Hybrid training has taken the fitness world by storm, and if you've read our latest blog on 'What Is A Hybrid Athlete?', you'll already know exactly what it takes to be a hybrid athlete and how to embrace hybrid training when chasing your goals.
If you're keen to train hybrid but are unsure of where to start, we're breaking down the key components of hybrid training, providing you with a framework to build your own hybrid training plan.
Seeking advice from experienced strength coach and gym-owner Fenton Hancock, we've pulled together the perfect hybrid training plan to help you on your journey to making hybrid training a success!
Prepare to lift, endure and smash through those training goals!
Table of contents:
What is hybrid training?
What are the five key elements that make up a hybrid training program?
A hybrid training plan: How to train like a hybrid athlete
What is hybrid training?
Hybrid training combines many fitness fundamentals to create an all-round, balanced training plan dedicated to improving strength and endurance simultaneously.
Although hybrid can refer to sessions containing elements of strength and endurance training at the same time, most hybrid training plans will include strength training and cardio exercises spread across the plan.
Hybrid training plans tend to have training weighted heavier towards an individual's goal, so, for example, someone planning to run a marathon may do three to four running or cardio-based training sessions per week and just two strength sessions. In contrast, someone practising their Olympic weight-lifting technique may have four weight sessions a week but include a few runs to enhance their base fitness and become a more well-rounded athlete.
What are the five key elements that make up a hybrid training program?
If you want to start training hybrid, the best way is to start by outlining your goals and building an individually tailored hybrid training plan. When doing this, there are five key elements that you should consider including to get the most out of it:
- Running
- Strength training
- Functional training
- Mobility
- Rest and recovery
Each element will make up a significant and important part of your plan.
Here's why you should include each element in your training plan:
Running
Whether your goal is to be a better runner or not, there's no denying that running provides significant health benefits, helping to improve your aerobic base and increase your speed and endurance.
Whilst it was once seen as counterproductive to run if your ultimate goal was to build muscle, many hybrid athletes are proving that the two can work in tandem if balanced correctly in a hybrid plan.
Two types of running offer differing yet significant benefits to your health.
The first is aerobic training, which consists of easy running in low heart rate zones (typically zones 1 and 2 with a heart rate max of around 50-60%). This type of running should feel incredibly easy. It should allow you to run for a long time with very little effort or intensity, helping to build your aerobic base and allowing you to go faster and further for longer.
This sort of aerobic training is crucial for marathon and ultra runners and can also be useful for those training for mixed sporting disciplines such as HYROX.
Running that is also beneficial to hybrid training is interval or speed training, focused on maximising velocity and running power over shorter distances. This type of running typically works higher heart-rate zones (3 and 4 for steady, tempo and threshold workouts, and zone 5 for maximum effort), improving speed.
One of the best things about running is also its accessibility. In terms of equipment, all you need to run is a pair of good running shoes, so it's relatively easy to add to what previously may have been a plan completely dedicated to lifting in the gym.
Running, or any type of cardio can help to maximise and support muscle growth and function, helping to improve general fitness. So, even if your goal isn't to be a marathon runner, you'll still reap the benefits of adding running to your hybrid program.
Strength training
Strength training is a key aspect of any hybrid training program, helping to build overall strength and muscle mass, should that be your goal.
Whatever your training aims, a combination of accessory movements, targeting key muscle weaknesses and further developing strength, and compound exercises that use multiple muscle groups simultaneously (targeted by exercises such as deadlifts and squats) is the best approach.
Strength training on your hybrid plan should follow a progressive overload, slowly increasing load, volume or intensity over time to prevent training plateaus.
Track your sets, reps and weight to increase and build on your training week by week.
Functional training
Functional training, or functional fitness, improves muscle strength, balance and mobility by mimicking movements undertaken regularly in everyday life rather than focusing on training specific muscle groups.
These exercises usually consist of exercises such as box jumps, kettlebell swings, walking lunges and core workouts that help develop core stability, coordination and balance alongside speed and power, all of which are easily transferred into other sports such as running, cycling or lifting, helping to turn you into a well-rounded athlete.
Mobility
Flexibility and mobility are key to any athlete's programme, helping to prevent injury and improve form.
These can be introduced into a programme alongside a main training focus, such as dynamic warm-up stretches related to the training that's about to take place or passive stretching following a workout.
Exercise classes such as yoga and pilates are both useful for improving mobility and flexibility, but if you're limited on time, foam rolling or using a massage gun can also be useful ways to introduce mobility into your routine.
Rest and recovery
Focusing on multiple sporting disciplines on one plan can make it tempting to overload your training and skip rest days, but this isn't conducive to good training. Rest and recovery days are essential to allow your muscles to recover, repair between workouts, and assist in injury prevention.
In the short term, always try to let your body recover post-exercise by cooling down properly, stretching or adding in some extra mobility exercises and ensuring you get enough sleep. However, you should focus on building rest into your program with a rest day or a de-load week to reduce exercise volume or intensity. Try and take at least one rest day every seven to ten days to allow your body to fully recover post-workout.
If you feel tired or are varying your training but feel as if you're plateauing, it may be beneficial to take further rest days to allow your body more time to recover.
A hybrid training plan: How to train like a hybrid athlete
Now you have a better idea of what a hybrid training plan should look like, it's time to build your own.
Based on the considerations outlined above, here's an example of how you could shape your training plan if you're looking to prioritise running whilst adding in strength. The number of strength days and the intensity at which you undertake them will depend on your experience, so consider this while building out your plan.
In building this plan, we collaborated with experienced Hybrid Athlete, Fenton Hancock. Fenton is a Strength Coach, Hybrid Athlete and Gym owner with over 12-years of industry experience helping individuals and brands use strategies to maximise performance and health. He respects the fact that everyone’s journey is different, and no challenge is the same. Here are his thoughts on hybrid training;
"Hybrid training has become increasingly popular in today’s fitness landscape as more people seek well-rounded programmes that combine strength, endurance, and recovery. In a world where many individuals juggle multiple fitness goals – from building muscle to enhancing cardiovascular health – hybrid training offers a solution. It blends various modalities, allowing you to develop strength, stamina, and overall fitness without sacrificing one for the other."
|
Day of the week |
Type of training |
Training effect |
|
Mon |
Cross training (elliptical, cycling, swimming) |
Low-aerobic base training to support endurance training without impact
|
|
Tues |
Running - Easy Run |
Aerobic fitness (zones 1 & 2) to enhance endurance
|
|
Wed |
Strength training - functional fitness |
Functional strength development with moderate intensity
|
|
Thurs |
Running or Cardio |
Anaerobic fitness through short, intense bursts of speed
|
|
Fri |
Strength Training |
Developing maximal strength and targeting specific muscle groups
|
|
Sat |
Rest day |
Active recovery for muscle repair and mental refreshment
|
|
Sun |
Low-intensity run - long run to build endurance |
Building endurance through low-aerobic exercise (zones 1 & 2)
|
The key to any successful hybrid plan is to have one set goal in mind and build your plan around that. Although you can use it to train multiple disciplines, you aren't going to be able to master them all.
Hybrid training is flexible, allowing you to really focus on the fitness discipline you want to master and using supporting disciplines to enhance your approach to achieving your goal. For example, if you're marathon training, strength training, flexibility and functional fitness exercises will only enhance your training if implemented correctly.
Weight your plan towards the discipline you want to master and build your training plan around this. If you can avoid overload, you'll reach for that marathon medal with discipline and ease in no time while having fun training!
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