Hard to Kill Programming Methodology: Part 12 - Mixed Modal Aerobic Training

Mixed Modal Aerobic Training might be one of the most underutilized, yet most effective, training methodologies out there. It combines multiple movement patterns, resistance training, and aerobic conditioning into one seamless workout, allowing you to build strength, endurance, and aerobic capacity—all at the same time.

While many people default to running, biking, or rowing for aerobic training, Mixed Modal Aerobic Training offers a more dynamic, well-rounded approach. And despite the common misconception, it’s not CrossFit.

In this post, we’ll break down what Mixed Modal Aerobic Training is, why you should be doing it, and how to program it effectively for maximum results.

What is Mixed Modal Aerobic Training?

Mixed Modal Aerobic Training is exactly what it sounds like: a blend of different movement patterns performed in an aerobic setting. Instead of just running or rowing, you incorporate strength, gymnastics (bodyweight movements), and monostructural cardio into one session.

This training method allows you to:

• Improve aerobic capacity without only relying on running or biking.
• Increase muscular endurance and strength simultaneously.
• Build a more well-rounded level of fitness that translates to real-world performance.

How is This Different from CrossFit?

While CrossFit workouts do include mixed modalities, they tend to be high-intensity, competition-driven, and prioritize speed over sustainability. Mixed Modal Aerobic Training, as we define it, is more structured, controlled, and geared towards long-term performance and longevity.

For example, in CrossFit, workouts often lack structured work-to-rest ratios and encourage max effort throughout. Mixed Modal Aerobic Training, on the other hand, allows for intentional pacing, heart rate control, and strategic intensity adjustments.

Why You Should Be Doing Mixed Modal Aerobic Training

1. Increases Efficiency
   If you’re short on time and can only train a couple of times a week, this method allows you to hit multiple energy systems at once. Instead of doing separate strength, endurance, and aerobic sessions, you can combine all three into one effective workout.

2. Enhances Longevity & Durability
   Endurance training alone won’t prepare you for real-life strength demands, and pure strength training won’t give you the aerobic engine you need. Mixed Modal Aerobic Training ensures you’re strong, conditioned, and capable across multiple domains.

3. Customizable to Any Fitness Level
   Unlike rigid workout structures, Mixed Modal Aerobic Training can be tailored to any fitness level, goal, or energy system focus. Whether you want a high-intensity threshold session or a long, slow aerobic grind, you have full control over the programming.

How to Program Mixed Modal Aerobic Training

The best way to structure a Mixed Modal Aerobic session is through the WGM Format:

WGM = Weightlifting + Gymnastics + Monostructural Cardio

Each session includes one movement from each category, allowing for a balanced approach to strength and conditioning.

Step 1: Select Your Movements

• Weightlifting (W): Any exercise using an external load (barbell, kettlebell, sandbag, etc.).
• Gymnastics (G): Bodyweight movements (push-ups, pull-ups, lunges, burpees, etc.).
• Monostructural (M): Traditional cardio elements (running, biking, rowing, skierg, etc.).

Step 2: Set Your Work-to-Rest Ratio & Duration

Depending on your goal, you’ll adjust the intensity and length of the workout:

• Zone 2 Focus: 40-60 minutes at a moderate, sustainable pace.
• Aerobic Threshold Focus: 15-20 minutes at a higher intensity, threshold pace.
• Interval-Based Training: Work in structured intervals with built-in rest periods.

Example Workouts

🔥 Short & Intense Aerobic Threshold Workout (20 minutes)

• 12 Weighted Lunges
• 20 Push-Ups
• 200m Row
• Repeat for 20 minutes at a challenging pace

💪 Long & Sustainable Zone 2 Workout (50 minutes)

• 16 Dumbbell Front Squats
• 10 Pull-Ups
• 400m Run
• 15 Kettlebell Swings
• 12 Box Step-Ups
• 500m Row
• Repeat at a steady, conversational pace for 50 minutes

Final Thoughts: The Future of Aerobic Training?

Mixed Modal Aerobic Training is one of the best ways to build real-world fitness. It takes the benefits of endurance training, blends them with strength and muscular endurance, and allows for nearly endless variations to keep workouts fun and effective.

Instead of relying solely on running or biking for your conditioning, try incorporating Weighted Movements, Bodyweight Training, and Monostructural Cardio into your sessions. Not only will you build a stronger aerobic engine, but you’ll also develop power, durability, and efficiency in all areas of fitness.

If you want to follow a structured approach to this style of training, Garage Gym Athlete has you covered.

🔹 Join us today at GarageGymAthlete.com and sign up for a free trial!

And remember…

If you don’t kill comfort, comfort will kill you.

Garage Gym Athlete Workout of the Week

Podcast Transcript

Jerred: All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the garage gym athlete podcast, Jerred Moon here, and we are continuing in the series almost done here, almost done going over the hard to kill methodology, which is our blend of programming, performance and longevity. So we've covered a lot of areas. I'm not going to rehash them now.

If you want to dive into the series, just scroll back. They're all labeled, but this is part 12 and then we will get it into part 13. And then ultimately I'll be announcing project Delta, kind of the direction we're headed with some of our programming, but let's get into it. So today is mixed modal aerobic training.

So mixed modal aerobic training is if you were to think of. CrossFit. That's what most people think of, but I'm going to go way more into the weeds and the details of this and how it's not CrossFit, uh, but that's what you can think of it's mixed modality aerobic training, so it's not very high intensity and doesn't need to be.

Uh, think of this as something that could go in place of running, biking, rowing, because that's all anyone ever does typically when they think about conditioning or programming aerobic endurance. Is how far can I run? Can I do zone two? Can I do five miles? Can I do a bike today? Can I do a row today? And it's because the, there's the endurance world and that's where all these endurance athletes come from.

And that's where all of this knowledge base is, is in triathlon training, marathon training, all these longer endurance, you know, ultra marathon training, all of these longer endurance programs, but no one's really looking at mixed motor aerobic as like, Hey, what if I. Do a farmer carry with a kettlebell, do a couple of burpees and then, uh, you know, hit the rower after that.

Like, what if I mix all these together? And I do that for a prolonged period of time. What if I do that for 30, minutes? And I try and I'm looking at my heart rate and I'm trying to keep my heart rate in a certain zone. Maybe zone two. This is where we have a lot of unanswered questions. I personally, personally believe this is some of the best possible training that you can do.

Period. Hands down. And the reason being is because you can take mixed modal aerobic training and you can blend it multiple different ways. You can say, all right, I'm going to do a zone two mixed modal aerobic training session today. And so what you're hitting on when you do that is you're able to basically get some sort of like strength base in there.

You're also getting an aerobic base and you're going as at a specific zone. Uh, there's a lot of like people talking about zone two training and they're like, well, zone two has to be, you know, on a bike or running. It's like, why, why can't it just be low intensity mixed modality training? And the answer is, we just don't have a lot of research on it.

This is not like one that's, you know, backed by science to a large degree. We've tried pulling it from all these different areas, but it's just not there. But what we know from our own experience is that this is an incredibly, incredibly good way to program for athletes to get results in all areas. And so the reason I say that it's CrossFit You know, opening with an example is just to help you understand like how they go back to back.

But the ways that it's not CrossFit is a lot of times we might set in work to rest ratios that we went over in the oxidative energy system, parting part of this series, or it would be incredibly low intensity. And that's not CrossFit at all. Typically CrossFit doesn't have rest periods. It doesn't have low intensity.

They don't tell you to do low intensity things for long duration. Um, so mixed motor aerobic training, I think I want to tell you how to program it, but I think I want to like jump into ultimately why you should be doing it. Why you should be doing it is efficiency. Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. Like I said, you can, if you only had, you can only train twice per week or something like that, this is like something I would recommend for that type of person who just needs to be incredibly efficient because you are hitting, you can hit every energy system.

You can do a mixed modal aerobic, high intensity. You can do a mixed modal aerobic, low intensity. You can add squats, you can add burpees, you could add bicep curls, and you're just blending all of these things, but no one really wants to do it. The reason I. Like, I think these types of workouts are gaining more popularity, but the real reason they're not talked about that much is because the bodybuilder just wants to build his body.

The endurance athlete just wants to run. The crossfitter just wants to go, you know, go as hard as they can all the time. And it, but if we're talking about just a human being, we're talking about performance and longevity in life. This is such an amazing way to go about fitness. So let's talk about programming it.

I like to also describe this as just grunt work to people who are unfamiliar. It's just like, do work, do work. At a sustained heart rate for a long time, and the format we follow is typically kind of that, um, W. G. M. Is like one of the acronyms that we follow. So weightlifting, gymnastics, body weight. So you can start by just selecting three exercises.

That's the most basic way of doing something like this. So weightlifting, gymnastics, body weight are the most basic. W. G. M. Weightlifting, gymnastics, monostructural, sorry, W. G. M. monostructural. And I'll go over that. So if I were to just program one here on the spot, you would take a weightlifting exercise.

It can be Any kind of weight. It doesn't not necessarily have to be like Olympic weightlifting. You could say back squat. You could say kettlebell swing. You could say mace 360. Like you could do anything that is adding an implement for resistance. So don't get too hung up on the weightlifting having to be weightlifting.

It can be anything that adds resistance, but it makes sure that you don't forget to have some sort of resistance component. So this could be. Anything like with a barbell, with a kettlebell, um, with a wall ball, anything like that. So that's the weightlifting side of that. So you'd select, okay, I'm going to do.

Weighted lunges, and I'm going to do, you know, 16 total steps, lunge steps. And that's my first exercise. Okay, we got the W there. Then the gymnastics, again, doesn't have to be like a gymnastic movement. It's more to us, body weight style. So it's like, okay, I'm going to do. My lunges with a barbell weighted lunges.

And then my gymnastics movement, I think I want to do some pushups. Okay. Do pushups. Let's say you're going to do 30 pushups. So now we have our lunges, we have our pushups, and then we go to monostructural. And this is where you get some of that sustained heart rate. Monostructural is typically one activity like an endurance athlete would do.

So that could be biking. That could be rowing. That could be running. And so say you were like, you know what? I want to run. 200 meters, 400 meters, whatever it is at a moderate pace. Now you have the full workout. So you do the lunges, you do the pushups, then you do the run. And where you get to really play with this is the intensity level.

If you want to do threshold aerobic training, you can go hard. You can say, I want to do this for 15 minutes and I want to go all out. And so you can absolutely do that. You can just go all out. You have a high intensity threshold, uh, training session here. You're going to be having high, high heart rate.

You're going to be hitting muscular endurance, strength, a lot of different areas. But if you're like, you know what? I don't want to go hard, but I also don't like running zone two. I want to do zone two. So set your zone two heart rate parameters and go through this. And start with 40 minutes and say, I'm going to go through this for 40 minutes.

And that means you're just going to go through it at a slower pace. So you do the lunges. And then if your heart rate got really jacked, maybe you're like, okay, I'm going to rest a little bit. Now I'm going to do the pushups. Uh, and then I'm going to, when I run this 400 meter or this 200 meters, I'm going to, I'm going to really jog.

I'm not going to go super hard. So the only thing that. Dictates the intensity is what your goal is. So if you are trying to get aerobic threshold training, you go harder for shorter duration. If you want zone two training, you just go longer with, you know, uh, less intensity overall. And you get to decide what this is.

That's it's such a flexible training modality and you don't have to be like getting stuck into this, like, okay, well, does it just always have to be three things? Absolutely not. This is the very base level of like mixed model aerobic training. You could do that twice. You could say, I'm going to do WGM, WGM.

So you have the lunge, the pushup, the 200 meter run. And then you're like, then you add in something else. You're like, then I have bench press and then I have pull up and then I have skier, you know, and you could do all six of those and run through that. And that's really kind of how I recommend when you get into the.

Okay. I want to do 40 minutes of this, 50 minutes of the 60 minutes of this zone two is I would stretch it out to probably six exercises still following that same format, because ultimately it's going to, uh, you'll, you'll see more progress that way. And it's easier to do something like that for 60 minutes or 50 minutes.

And then if you're going to go shorter intensity, just three exercises, go through them, uh, you know, shorter duration, higher intensity, go, uh, three exercises and knock them out as fast as you can. Like I said, mixed modal aerobic training is just a great way to go about it. You can add rest times in there.

You can control your heart rate. You can select your exercises based off of what your goals are. You can still build some muscle, muscular endurance, power in these. Like it's a really great way to go about it without always having to hit high intensity or without having to always go for a run for your aerobic training.

There's a lot of benefits here and I highly recommend you do it. Um, frequently, and it's a big thing. It's a big part of our programming over at Garage Gym Athlete and all of our athletes out there, you know what I'm talking about. You've done these workouts, you've done the grunt work, uh, you know, training things that we've done.

You've done all of these things. Uh, but if you're not one of our athletes and you want to be a part of this, head over to garagegymathlete. com, sign up for a free trial, and we would love to have you. But that's it for this one. Remember, if you don't kill comfort, comfort will kill you.