In this article I’m going to provide a hybrid strength training program series, which will cover 36 training weeks. I will link to my most popular programs designed to increase your strength, muscle mass, while building your conditioning. As you’ll see, I’ve also included some key training tips to help you maximize your return on training time. Keep reading for more.
Hybrid training has become very popular in the last few years. This style of training combines weight lifting in the gym, with running or other cardio activities. Done well, this blend of training styles can help you build a lot of strength, and aerobic capacity. Done poorly, you’ll be hard pressed to build either.
In the first part of this article I’m going to review the key training tips to help you use these hybrid training programs correctly. I’ll also cover some of the latest research, and a few tips I often recommend to my hybrid athletes. First, I’ll link all the programs in this 36 week hybrid strength training program series.
36 Week Hybrid Strength Training Program Series
- 8 Week Hybrid Hypertrophy Program (Size + Conditioning)
- 8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Plan (Part 1)
- 8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Plan (Part 2)
- 8 Week Hybrid Bodybuilding and Endurance Training Program (Part 1)
- 8 Week Hybrid Bodybuilding and Endurance Training Program (Part 2)
- 12 Week Apex Hybrid Performance Fitness Plan (Part 1)
- 12 Week Apex Hybrid Performance Fitness Plan (Part 2)
As you can see, that’s a lot of programming. In the links above I’ve sequenced the programs in an order that will allow you to make long term progress in your strength and cardiovascular fitness goals. For strength training athletes there are only really two ways to build strength. Surprisingly enough, there are a few clearly superior training methods hybrid athletes should use to build their endurance.
In the next section we will review some of these methods, and the scientific research behind them, to help you take control of your training. Once we finish that, we’ll review each of the programs, providing you a snap shot of the training cycle. If you like this kind of awesome fitness programming, you should drop your email in the box below. We’ll send you the latest articles once they’re released.
The Science Behind Hybrid Training
For many years exercise science researchers, and scientists believed that combining cardio with strength training produced an interference effect, where by overall muscle gain, and strength increase was reduced. Just like many things in the scientific community, these were valid results, but they were not completely accurate.
Later research showed that separating the different types of training, can nearly eliminate the interference effect. At a minimum, you should separate your cardiovascular work from resistance training by at least 4 hours. Ideally, this would be a 24 hour separation.
As a practical programming matter, this is why I plan hard cardio workouts on separate days from heavy lower body training sessions. Easier cardio, like Zone 2 aerobic exercise, can be done on the same day, as it is much less taxing on your lower body muscles. This leads us to our next question. What type of cardio combines the best with strength training?
Which Cardio is Best for Hybrid Training?
If we take a look at this research paper, we can see that there is some good evidence that cycling, and cycling derivatives, like Assault Bike, pair the best with hybrid or concurrent training. In that research paper, the participants had a significant amount of weight lifting experience.
For example, all could bench 1.25x their bodyweight, and back squat 1.5x their bodyweight. They were then split into several groups. One group lifted 3 times per week. Another did the same strength training with high intensity cycling intervals.
Another did the same lifts, and added in moderate intensity cycling. The last group did the lifts with a barbell circuit for cardio. The results were clear.
All groups gained strength and muscle mass, especially in their upper body. The group that did just lifting lost cardiovascular fitness. The groups that did cardio gained just as much mass, and maintained or improved their cardio. The circuit training group was slightly better than only lifting
I don’t want you to think that you must do cycling or Assault Bike to be a good hybrid athlete. As a coach, I think this is probably the best bet, but it doesn’t make sense for everyone. For athletes that need to run fast for their sport, or their job, running makes the most sense for hybrid training.
Now that we’ve reviewed some of the science behind strength training and cardiovascular training, let’s get to the programs.
36 Week Hybrid Strength Training Program Series
In this section I’m going to link to each hybrid athlete training program, and provide a quick overview of each one. As I stated above, I’ve listed them in an order that makes sense for long term improvement. In general, I have you alternating between strength focused and muscle mass cycles. This helps keep training fresh, and it can limit over use injuries, which can accumulate when lifting heavy weights without a deload.
I would encourage you to pick one method of cardio for each training program. You can then switch to a different style, upon starting the next program. As always, I recommend following the links to each of the programs, so you can read more of the details that pertain to that training cycle. Let’s get to the first program.
8 Week Hybrid Hypertrophy Program (Size + Conditioning)
The 8 Week Hybrid Hypertrophy Program (Size + Conditioning) is an 8 week training cycle that is designed for muscle growth, and increasing your cardiovascular fitness. This program is interesting because it’s written in 4 day cycles. This allows you to string one or two cycles together, and rest when you need. Here’s an example below.
You can see that this program has primary lifts like a bench press, or front squat, followed by accessory work. There is also a functional fitness style WOD which is beneficial for building extra mass. Those are your strength days. You’ll see that programming style 3 days per week.
On the fourth day you have a dedicated cardio day. I’ve listed that in terms of the standard 5 heart rate training zones. Makes sure to follow the link above to see more about this method of training, as they are critical to getting your cardio training right. After this program I recommend one of my most popular hybrid training plans with the specific goal of gaining strength.
8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Program
The 8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Plan is written in two parts, with the second part being found here. This program is by far my most popular hybrid program for intermediate and advanced athletes. It’s a 6 day training split, with several days of two workouts per day. The primary goal is to build an aerobic base and top end strength. Here’s an example of the program.
You can see at a glance that this program has a lot more heavy lifting. Most days have you focusing on a push pull lifting strategy, with associated accessory work for each muscle group. There are also a few functional fitness WODs, with two dedicated cardio days per week.
While Zone 2 cardio is incredibly important, I think it’s important to point out that this is only the first week of the program. It changes, and increases in difficulty over the full training cycle.
The vast majority of my training programs are free, however this isn’t one of them. If you follow the link to the program webpage, you’ll be able to see the vast majority of the fitness plan. I’ve done this so you can start the program for a few weeks, to make sure you like it before purchasing anything.
If you do like it, you can purchase the premium version below. It comes with much more info like coaches notes on all portions of the program. I’ve also included warm ups, rest periods, and more.
Next we’ll cover a great muscle building hybrid program, designed specifically for bodybuilders who want a familiar workout routine and a lot of cardio fitness.
8 Week Hybrid Bodybuilding and Endurance Training Plan
The 8 Week Hybrid Bodybuilding and Endurance Training Plan is also written in two parts, with the second part here. The biggest difference between this program and the others, is the lack of functional fitness WODs. This is a more traditional hybrid training program, with standard entire body lifts, and cardio. Take a look below.
More detailed readers will notice that I’ve included some things like complexes, or super sets. After all, I can’t make the program too easy can I? This is a great program for those that have some experience in the weight room, and want to improve their endurance.
The programming movements are simple. Moreover, you can do this program in a nice home gym, or nearly any commercial gym. If you like bodybuilding but want to work on even more mass and a bit less cardio, check out this program below.
12 Week Apex Hybrid Performance Fitness Plan
The 12 Week Apex Hybrid Performance Fitness Plan, with part two, is a high performance program, for an experienced or competitive athlete. Its a six day per week program, with a lot of compound lifts. This program is my most strength oriented program, in the series.
As such, you should expect a lot of percentage based work, focusing on the squat, bench press, and deadlift. I’ve included several functional fitness style WODs to improve anaerobic endurance, as well as muscle mass. In fact, they provide quite a lot of the muscle building stimulus for the program.
I wrote this program for myself, and I can tell you that it’s effective, but difficult. No single training session is that hard, but the overall workout volume is pretty high. If you’re new to hybrid training, I would recommend starting at the beginning of this program series. The Apex Program is likely be too much work for newer hybrid athletes.
Now that we’ve covered all programs in the 36 Week Hybrid Strength Training Program Series, we’ll quickly review some training tips to help you get more out of your programming.
Hybrid Training Tips
The name of the game for hybrid athletes is fatigue management. Because we’re effectively combining two different styles of training, we need to be very careful regarding overall fatigue. If you’ve done any of my other training programs, you know I’m flexible about your training schedule.
I’ve found that athletes who force themselves to get every little bit done each week, exactly as written, often crash and burn a few weeks in. Hard work is good, but training smartly is better. If you have to modify the program, by changing movements, or adding in some extra rest days here and there, thats fine!
I want you to perform these programs sequentially, as close to how I’ve written them as you can, over the duration of the program. Research confirms that consistency is key for building real fitness. Modifications that keep you working the program, are a good idea. Now let’s talk about recovery.
Recovery for Hybrid Athletes
Recovery isn’t a complicated topic. Sleep and nutrition are the most important parts of your recovery plan. You will find it very hard to gain muscle, or lose body fat, if you’re chronically sleep deprived. You already find time for the workouts, so make sure you find time to sleep.
For best results, you should eat around 1 gram per pound of lean mass, up to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight in protein daily. This is enough protein help you build muscle mass, and strength. Similarly, you should eat 60-90 grams of fat, to help support hormone production.
The rest of your calories should come from carbohydrates. For larger athletes, you might find that you’re eating 250-300 grams of carbs a day, just to maintain your weight. I recommend eating as much as you can to maintain your weight.
Obviously, if you want to gain muscle mass and weight, you can eat in a small surplus, around 300-500 calories per day. Just make sure you aren’t gaining more than 1% bodyweight per week. Otherwise you’re gaining too much fat. This is one area where you’ll have to experiment to find the right balance of macros for you. Now let’s finish this article up.
Final Thoughts
I’ve tried to put these programs in a reasonable order for most intermediate or above athletes. If you’re a newer hybrid athlete, then you should try this beginner programming series. You don’t need world class training programs for quite some time. It will rapidly build your fitness up without making you regret starting the program!
If you have any comments or questions put them in the comments below, that way everyone can see the response. I check them regularly and I’ll get you an answer. Now get out there and get training! Don’t forget to join the email list below.
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