If you’ve been doing part one of the 18 week power program for hybrid athletes, then this program is for you. In part 2 of this programming series we continue on with the cardio and strength training progress you’ve already made. You should expect to see many of the same themes as part one, with some changes in movements and difficulty. Keep reading for more.
Because this is the middle portion of the program, I recommend starting with part one, which you can find here. I know you’re probably tempted to scroll down and get going with this program, but that would be a mistake. Like many of my other workout programs, I build in a reasonable progression to limit injuries, and increase your long term fitness.
Similarly, if you’re new to hybrid style training, and think this might be too much, then you should check out my hybrid programs for new athletes. Remember, it’s always better to start with a lower volume hybrid athlete training program, and kick it’s ass, than it is to bite off more than you can chew. Before we go any further, check out this overview of the 18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes.
18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes
- 18 Weeks in length, broken into 3 parts
- Part 2 of this 3 Part Series
- 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
If you’ve ever done any of my other programs, then you know I put a lot of thought into them. I like to read a lot of exercise science research, using it to inform the particulars of each plan. For a hybrid athlete program it’s vital to find the right balance of volume and intensity, to avoid the interference effect, and over training.
In the next section I’m going to cover some of the details, and how they can affect your overall progress with this hybrid training program. If you like these kinds of fitness plans, then you should join the email list below, and I’ll email them directly to you, once their released.
Hybrid Fitness Program Construction
I find that most of my athletes come to hybrid / concurrent training from a CrossFit or strength training background. This means they’re no strangers to heavy weights, or difficult training. Unfortunately these training methods leave some definite holes in their overall fitness. Yes, even CrossFitters need to work on their conditioning!
The reason for this is that these types of athletes work on strength training or high power output workouts. While this challenges your aerobic energy system, it really hammers your anaerobic energy system. This bias towards anaerobic training limits performance, especially as it relates to endurance goals.
If you’ve read any of my research reviews on combining cardio and weight training you’ll know that the most successful endurance training programs include a lot of easy cardio, generally called Zone 2 cardio. You can read this article for all the details on Zone 2.
In fact, most world class endurance athletes spend up to 70% of their training time on their aerobic capacity with easy aerobic exercises like long runs or cycling. Unless you have a background in endurance training, you probably aren’t training this way, even if it’s clearly the most effective method.
As a result, I configure most of my hybrid programming to stick close to this 70% aerobic / 30% anaerobic ratio. Just like these world class training programs, this ratio shifts as we get closer to the end of the program. In part two, the average ratio is close to 50% for each training style. Now let’s review the strength and muscle growth programming.
Lifting Volume and Intensity for Hybrid Athletes
The research is also fairly clear on this topic. To gain strength the majority of your training needs to be between 75-90% of 1RM. Each set should take you within 1-3 reps of failure. Of course, all of this assumes that you have safe form on each of the primary lifts.
In terms of overall weekly volume, you can maintain your lean muscle mass and strength with as little as three hard sets per week, per muscle group. The maximum amount of volume is around 30 sets per group, per week. In part two of this hybrid program, you can expect between 18-24 sets for most muscle groups. This volume works best for muscle gains, and strength gains.
Because I’ve included a lot of high powered plyometrics to develop lower body power, there are slightly more lower body sets on most weeks. Next, I would normally review some specifics for each workout session.
Because this is part two, I’m not going to rehash the do’s and don’t for each of the training sessions. Make sure you check out part one for that info, if you need. Instead, we’ll get straight to the programming.
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 2)
Just like my other programs, I would ask that you read through each week. I will cover some advice and training tips for each style of session. This will make sure that you’re executing the program correctly, to reach your fitness goals. Now, let’s get to Week 7, the first week of part two.
18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes: Week 7
You can see that we’ve kept the same overall structure from last week. We are continuing on with that cycle, starting in session 37. This is an upper body resistance training day that really hammers the pressing movements. Similarly, we are increasing load with the snatch.
You can also see that we’re still incorporating Zone 2 work. In my program testing, I’ve found that it’s best to split this days work into two sessions. Try an AM Zone 2 cardio session and then a PM lifting session. In reality, it doesn’t matter when you do them, but you should aim to keep the cardio at least 4 hours from the weight room. Now on to week 8.
18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes: Week 8
This week is another deload. It’s designed to allow for some recovery before we change the training style, and movements next week. You can see that we’ve cut the volume by about a third, keeping the weights heavy, but not maximal.
If we look at session 44, you can see we are still doing a 3×3 of cleans and then back squatting. The WOD is a lower body work capacity session, which lasts only 9 min. You’ll finish this session with some Pendlay rows, with moderately heavy weight. Next we’ll move on to the new cycle in week 9.
18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes: Week 9
In week 9 we see a programming change. Up till now I’ve tried to emphasize as much muscle building movements, as strength building. At this point in the 18 week hybrid program, we will change gears, to build more top end strength. The cardio portion will also switch to more anaerobic training.
Looking at session 51, we can see that we start with seated barbell press, in a muscle building rep range. We then move to an inverted barbell row, which is basically a ring row done with a bar on hooks, set at bench press height.
The WOD is one of my favorites, and I promise it will get your heart rate going! We’ll finish the session with upright row. I really recommend concentrating on your shoulders moving the load, not just pulling the bar with your biceps. Let’s move on to week 10.
18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes: Week 10
It’s important to point out that many of these movements are listed as TM, or technical max. This is the heaviest load you can handle for the required reps, with technically perfect form. There should be no back rounding, or squirming under load, when doing a TM. The purpose here is to teach you to work with very heavy weight, while maintaining proper form. This is key for injury prevention.
Let’s look at session 58. We are returning to weighted half squat jumps, which are a great lower body power exercise, that I use to create explosive athletes. In this cycle it’s lighter, which means you should produce higher power. Make sure to jump hard on each and every rep.
You’ll then move to back squat, working with heavy TM loads, finishing with a moderately heavy 3×3. The WOD will keep your heart rate high, and allow you work on box jumps under fatigue. Make sure you’re jumping hard, and lifting your knees to land on the box, so you aren’t falling and raking your shins.
We’ll finish this workout with AB rollouts. You can use an ab wheel or just put some plates on a barbell. Either way, you should work to 2RIR. Now, on to week 11.
18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes: Week 11
This is one of the most challenging weeks in the entire program. At a glance you can see that we are working with high volume, and heavy weight, in the primary barbell lifts. At this point you should notice that you can now move weight for reps that would have been impossible just a few months ago.
If we look at session 65 we can see this is a mixed workout. We start with relatively heavy hang power cleans, and then move to bench press above 90%. These will be challenging.
This is paired with weighted pull ups and skull crushers. If you’re unable to do weighted pull ups, just pick a substitution that puts you at 2RIR. Lastly, the Zone 4/5 workout should be separated from the lifting by 4+ hours. Personally, I tend to schedule a Zwift race for these sessions. Now let’s get to the last week.
18 Week Power Program for Hybrid Athletes: Week 12
Week 12 is a deload, where we will work with TM weights, but drop the back off sets. This will allow for some recovery, but I wouldn’t call it full recovery. It’s just enough to allow you to finish the last 6 weeks, which will include a tapering portion to allow you to reach peak performance by the end of the program.
In session 72 we see this is a long Zone 2 session. By now you should have a good idea of your Zone 2 output, but don’t be surprised if your cardiovascular fitness has increased. If you’re not using something like Strava, or Garmin to track your workouts, then you should expect to have to increase output. Remember, if you can breath through your nose you’re still in Zone 2.
Now that we’ve finished all 6 week of part two let’s get to my final thoughts on this section of the program. Moreover, I would remind you that I have many other styles of programming. If you feel like you want to build more muscle from here, then you can bridge to this premium program easily.
Final Thoughts
As a coach I’ve notice that many athletes can have trouble with the middle sections of programs. By now you’ve become acclimatized to the style of program, but you’ve still got a long way to go. It’s also the time where you’ve probably had life get in the way, interrupting your hybrid training plan. That’s ok.
I can tell you that I had a pretty nasty cold for about a week that caused me to cease working out for several days. After that, I scaled 3-4 sessions until I was able to get back up to speed. It’s vital that you don’t let these types of setbacks derail your hard won progress.
Remember some work is better than nothing. Even if you can’t get all the planned sets in, make sure you do something from the program, and keep moving forward. Don’t let the all or nothing mindset take hold. True fitness requires consistent work, not perfecting programming!
If you have any questions about the program, put them in the comments below, that way everyone can see the answer. Now get out there and get training. Don’t forget to join the email list below.
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 or physical training.
