Train Like a Hybrid Athlete

Explore this workout:

• Overview of the Workouts
• 28-Minute EMOM
• Partner Workout
• 50-Minute E2MOM

It’s no secret that a well-balanced fitness routine includes resistance training and cardio. Often, these elements are parsed out and performed as separate workouts.

Yet combining strength and endurance and tackling both at once with intention — an approach known as hybrid training — can be effective and efficient.

“Hybrid training prioritizes strength and endurance simultaneously,” says Cam Jorgenson, CPT, a Life Time performance coach and hybrid athlete.

This modality supports a wide variety of fitness goals, he says. “It can help change body composition, build muscle, boost cardiovascular ­capacity, improve athletic performance, and improve overall health and function in your daily life. And like all exercise, it is good for your brain.”

Many people discover this training approach through hybrid fitness competitions like HYROX, DEKA, and the forthcoming LT Games.

“Hybrid training is trendy right now, but don’t be fooled,” says ­Jorgenson. “It’s not new, nor will it go away. It’s for anyone who wants to train functional movements. For anyone who is looking to improve their quality of life and longevity. For people who want to train like an athlete, even if they don’t plan to compete.”

What exactly does a hybrid workout look like? Broadly speaking, it’s done circuit-style, meaning you move back and forth between strength and cardio exercises. But, as with any strength or endurance program, a single workout won’t lead to the physiological adaptations that make you stronger and fitter. A good hybrid program emphasizes four elements:

• Progressive overload. This strength-training concept refers to progressively increasing the challenge over time through weight and movement selection.
• Sustainable endurance efforts. While a hybrid program may include sprints and other high-intensity intervals, the focus is on maintaining a steady pace.
• Minimal rest. This trains the ability to sustain effort and move quickly between exercises while building the physical and mental fortitude to keep moving in a compromised state.
• Mindset. One of the biggest challenges that hybrid athletes face is moderating their effort so they can keep moving. It’s tempting to push your pace in the first round just because you can, only to hit a wall in round two, explains Jorgenson.

Even though hybrid workouts include intervals, the experience is much like doing a long run or bike ride. “Find a way to keep moving,” he advises. “Discipline in moments of long-duration work is crucial.”

If hybrid training sounds tough, that’s because it is. But it is also ­accessible and scalable to each individual, says Jorgenson, who works with ­hybrid athletes from a variety of training backgrounds and ranging in age from 15 to 70.

Keep an open mind about your own potential and work with a coach to adapt workouts to your fitness level and abilities. (Jorgenson issues a few caveats: If you’re brand new to exercise, struggle with mobility or movement technique, or have a hard time processing a workout’s multiple moving parts, you may not benefit from or enjoy the hybrid format.)

These workouts provide a sampling of what hybrid training has to offer.

The Workouts

• After a dynamic warm-up, perform one of the following workouts. (Try this 10-minute, all-purpose, warm-up routine.)
• Push yourself at a challenging pace you can maintain.
• Aim for a rate of perceived exertion of 6 to 9 on a 1–10 scale or a heart-rate zone of 3 or 4.
• Try to avoid maxing out your efforts.

28-Minute EMOM

This is an every-minute-on-the-minute (EMOM) workout, meaning you change movements at the top of each minute. Perform each exercise continuously for 60 seconds before moving on to the next. Continue rotating through the four moves for 28 minutes, aiming to maintain a steady pace throughout.

50-Minute E2MOM

This E2MOM variation calls for starting a new movement every two minutes instead of every minute. At the top of every two minutes, complete the prescribed movement for the total number of reps. Use any time remaining in each two-minute block to recover and move to the next station. Complete five total rounds.

⊕ Complete five total rounds.

Partner Workout

Divide the reps and distances between partners to enable constant movement for the duration of the workout. When one is working, the other rests. (For instance, you might switch off every 20 lunges, every five burpees, every 10 thrusters, or every 250 meters of a run.) Note how long it takes to complete the workout.

⊖ When one partner is working, the other rests. (For instance, you might switch off every 20 lunges, every five burpees, etc.)
⊕ Note how long it takes to complete the workout.