If you’re looking for a challenging power program for hybrid athletes then look no further. This is my longest program to date, and it’s specifically designed to fix the most common problems hybrid athletes have, lack of power. This fitness plan is an even mix of olympic lifting, and other high power movements, paired with conditioning, and supporting accessory work. Keep reading for more.
Readers of this website will know that I’ve written a lot of program over the years. There are functional fitness programs, bodybuilding programs, and tons of hybrid training plans. I’ve also written quite extensively about the research behind these types of fitness plans.
If you read enough research you’ll see some common themes when it comes to hybrid, or concurrent training. As long as you sequence the cardio and lifting in the right order, separating these workouts correctly, you can achieve both fitness goals.
However, most of the research on combining cardio and strength training reliably reports a decrease in muscular power. This plan is designed to fix that problem. Take a look at this hybrid athlete training program overview to see the specific goals we’re aiming for.
18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes
- 18 Weeks in length, broken into 3 parts
- 6 Day workout split
- 3 Cardio workouts per week
- 5 Lifting days per week
- 3 Functional fitness WODs per week
- Appropriate for intermediate and advanced athletes
Originally my goal for this hybrid training program was to build something I wanted to do. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll notice I’ve already begun testing the program. While I may be super sore while typing this, I can report that this program is certainly working!
The overall programming goal is to increase cardiovascular endurance, aerobic capacity, and power production. To do this I’ve emphasized a blend of training styles like, olympic weight lifting movements, weighted jumps, and other supporting strength training work for muscle growth. The specific goal is to increase power output, which is key for a well-rounded training program.
In the next section I’m going to peel back the curtain on someone of the reasons why I programmed this plan the way I did. We’ll also cover the research on building a good hybrid fitness plan. Before we do that, don’t forget to join the email list below, and we’ll email you all parts of the program once they’re finished.
Hybrid Fitness Programming Method and Research
I’ll tell you a little secret that most coaches and personal trainers don’t really want to admit to. The specifics of the program you’re following don’t matter as much as you think. You can find research on places like Pubmed or Google Scholar, where they compare the details of different types of programs to each other. They often find no real difference between different program types.
This isn’t always the case, and it is my job to provide the best programs I can (most of them for free) that utilize the best hybrid training research and combines it with my years of practical coaching experience to help you reach peak performance.
The most important aspect of fitness programing is building a plan that keeps the athlete healthy, and in the weight room consistently. Overall training time matters, and it matters a whole lot.
This is why I’ve put together a longer program than I normally would. I will be splitting this 18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes into three separate parts. After all it takes quite a lot of time to write, edit, test, and rewrite these programs. Let’s take a look at some of the details behind this plan.
Hybrid Programming Structure
If you’ve read any of my articles summarizing endurance training, or hybrid training research you know that there are some hard and fast rules that reliably lead to increases in performance.
When writing this program my first goal is to ensure that there is sufficient lifting and endurance volume to improve performance. Most research indicates that a 70/30 split between aerobic and anaerobic training works best for experienced athletes. I’ve quantified this for each week of the program, to make sure that most athletes will be near this ideal ratio.
This requires a bit of math, as I need to estimate the total time each set of lifting will take, as well as the amount of time each WOD will take an average athlete. I then combine that with the amount of anaerobic training volume, to get a total anaerobic training load. Once I have that number I can figure out just how much Zone 2 training I need to keep our 70/30 ratio.
Once these broad strokes of the program are completed I can move on to the particulars of lifting volume, and training intensity, for each set.
Lifting Volume for Hybrid Athletes
I’ve written a lot about lifting volume for bodybuilders and functional strength athletes. The research reliably indicates that 3 hard sets per week, per muscle group, is the minimum you need to make progress. The maximum is as high as 30 sets per muscle group, per week.
After digging through the literature, it’s apparent that higher training volumes yield better results. However, the sweet spot seems to be around 20-24 sets per muscle group per week. Its great for muscle mass, and strength.
The research shows that athletes in this middle group made almost as much progress as the highest volume groups, with 30% less overall volume. This is important for hybrid athletes as we have to layer on our endurance training, which isn’t a consideration for pure strength athletes. Recovery matters!
The 18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes starts around 18 sets per muscle group, and increases up to the mid twenties as it progresses in difficulty. Astute readers will notice that I often use the functional training WODs to optimize the training load for different muscle groups.
Lastly, I’ve kept the primary compound lifts for each muscle group at the right percentage, to build your strength, and power production. For the first portion of the program, it’s more biased towards building strength. You’ll see more power movements, like plyometrics, as it progresses.
Now let’s review some general do’s and don’ts for the program. After that, we’ll review each week for part one. However if you want to try my most popular Hybrid program, with even more detail than I can include here. Then check this out.
18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes (Part 1)
The 18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes is designed as a 6 day split program. This means you have one built in rest day per week. Many athletes might need a few rest days per week, which is fine. I would encourage you to add in an extra day if you feel like you need it.
If you’ve read any of my other programs, you’ll know that I’m flexible about when exactly you do these workouts. There are two training days per week where you should do two workouts in one day. I tend to prefer cardio and then lifting in the PM, but you can do what you like.
For those of you who haven’t done long Zone 2 workouts, I highly recommend this guide so you can make sure you’re actually in Zone 2. It’s super common to work too hard, with a high heart rate, which defeats the purpose of this aerobic base training.
I do not specify what type of cardio you should do. My preference is using an Assault Bike paired with the cycling program Zwift to make it fun. You could run, row, or do anything else you like for cardio.
Lastly, you can split the Zone 2 steady states sessions up into different days. Just make sure you do the right amount of total time. Moreover, you need to make sure that each session is at least 30min in length to build your aerobic base. Otherwise you’re not getting much of a benefit. Now let’s get to week one of the program.
18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes Programming
Make sure to read through each week. I will cover some coaching tips, and advice for separate sessions on each week. This will make sure that you aren’t wasting your time, and missing out on some gains.
Most of these sessions should take you around an hour in the gym for the lifting, with the cardio running longer. I recommend sticking with one type of cardio for the duration of the program. This will make sure that you make solid progress with it. Here’s week 1.
Week 1
Welcome to week 1 of this program. It’s designed to help you acclimatize to this type of training. I can tell you from first hand experience that this week is hard work. Sure, you won’t be maxing out any of these lifts, but you’ll find the overall lifting volume challenging. Take a look below.
If we look at session one we can see that it starts with a full Olympic Snatch. If you don’t have the coordination to do a full squat snatch that’s ok, you can sub a power snatch. If you’re not sure of your max, then you can establish one prior to starting this program. I would recommend that for any of the primary barbell lifts, which are percentage based.
The next exercise is the bench press. These percentages aren’t super heavy, but you should move them as fast as you are able. You’ll finish the lifts with cable triceps extension to 2 RIR, for accessory work. This means each set should have 2 reps left in reserve at the end of it.
I recommend separating the Zone 2 cardio by 3-4 hours from the heavy lifting. Choose the range that makes sense for you. If you need more conditioning then you should err on the 90 minute side. Now, on to week 2.
Week 2
In week two we add training volume, and increase the weight a little. In week one, you were doing three sets quite often, and in this week we see four sets. You should still be well away from super heavy weights. These reps should move well.
Session 8 is lower body heavy. We start it with a full squat clean. After that we transition to the front squat. I generally recommend 2-3 minutes rest between sets. This is strength work, and you should feel fresh going into each set.
After the lifts you will start warming up for the WOD. This should be a fairly quick workout, but feel free to scale if this load is a bit too much.
After the WOD, take 5-7 minutes to catch your breath. You’ll then finish the workout with a set of pull ups to 2 RIR. Initially when I programmed this, I thought I would be way too gassed to work after the WOD. As I found out you’re actually surprisingly fresh for these. Remember, just two RIR.
Week 3
In week three we start to see some moderately heavy weight. Just like last week we add more sets to most of the exercises as well. This is important because you need to progressively overload your body so that it responds by building stronger muscle tissue, tendons, and bones.
If we look at session 15, we can see it starts with seated barbell press. This is one of my favorite upper body pressing exercises. Make sure you follow the RIR recommendations.
This is followed by weighted dips. If you can’t do dips with weight then do assisted, or just body weight dips for 4 sets to 1RIR.
Next is the WOD, which is a high round, low rep circuit. If you’ve read any of my premium programs you know it’s best to aim for negative splits throughout, for top performance. Barbell upright row rounds out this session.
Week 4
In week four we have a little reduction in volume. Technically it’s a deload, but not to the same extent that most of my other programs utilize. The weight remains roughly the same or slightly higher, but I’ve reduced the back off sets. This is so you’re body can recover a bit this week. The next true deload will come in week 8, in part 2.
If we look at Session 22, we can see that it starts with weighted half squat jumps. I want to caution you here. These are much heavier than I normally program, and they can be hard on your joints. Take your time warming up, and don’t be afraid to reduce weight if you feel like this is too much. The important part is to jump with max effort on each rep. The jumps should be done for speed, not max strength.
After the jumps we move to front squats again. These are great for building quad strength. This is followed by a fairly quick WOD, that’s going to be limited by your pull up strength. I recommend breaking those 12 reps up in two sets as needed.
Finish this session with ab rollouts. You can use an Ab wheel, or do as I do. Put some plates on a barbell and do the rollouts that way. Now on to week 5.
Week 5
This is the second to last week for part one. It’s also the first week of the second cycle. Like my other programs, I’ve kept the same overall structure, but changed the movements. I’ve found that 4 weeks is a good time to rotate movements. It helps avoid overuse injuries, and keeps training from becoming dull.
If we take a look at Session 29, we can see that it’s a very Olympic lifting day. We start with power clean, working to a relatively heavy set of two. We then move to Romanian Deadlifts. I highly recommend using lifting straps to assist your grip for these. Otherwise you won’t be able to hold onto a load that will challenge your posterior chain.
The RDLs are followed by bench supported dumbbell rows, and reverse hypers. If you don’t have access to a reverse hyper you can substitute any low back exercise of your choice, like kettlebell swings, or good mornings.
Because Zone 4/5 training is very challenging, I recommend that you separate this from the lifting by 4-6 hours. This is hard cardiovascular conditioning, near max effort. Now, let’s get to the last week in part one.
Week 6
Just like the previous cycle, we see an increase in lifting volume, as well as intensity. By this point in the overall program you shouldn’t expect a ton more training volume for this cycle. The goal here is to get used to working with weights close to your one rep max. In future cycles, you’ll be lifting your old 1RM for reps!
Session 30 is a pure Zone 2 day. I find it’s nice to end a hard week with Zone 2 work. It keeps us within our 70/30 aerobic and anaerobic training ratio, as well as aids in overall recovery. Make sure that you’re not pushing too hard. You can use the talk test, or nasal breathing to make sure that you’re within zone.
In the next section we’ll review some tips on proper nutrition and recovery which will be important to maximize your returns on gym time.
If you like this kind of program but want something with less conditioning then you should check this out.
Nutrition and Recovery
Hybrid athletes really need to pay attention to their recovery, of which nutrition is a big part. Make sure you’re doing the basics correctly. You need to get 8 hours of sleep a night, and drink a reasonable amount of fluids. I recommend checking out this article for some great nutrition advice.
However, I will give you a quick macro break down to help with your nutrition. Stick with around 1 gram of protein per pound of lean mass. You can eat more if you like. It’s highly recommended to do so if you’re using this program for fat loss.
Carbs should start around 1.5 grams per pound of body weight and go up to 3 per pound. This is one area that athletes will need to play with. Fats should be a minimum of 50 grams to promote adequate hormone production.
Stick to whole foods, with real ingredients. You can’t expect top performance if everything you eat came from a wrapper. Now let’s review some recovery tips to help you with this 18 week program.
Recovery Tips for Hybrid Athletes
There are several research backed tips that can help you find more success with this program. First, you can wear compression tights during and after your lifting workouts, to reduce soreness. It sounds silly but it works. Check this article out for the details.
You can also engage in hyperventilation breathing for 25 breaths, 30 seconds before a big set. This will allow you to get up to 30% more reps than you otherwise might. Read this article for the details on how this works.
Lastly make sure you cool down with 10min of very easy cardiovascular exercise after each session. This helps speed recovery and can help you build more muscle and strength. This article covers the details behind that. Now let’s finish the 18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes.
Final Thoughts
This program is challenging, and I’ve put a lot of effort into designing a great hybrid program for athletes that want to build power, strength, and conditioning. That doesn’t mean you can’t modify it. Try to limit modifications, but anything that allows you to stay in the gym, is a good idea.
I also understand that life gets in the way, and you may not be able to do the whole program on the day you intended. That’s fine. Do your best to move it to another day where it makes sense to do so.
If you have any comments or questions put them in the comments section below and I’ll get you an answer. Don’t forget to join the email list below. Now get out there and get training!
We are not affiliated with any other company . Each workout plan is entirely owned by Tier Three Tactical and we recommend that you exercise under the supervision of a professional coach. It’s also recommended that you seek medical clearance from a licensed medical doctor before starting any fitness program.
