Hybrid training is one of the hottest fitness trends right now as it offers a range of real-world benefits, a beneficial dose of novelty and some serious enjoyment.
By blurring the lines between the training styles, hybrid training aims to deliver the best of all worlds, like greater strength, better fitness, enhanced overall health, and injury resilience through enhanced mobility and movement efficiency.
The hybrid athlete
Beyond the physical benefits, swapping specialisation in the gym for a more generalist approach means you keep your training varied and interesting, empowering active individuals to train their way and tackle any physical challenge when the desire or opportunity arises.
As more people grow weary of training in the same gym environment day in and day out, with little variety in their exercise selection and workout structure, many are choosing to augment those weight room sessions with outdoor activities or sporting codes that add a dimension of fun or skill mastery.
The hectic pace of modern life also leaves little time to get to the gym every day, even for the most dedicated gym members. The ability to throw on a pair of running shoes or hit the indoor trainer for a group Zwift cycling session means you get your daily session done, no matter what life throws at you.
By combining fitness activities, you also develop a unique combination of skills, abilities, and physical attributes that allow you to perform at a high level in various sports and activities.
It is also a great way to avoid overtraining and burnout by making it harder to plateau in your progress as the diversity constantly trains different systems and muscles.
Defining hybrid training
In this context, hybrid training is defined as any combination of multiple training modalities – it doesn’t need to be running and lifting.
Common hybrid training combinations include:
- Strength and Cardio: Combining weightlifting or bodyweight exercises with cardio activities like running, cycling, or swimming.
- Strength and Flexibility: Incorporating stretching or yoga into your strength training routine to improve mobility and reduce muscle soreness.
- Functional Fitness: Combining exercises that mimic everyday movements with strength training and cardio to improve overall functional fitness.
- Structured Training and Unstructured Play: Those who combine structured weightlifting and cardio during the week also like to incorporate unstructured play, engaging in other fun and trendy activities like weekly Padel or pickleball games, or head outdoors over weeks to go hiking or rucking (walking with a weighted rucksack).
While professional athletes in sporting codes like rugby, football, and track and field have always combined training modalities to develop the right balance between strength and fitness, mainstream exercise trends like CrossFit and HYROX have popularised a more varied training approach among the average fitness enthusiast.
Fuelling hybrid training
Hybrid athletes train with a combination of volume and intensity, which requires a balanced, nutrient-dense diet that delivers sufficient energy from carbs to fuel their efforts, with natural fats to support hormone production and protein to aid muscle repair and recovery.
Supplements can support hybrid athletes, ensuring they have the right amount of energy to train hard across disciplines or sustain efforts during cardio workouts or endurance events.
As such, hybrid athletes typically combine products from the bodybuilding and power sports categories with products formulated to support endurance athletes.
Before training
Drink a pre-workout that contains amino acids, like Biogen Rage Aminos, with some form of rapidly digestible carbs like Biogen Pure Carbs, or a combined product in the Perform-X endurance range that offers a carb-protein formulation like Biogen Cyto-Pro.
These products provide energy from carbs to fuel efforts and amino acids to limit muscle damage and support recovery.
During training or racing
A product like Biogen Pure Energy+ is engineered for high-performance endurance, offering a blend of simple carbohydrates for a rapid source of energy with electrolytes to support hydration during hard or prolonged training or racing efforts.
After training or racing
Hybrid athletes have two objectives after training – support muscle recovery and replenish depleted energy stores.
A post-workout blended product like Biogen Recovergen supplies a carefully formulated combination of fast-acting hydrolysed whey protein and maltodextrin in a scientifically recommended 4:1 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio. This formulation helps mend and build muscles while regenerating energy stores as fast as possible.
A product like Biogen Pure Recovery offers additional hydration benefits with electrolytes added to whey protein concentrate and maltodextrin to meet your recovery needs after hard efforts in the heat or outdoors.
Between sessions
Supporting the muscle-building process is paramount to hybrid athletes as the endurance element can break down muscle tissue and increase stress hormone production, which can down-regulate testosterone production.
An anabolic support supplement like Biogen Complete Testo Pack can support natural testosterone production while limiting the impact of excess cortisol.
Creatine is another beneficial product for hybrid athletes as it supports power output to enhance performance.
A product formulated with performance in mind, like Biogen Creatine + Betaine Performance Blend is the ideal option for hybrid athletes. It contains creatine monohydrate and creatine HCl to assist with increasing muscle strength and power while betaine offers added support for muscle growth and strength output. Added coconut water powder aids hydration while Beta-alanine provides an endurance boost.
As hybrid athletes typically carry more muscle than the average endurance athlete, additional joint support from a product like Biogen Joint Care is warranted, especially for those athletes who engage in a lot of running.
Time to go hybrid
Ultimately, hybrid training offers a comprehensive approach to strength and fitness that can help you achieve your goals and maintain a healthy lifestyle, all while adding variety and an element of fun.
Whether you’re training for a HYROX competition or simply want to take your fitness to the next level, combining different training methods according to your personal preferences can create an individualised routine that challenges your body, keeps your mind engaged, and stokes your motivation levels to get you active every day.
