If you’re looking for a challenging hybrid strength and endurance training plan, with all the details, then this program is for you. Like my other premium programs, this plan is designed to give you way more detailed information than my free version. My goal is to provide the same information, and level of programming, that I give to my one on one athletes, at a much cheaper price. Keep reading for more.
As the name implies this program is designed to accomplish two distinct goals, building strength, and endurance capacity. Traditionally, many athletes and coaches have encountered difficulties when trying to combine endurance work and strength training. It’s only recently that research has shinned a light on best practices for this style of concurrent training. Here is a quick overview of the program, including the benefits of hybrid training.
8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Premium Plan
- This hybrid training program is 5 days per week with an optional 6th day
- Days with cardio and heavy lifting workouts need to be separated by 4-6 hours
- Each major muscle group is worked twice per week, minimum
- Coaches notes provide detailed execution info, including rest periods, and technique advice
- There are 3 functional fitness WODs per week that compliment the lifting
- This program is a great way to improve your body composition
As you might expect, this program involves lifting a lot of heavy weight. There is approximately 45-60 minutes of pure lifting each day. Three days per week there are WODs that compliment the primary strength work. There are also planned Zone 2 cardio sessions, and one sprint running day per week.
In the next section I want to discuss the basics of combining lifting, functional training, and cardio, so you understand how to get the greatest benefit from this program. If this program already sound like your cup of tea, you can pick up your copy here.
8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Plan [Premium PDF]
Combining Cardio, Lifting, and Functional Fitness
In research parlance, combining cardio and lifting is called concurrent training. For many years, the research was clear that training for cardio and lifting really limited your gains in strength, and lean muscle mass. This was dubbed the interference effect, where cardiovascular training interfered with strength and hypertrophy gains. For many coaches and athletes, that was the end of the discussion. Luckily for us, the lab coats kept at it. Score one for the nerds!
They discovered that there were some key methods that should be implemented to limit the impact of these disparate training styles. In this section, we’ll review my training method for performing concurrent training, and then we’ll discuss how I’ve implemented that into the 8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Premium Plan.
1. Separate Workouts by 4-6 Hours
This is the most important rule for limiting the impact of aerobic work on your lifting. Research shows that when you perform these workouts back to back, or very close together, less strength and muscle mass is gained. If you separate your cardio from the lifting by 4-6 hours, you do not see this drastic degradation.
Moreover, research shows that choosing cycling or similar activities, like assault bike, also limit this diminution of your lifting gains. There are some simple reasons why this style of aerobic training blends well with strength training.
First, cycling, rowing, and assault bike, are non-weight bearing activities. This means that there is less tissue to repair after a session, compared to something like running. Even easy jogging requires your body to repair more muscle and tendon tissue, due to the impactful nature of landing one foot at a time.
That being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with running for Zone 2 cardio. If you need to run, or like to run, you aren’t going to make a huge impact on your gains. You can easily choose running for your Zone 2 cardio sessions. Next we’ll talk about the benefits of Zone 2 cardio for endurance training.
2. Zone 2 Cardio Benefits for Lifters
I know only Sith Lords speak in absolutes, but I will absolutely say that your lack of Zone 2 cardio is holding back your overall fitness, and lifting. Zone 2 cardio is one of 5 training zones. It is defined as the highest power output you can maintain, using fat for fuel. As you’ll see in this hybrid athlete training program, there is a very simple way to find out if you’re in Zone 2.
Zone 1 is easy movement, and day to day activity. Zones 3-5 are increasingly difficult, with 5 being max effort. These zones rely on lactate for fuel. You don’t need a biochem degree to understand that using lactate is anaerobic in nature. This means that your body is producing energy in the absence of oxygen. Ultimately this will limit your output.
Lactate is sugar that is produced when you’re above your sustainable aerobic threshold (Zone 2). I want you to understand that there’s nothing wrong with working out above Zone 2. It’s also a great way to build fitness; however, it shouldn’t be the bulk of your training.
To steal a Fast and Furious reference, lactate is like using nitrous. It gives a temporary boost, but it’s unsustainable for long durations. Eventually your body builds up waste products, from burning lactate, that limit further energy production.
Exercising in Zone 2 allows you to increase the amount of work you can do without resorting to hitting that nitrous button. In fact, elite athletes (cyclists) have been known to produce more than 300 watts of power while staying completely aerobic.
If you’ve spent any time on cardio equipment that tells you watts, you know how much power that is! Zone 2 cardio also enhances quicker recovery between lifting sets, allowing for more overall work. Next we’ll cover appropriate weight training volume for concurrent training.
3. Ideal Training Volume for Lifting and Cardio
Because we’re doing more overall work in this type of program, compared to a standard lifting only program, we need to be very careful with how much heavy weight lifting we actually do. We must have a smart, progressive overload plan, that still allows for adequate recovery. Recall that you don’t benefit from the work in the gym, you benefit from the recovery from this work!
This is one area where my experience, and the research matches up quite closely. Most intermediate and advanced athletes do well with 10-15 sets per muscle group, per week. You can increase that during peaking periods, up to 20 or so sets, but that’s only for short periods of time.
You’ll find that the 8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Premium Plan starts at moderate volume, and progressively increases. This is mandatory, otherwise your body does not adapt to the training stress. I’ve only included enough volume to gain strength, and size, but not so much that you’ll hit the training wall.
Astute readers will also notice that I often use the WODs to provide more training volume on key muscle groups, that aren’t covered with the standard resistance training. These WODs also induce metabolic stress in your muscle tissue, which research confirms is key for muscle growth. Next we’ll cover the details of the premium program, by looking at some sample days.
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8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Premium Plan
In this section we’ll take a sneak peak at the type of info you can expect for each training session, as well as some of the advice that I like to provide in my premium programs. I also provide more detail on how to scale, and how to flex this plan around your schedule in the full program.
If you’ve followed any of my other programs, then you know that I value consistency. I don’t really care if you have to add in an extra rest day every week, or modify these hybrid workouts. Consistency is king, when you’re trying to gain endurance and strength.
Sample Programming: Session 1
This is the first session of the program, and it’s an upper body day. Let’s walk through the details. Before we even start our first lift, which is the bench press here, we are going through a general warm up, and Specific Warm Up: A. I’ve included detailed warm ups for each type of session in this program. This is one area that causes poor performance and injury for many athletes.
Once you get through that, you will start with the barbell work. You”ll have the percentages of your one rep max, and I’ve also included details about how each set should feel, as well as rest intervals. You can also see that I include scaling options for athletes that can’t do every movement.
Keep in mind that Session 1 is the easiest session of the whole program. In my experience, the lifting takes about 45-50 minutes. I recommend a quick break and then a WOD warm up. This particular WOD is 12 minutes in length, and it’s no joke!
After that, I have a research based cool down, that will help you recover quicker. It also helps you build more muscle. It’s one of the few science based methods to increase your performance. I’ve also included my favorite breathing technique in the performance enhancement section. That breathing technique alone can help you lift up to 30% more reps instantly. Now, let’s take a look at a different session.
Sample Programming: Session 20
This session is a lower body strength session, following Specific Warm Up B. It starts with some front squats, and then moves to Romanian Deadlifts, which are one of the best movements for any athlete. It then moves to jump squats, and Nordic curls.
These movements are chosen because they help shore up the most common weaknesses I see in athletes. Most athletes who engage in concurrent style of training don’t do enough lower body power training, like jump squats. This is born out by research that shows a drop off in power production when cardio is added to strength training. Simple ballistic movements can keep you strong and powerful.
You’ll notice that this session has programmed Zone 2 cardio. As we discussed, this is to be done with 4-6 hours of separation between the lifting and the cardio. Most athletes tend to do the cardio in the morning and the lifting in the evening, but that’s athlete preference.
In the PDF download for the program, I’ve included some easy methods for finding your Zone 2 heart rate / power zone. While I’m partial to my Garmin Epix 2, which tells me exactly where this is, there is a super easy method to make sure you’re right in the middle of Zone 2. In the next section we’ll review who this workout program is best for.
Who Is This Program For?
The 8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Premium Plan is for athletes that have 1-2+ years of experience in the gym. You should be safe, and competent with all barbell lifts, and most of the accessory work. You don’t have to be able to do everything as written, as I’ve included modification guidance.
It’s also for people that don’t mind working out twice per day, several times per week. If you want a pure strength program, then this isn’t for you. Moreover, this isn’t going to prepare you for your next marathon, or extreme adventure race.
I wrote this program for athletes that need to build their aerobic endurance (i.e all of us), and athletes that need to build their strength. This program works well for tactical athletes, and CrossFit athletes who’ve just finished their competitive season.
If you need well rounded fitness, then the base of your fitness pyramid is built from aerobic capacity and maximal strength. Every single other physical attribute is of negligible utility if you have poor endurance, and you aren’t as strong as you need to be. If this sounds good to you, then pick up your copy of the program below.
I should also mention that I’ve included some simple nutrition advice, including my nutrition calculator. This is a download that will help calculate your energy expenditure, and get you started with a proper nutrition plan . While it’s not a PHd nutritionist, it will give you some great macronutrient recommendations. Let’s finish this article up.
Final Thoughts
If your on the fence about this program, then I recommend checking out the free version first. It doesn’t have as much information, and you can’t see every single workout, but it will give you several weeks of free programming. This will allow you to see if this program is your cup of tea without having to pay anything.
If you do you like this program, and want all the information, then you can get your copy of the program here. If you have any comments or questions about the program, you can put them in the comments section below, and I’ll get you an answer. Don’t forget to join the email list below for more awesome fitness programs!
We are not affiliated with any other company or entity including CrossFit Inc. 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.
