Hybrid Training
Hybrid training might seem like a new concept since it’s been picking up steam over the last few years, but truthfully it is not new at all. It’s the same well-rounded and effective approach to fitness and health just packaged in different terminology.
At its core, hybrid training reflects what proper training has always included: a combination of strength and cardiovascular work.
Strength training and cardiovascular training are equally important, not just for strength and endurance, but also for overall health, longevity, and resilience. Yet despite how foundational this approach is, there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding what hybrid training actually looks like and who it’s for.
So let’s clear things up. Below are the most common hybrid training myths and what’s actually true.
Hybrid training is the method of improving both strength and endurance simultaneously. This can be done in various settings, but most commonly known with strength training and running, strength training and cycling, or other forms of endurance.
Although calling yourself a hybrid athlete is “in” and trendy right now, your fitness isn’t a trend and this approach should be here to stay due to the vast amount of benefits that go beyond your physical health. Hybrid training programs should be built around improving performance and sustainability. It’s not about going all-in for a short season, burning out, and tapping out. It’s about developing a system that is strong, capable, and resilient year-round.
Hybrid training allows you to:
- Lift heavy without sacrificing endurance
- Build endurance without losing strength
- Train in a way that supports your long-term health and longevity
If you want to dive deeper into how to structure this, check out my most popular blog post: The Ultimate Hybrid Training Program.
This is one of the most persistent fitness myths and one of the most understood. It is an outdated thought process that is likely derived from a combination of the “interference effect” and the potential for overtraining.
The interference effect refers to the conflicting signals being sent and received on a molecular level. One side is sending endurance signals and the other is sending hypertrophy or strength signals. Without a properly programmed training plan, this can quickly lead to overtraining and fatigue.
While there is a risk of overtraining in hybrid training, as well as any type of training, it isn’t due to participating in both strength training and cardiovascular training. It’s due to a combination of poor volume management and lack of recovery (nutrition, sleep, and stress). Without proper programming, it’s easy to accumulate too much fatigue, mismanage volume, and under-recover. That’s when progress stalls, and it can feel like hybrid training “doesn’t work”. This is exactly why following a well-designed program is so important.
What actually matters so you can increase both your strength and endurance simultaneously is:
- a structured training program that follows progressive overload
- proper recovery that addresses sleep quality and quantity, nutrition quality and quantity, and overall stress management
- overall volume management of training
Working with a strength and endurance coach who helps you address these matters can help you take your training to the next level.
Want to follow a training program that meets you where you are? Schedule a complimentary consult call.
More volume.
More strength training.
More time on your feet.
More elevation gain.
It’s easy to fall into the mindset that more equals better results. After all, that’s how many of us were conditioned growing up – work harder, do more, push further. This might have worked in some instances in regards to school or career, but in fitness… not so much.
More only works if you can recover from it. And for most people, constantly adding more leads to fatigue, plateaus, and/or injury. Aka, not progress.
In hybrid training, this mindset can backfire quickly. You’re already balancing multiple training demands between strength and endurance training, so adding on unnecessary or junk volume only dilutes the quality of your sessions.
The athletes who make the most progress aren’t the ones doing the most. They’re the ones doing what matters most.
Better training comes from following a structured and intentional training program that meets you where you are, takes your goals, fitness level, and lifestyle into consideration, and involves progressive overload so you can see results over time.
It’s easy to assume that hybrid training is reserved for elite athletes. Top athletes likely include strength training, endurance training, and conditioning regularly in their program to be the best of the best. But that doesn’t make hybrid training exclusive – we don’t need more barriers into fitness!
In fact, everyone can benefit from hybrid training. Look at the approach Hyrox is taking, for example. Whether you’re a beginner just getting into fitness, someone returning after time off, or an experienced athlete chasing performance goals, you can benefit from improving both strength and cardiovascular fitness.
The benefits of hybrid training:
1. Improved strength
2. Enhanced power development
3. Increased endurance
4. Improved athleticism
5. Improved overall fitness
And these aren’t even touching on the regular ol’ benefits of fitness training in general, such as gaining muscle mass, increasing/maintaining bone density, boosting energy and confidence, improving metabolic health, and improving heart and brain health.
All humans can benefit from aiming to improve their strength and cardiovascular health.
It’s common to think that if you spend more time training, that means you’ll be a “hybrid athlete” or fall under the category of “hybrid training”. As mentioned in myth #2, more isn’t always better.
Hybrid training doesn’t require you to spend 2+ hours in the gym 6 days per week. In fact, for most people, that is completely unnecessary and potentially unattainable. Especially if you are a working adult who has a family, demanding job, social life, and/or other responsibilities, which again, is most people.
Training smart is more important than training for as many hours as possible. Most people could benefit from strength training 2-3 days per week and cardiovascular training 2-3 days per week. This could be 4-5 separate sessions or stacked across as little as 3 days within a week.
Let’s take a look at a sample hybrid training schedule –
Monday: 45 minute strength training session + 30 minute interval session
Tuesday: 30 minute easy cardiovascular session
Wednesday: 45 minute strength training session
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 45 minutes strength training session OR 45 minute cardiovascular session (depending on current goals)
Saturday: 45-90 minute long cardiovascular session
Sunday: Rest
It isn’t about doing everything for hours on end or training 7 days per week. It’s about consistently showing up to do what matters for the appropriate duration. Train smarter, not harder.
It’s common to want to wait until you’re not busy or until you stumble upon the perfect training program. But when are you never not bust? And what is a perfect program?
Waiting for things to be perfect is doing yourself a disservice and leaving fitness gains on the table. You’re waiting for the impossible. It’s even arguable that you should start training while you’re busy so you can create sustainable habits for the long term, not just “when you’re free”.
You will do better with consistently following a random program you found on the internet than waiting to start until the conditions are perfectly aligned. Not that I’m encouraging following random workouts, but something is better than nothing. Especially if you’re doing it consistently.
Consistency beats perfection every single time. Show up imperfectly, get the training done, and you’ll be eons ahead of the version of you that would have otherwise waited.
The perfect program doesn’t exist. Your optimal training program is one that you can stick to consistently and recover from.
You can build strength and endurance at the same time. You don’t need to train endlessly. And you don’t need a perfect plan to get in the game.
What you do need is structure, intention, and consistency. When your training is built around those principles, hybrid training becomes one of the most effective and sustainable approaches to fitness. Not just for a season, but for the long run.
Looking to hybrid train for the long run? Join Sustainably Fit.
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