Rise of The Hybrid Athlete

When it comes to the styles of training there are specialists and there are generalists. The old adage goes, Do you want to know a lot about a little, or a little about a lot? This article will explore the differences of these two methods, and why the hybrid approach continues to grow in popularity.

As with most things in the modern era of the internet, training philosophies have become as polarising as voting for politics.

CrossFit, Hyrox, HIIT, running, swimming, boxing, MMA, powerlifting, bodybuilding, cycling are just a few of the main philosophies that dominate much of the contemporary conversation.

But which is the best?

Individually, they each profess to be the best or even to produce the fittest people on the planet.

CrossFit uses it as a tag line.

Iron Man emerged from much of the same debate.

A quick conversation with any of these card carrying evangelists, and you will quickly realise that biases are influencing much of the conversation.

The answer: NOBODY cares. It is not a question of which is the best, it a question of preference!

What are you hoping to achieve from your training?

Are you looking to be someone who strives to become the best possible version of themselves within a particular sport? SPECIALIST.

Are you looking to increase your performance in one area, but still enjoy the variety that other sports can provide? GENERALIST.

Specialists don't tend to like generalists. They resent their 'lack of commitment' to go 'all in'.

Generalists tend to be bored by the blinkered narrow-minded conversation of the specialist.

I love climbing; I just don't like talking to climbers! If you know, you know...

As a result these training methods have evolved to become insular sub-cultures within their own tribes; with very little cross-contamination across disciplines. Sociologists would call it the battle between 'us and them'.

Result: You get a lot of fast 5k runners who look like paperclips; you get a lot of gladiator-looking bodybuilders who can't run around the block; and you get a lot cyclists who don't see the point in doing either - hence their strong calves and protruding bellies, held in tightly by their lycra!

But, what if you didn't need to sacrifice performance by crossing over across disciplines?

What if you could perform to a high standard across multiple sports?

The Rise of the Hybrid Athlete

If you think of the hybrid athlete, David Goggins is first to come to mind. His motivational, cut throat, no bull sh*t videos have inspired a new generation of people to #StayHard.

Him and the likes of Cameron Hanes, Nick Bare, Ross Edgley, Fergus Crawley, Lucy Davis and others like them, have demonstrated how tribal boundaries can be nothing but a perceptual illusion.

With the right mindset, and a desire to commit to the process of hard work, these athletes have redefined what is possible across disciplines.

Cameron Hanes - at 56 years old, recently ran a sub 3hr marathon and won a 55km ultra within a couple of weeks. He is famous for his Lift, Run, Shoot philosophy which he practices everyday - until recently, working a 9-5 job.

Ross Edgley, with his huge muscular bodybuilding physique, known for his record breaking swims. Or Nick Bare who ran a 2.39 marathon, ran a 100 mile ultra, and won a bodybuilding competition in the same year.

Generalists love to hear stories like these, but can quickly deceive themselves by assuming they too can replicate these by doing everything and getting the same results.

Specialists hate it because it dismantles their preconceived notions of what high performances looks like.

'You can't run fast with big muscles, you're too heavy'; 'You can't build muscle and run 50 miles a week'.

The truth is, you can. But, there is a disciplined method that utilises rhythmic cycles to achieve the best results.

What is Hybrid Training?

The hybrid approach to training is different to the common term, cross-training, because cross-training usually implies taking part in another discipline as a way to reduce the impact accumulated from their chosen sport.

Cross-training is a specialist terminology.

Likewise, sports like CrossFit and Hyrox are frequently mistakenly categorised within the hybrid umbrella. Although both sports utilise disciplines across multiple sports, much of the training becomes specific in preparing to compete solely within that sport.

If there is one sport most designed to epitomise the hybrid philosophy it would be Triathlon. Each of the elements of swim, bike, run, are divided equally into their own sections of the race, with zero cross-over, and aggregated together to provide a total time.

Moreover, training for the triathlon can only be done in isolation. There is no amount of time on the bike that is going to help you in the pool, unless of course for developing cardiovascular fitness.

The hybrid approach to training takes elements of specificity from a variety of disciplines, and uses each to increase their overall general performance.

See the below graph to demonstrate.

Although hybrid athletes take a generalist view of dismantling discipline boundaries, they utilise the specialist attributes to develop the skill and capability within a variety of sports, over the long term.

This increases their work capacity which enables them to perform well within multiple fields.

As stated above, the misconception of the generalists is that if you do everything, you can achieve equal levels of performance within each. It is a mistake to think you can dabble in everything and produce high-level results.

Instead, the hybrid athlete seeks to periodise their training calendar, with certain goals in mind.

The hybrid method is therefore not necessarily sport specific, it is goal specific.

Goals & Rhythmic Cycles

Although a hybrid athlete may train CrossFit, maintain a regular running schedule, and enjoy open water swimming, it doesn't mean they are going to maximise all these things, all the time. There is only so many hours in a given week.

Instead, they utilise the concept of periodisation.

Periodisation is the systematic planning and organisation of training programs into distinct phases, characterised by varying levels of volume and intensity to enhance performance and prevent overtraining.

In simple terms, you cannot do everything all at once if you want to achieve your training goals.

The best athletes dial into this process and will often alter their training priorities within certain cycles throughout the year - peaking at the right period to hit their optimal performance.

The hybrid athlete utilises this method often during seasonal windows of the year.

As an example, they may reduce their running volume/intensity during the colder seasons, while increasing their volume/intensity on powerlifting and strength work in the gym.

Their goals may shift according to these seasons, and will often plan their season around preparing to hit these goals.

When planning the year ahead, a hybrid athlete may have a goal to run a fast marathon PB in the spring, look to compete in Hyrox in the summer, and lift a PB bench, squat, deadlift in the winter.

Each goal requires a very specific training schedule which is organised within a set cycle of accumulating intensity/volume to achieve it.

However, while intensity increases in one sport like running for example, the volume simply reduces in the other sport, Hyrox training etc, simply to maintain a base level of fitness while their attention is elsewhere.

Once the goal is achieved the focus shifts direction - running volume reduces, while the Hyrox training increases. Meanwhile, recovering from the intense training block before.

Specificity to focused training + maximising variety of performing in a variety of sports = a generalist overall hybrid fitness.

This is why hybrid athletes are able to perform to a high standard in a variety of different sports.

They are generalists who have tuned into the specifics, with a goal in mind.

Concluding Thoughts

We often under estimate what we can achieve in 12-14 weeks, with a focused, consistent, and intelligent approach to training.

When you break the year down into segments, with specific goals in mind, you would be amazed at the performance you could achieve within a given season.

Training in a hybrid way consistently is like most things of value. It has a compounding effect the longer you do it.

This is why their performance can continue to develop over multiple seasons, sometimes greater than those who specialise within a certain sport - much to their frustration.

The issue with specialism (many-times), is that you can eventually begin to plateau; oftentimes due to over-training, and the accumulative build of repetitive fatigue.

Additionally, when they get injured they can become lost and without purpose, with nowhere to channel their energies.

Not so with hybrid training, it is easy to re-shift their efforts and focus on something else.

There are of course limitations to the hybrid method. The variety and lack of long-term focus within one sport is less likely to make you competitive with the elites. You are unlikely to land a spot on the plane to the Olympics!

However, for the recreational athletes who fall into the other 98% of the population, you probably wont find much issues. Afterall, most of us are only ever competing against ourselves.

Can you be fast and strong?

Can you hold your own in a variety of discipline's?

Can you lift heavy and run far?

Absolutely.

The boundaries are limitless with the right approach.

Much love,

Rossi