There is a new sheriff in town in the fitness industry. A revolution of sorts, a way of training that is getting us back to our evolutionary and athletic ways of doing things. It has to do with improving our performance and staying athletic for life, the "Hybrid Athlete"-training.
This "Hybrid Athlete" or "Hybrid Training" term is really up for definition at the moment (depending on who you ask) and searching around the internet-sphere I have seen a lot of different considerations.. Such as, "hybrid" just means that you run and lift, "hybrid" means that you train in a variety of ways, "hybrid" means that you are competing in opposing fitness activities.. There are a lot of people in this "hybrid training community" that are creating structures and definitions of the term, which is good because we tend to always want more understanding of what something is when our curiosity about it sparks and when partaking or considering to partake in it.
Personally, "Hybrid Training" is in line with what has been experientially and philosophically true to me for a long time when it comes to training - versatility is key. That has been my slogan of sorts and represented my training since 2016. Essentially they are one in the same, as most people probably would agree that we are training Hybrid to achieve a more versatile outcome. We don't just want to be shredded and jacked, we want to have a physique that is capable, strong, mobile and conditioned. I would go as far to say that it needs to be like that and it is not that difficult to achieve, plan and program for as one might think.
Previously, we have had concurrent and conjugate training in the fitness & strenth/conditioning industry, which also alluded to the fact that our body can adapt to several influences simultaneously. It doesn't mean that we cannot periodise our training differently, or maybe even in some instances should... But it does give us an idea that our potential is to be multifaceted in how our bodies develop and react to the stimulus we input.
One of the age-old myths that perhaps have held people back from introducing more hybrid into their training is sayings such as "cardio will make you lose your gains", "cardio is not good for burning fat/shaping your body". The opposite of that is also conveyed in the endurance community, that strength training somehow is not valuable for the development of endurance athletes. Much of this is also being said to be "evidence based", but has it truly been tested and put into context of many other facets of what the individual wants to experience?
My experience with myself and clients regarding "hybrid training" is that this holistic way of training has an encompassing way of improving my physique in ways that are hard to quantify or measure. When I say that, I don't just mean hybrid as in running + lifting. I mean hybrid as in power, plyometrics, mobility, conditioning, strength, agility. I train to become a more complete, capable and coherent athlete in my body. Training different & new movements make me better at all movements, as complexity increases in my training regimen and movements, the simple movements become even more simple and efficient.
My theory is that the body & nervous system adapts easier to new movements because there is a broader foundation and comfortability in a wider range of exercises and movements, put in other terms; versatility supports specificity. This does not mean that specificity is not important or prioritised around training for weightlifting, running or any other event. However, we have to look at how and why other characteristics support said "specificity" as performance and development as an athlete is more than just focusing on one thing. Generally, there will be some individual variance here based on athletic background (sports, styles of training, injuries) and genetics.
Another point to be highlighted is that training hybrid makes training interesting and fun for life. You are learning, developing and making gains in more areas of your training and that can be felt not just as performance, but as health and body composition.
Stay hybrid - get better!
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