Hybrid Training Defined
Today, August 3, 2024, there is a plethora of influencers in the marketplace of ideas calling themselves “hybrid athletes”, exclaiming the virtues of “hybrid training”, and generally falling at the altar of this… new? training method because it’s the shiny new toy in fitness. And as such, for all the great training advice there is out there for developing strength and endurance concurrently (see Fergus Crawley) there is a lot of noise too, tangentially associated with real athletic development, albeit great content, that’s more a way to build brand awareness.
And I’m into it! HONESTLY. The more people that are pushing their boundaries in a world where it’s easier than ever to not, I’m on board. But that begs the question; pushing toward what exactly? What is the basis of this training methodology, or can you even call it that? What specifically are we accomplishing when we’re engaging in so called “hybrid training”? And most importantly, where does it lead? I mean, if the purpose of fitness is to develop into a fit person, that is, to be competent in the 10 general physical skills than does this provide a sufficient blueprint to get us there?
Or is it only about developing 2 disperate athletic qualities concurrently? Most of the content out there is geared toward young men who want to be jacked and lean, and as a consequence you have most of these “hybrid athletes” smashing zone 2 runs in the morning and doing pump sessions in the gym at night. Or you simply have a bunch of people repackaging CrossFit and calling it hybrid.
Now, it’s all good work and again I’m all for it. But is it sustainable? Can you optimize the athletic qualities you desire over the long term by training this way? And when your training inevitably gets stale, what do you do? Is there a hybrid model that when properly applied helps to manifest these athletic qualities in a meaningful way, year after year so that in time you become a strong, muscular, lean and enduring athlete? Not that I know of.
Until now.
Hybrid Training Defined
Hybrid training is a macro cycle of concurrent training splits designed to develop the athletic qualities associated with longevity.
They are:
Cardiovascular and Respiratory Endurance
Strength
Muscle Mass
Stability
Mobility
Agility
Balance
Coordination
This is our foundation. To apply these to hybrid sport (running, lifting, etc.), we systematically build the volume and intensity of our training to meet the demands of our event.
We use empirical evidence of the qualities laid out above to indicate improvements, stagnation or degradation of our fitness.
We do this in a systematized way by breaking up the year into 4 concurrent macrocycles (The 4 Seasons of Training), parsed out intentionally to maximize the benefits of each athletic quality in relation to the others.
They are:
S1- Hypertrophy and Endurance (20 weeks)
S2 -Strength and Stamina (12 weeks)
S3 - Speed and Power (8 weeks)
S4 - General physical preparedness - GPP (12 weeks)
Training block lengths reflect the importance of each athletic quality and the dedicated time necessary to bring about their meaningful improvements while managing injury risk and fatigue.
This is simplicity itself. But the depth and breadth of movement and stimuli inside each one of these seasons is the remedy for creating strong, highly capable athletic bodies. For years we have struggled to find the right balance of training modalities to affect lasting and meaningful change. So we took up cross-training and soon after came CrossFit, than circuit training and spin classes, then came HIIT training and the importance of heart rate zones. And as a result, fitness as an idea is fragmented, it’s application is random and we are no better off.
Bringing about the results we desire, becoming FIT, takes focused time and dedicated effort. It requires a systematic approach that develops each athletic quality as a precursor to the next so that we can maximize our efforts, keep motivation high and avoid burnout. A method of training that we can pursue for the rest of our lives.
Well, now we have one.