new social media post the reality star, who welcomed her fourth child, Rocky Thirteen, less than two months ago, revealed that she has returned to the gym. “Doing the most important job in the world… being a mommy,” Kardashian wrote from the treadmill. “Keeping my baby alive, on-demand breastfeeding means keeping calories high with lots of nourishing foods.” What workout is the 44-year-old relying on to achieve her postpartum health goals? Celebwell has all the details.
Last week Kardashian revealed she was “taking it easy” with a “healing” workout. “7 weeks postpartum: first day in the gym doing 30 minutes walking 3.0 12.0 incline taking it easy, no rush no pressure mamas, your body is healing, it’s not a race,” she wrote.
This week she was back at it. “Taking time to slowly ease back into some uphill walks on the treadmill when I can sneak them in, along with my walks outside in the stroller. Be kind to yourself,” she wrote alongside a heart emoji.
Kourtney’s postpartum workout of choice is the 12-3-30 treadmill workout, a cardio formula that went viral a few years back. It involves walking on a 12 incline at a speed of three for 30 minutes.
How does the workout compare to walking with no incline? “It’s like climbing up a hill,” explains Philadelphia-based trainer Kendra Gamble of HIT Fitness. “You will burn more calories walking up a steep hill than you do walking on a flat surface.”
Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t directly burn fat, “it just burns calories,” she says, and “more calories burnt equals calorie deficit equals more fat burned.”
The number of calories you’ll burn from the workout depends on a few factors, including your age, fitness level, and weight. According to a 2012 study published in the Journal of Biomechanics, energy expenditure increased by 17% on a 5% incline and by 32% on a 10% incline, so doing the 12-3-30 will burn about twice as many calories as walking with zero incline.