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When it comes to fitness, crazes come and go. But the newest kid on the block is so-called “hybrid fitness.” This concept, its proponents argue, is the ultimate way to build athletic performance, even for individuals who don’t traditionally respond much to exercise.
Hybrid Fitness: A Primer
Hybrid fitness is a new concept that proposes combining strength training with cardiovascular workouts. As such, it is a take on circuits, but more focused on getting the body to engage both of these systems at the same time.
The idea is to focus more on functional fitness. Proponents believe the idea can balance strength, agility, and endurance, allowing participants to build the bodies they want faster, and stimulating them from numerous angles.
“The concept is intriguing,” says The Fitness Group, a national personal training course provider. “Workouts of this nature are often exhausting, but committed gym-goers and fitness fanatics often say that they have the most effect on their bodies, helping them move closer to their goals.”
Interestingly, those involved in this new movement believe that these workouts are suitable for everyone, not just those with several months of experience. Beginners and elite athletes can benefit, they say, with the former achieving faster progress and the latter being better able to bust through plateaus.
Why Hybrid Fitness Is Taking Off
Hybrid fitness is taking off for numerous reasons. But the main one is to improve strength and cardiovascular fitness at the same time. People want both to help them live their lives to the fullest and feel comfortable in their bodies. The idea is to improve functional fitness in the real world.
“Personal trainers will need to incorporate hybrid training methods in the future,” The Fitness Group explains, “because people will begin to demand it. Like other trends, including HIIT, once it enters public consciousness, there will be clamours from trainees for these movements and exercises to be included in their programmes.”
Hybrid fitness also appeals to people interested in modern athletics. Unlike gym work or going for a jog, it offers a new training avenue for track and field participants, potentially offering a novel way to out-train the opposition.
The concept aligns well with the general motivation of many people to have physiques more akin to those owned by athletes. Trainees often want to look toned and fit, but don’t want to look the same as bodybuilders or endurance runners. Many want something in between, which is allegedly what hybrid fitness offers when applied over a sufficiently long time frame.
“Personal trainers have known for a long time that most people don’t want to become bodybuilders,” The Fitness Group explains. “But until now, they haven’t had much of a paradigm to work with for middle-of-the-road clients looking for balance and functional physiques. With hybrid fitness, it’s a different story, and now trainers can offer something that feels genuine and convincing.”
Lastly, some commentators claim hybrid fitness is taking off in athletes because of the body composition benefits. Targeting two of the body’s systems at the same time–cardiovascular and muscular–stimulates two separate systems which, when combined, appear to have more than an additive effect.
“Many trainers believe building must increase metabolic rate and burn more calories, and this is partially true. However, trainees can supercharge results by also doing plenty of cardio, burning off calories while building muscle and telling the body it needs to perform better.”
How Hybrid Fitness Is Transforming Performance
Hybrid fitness is a relatively new concept, but it is already transforming performance. Some clubs are using it to help athletes requiring multi-modal performance (or performance across domains), particularly in events like the decathlon and heptathlon.
“You have a lot of athletes who have been crying out for a concept like this and now it has finally arrived. It means personal trainers have so many more options when helping people who want to achieve extreme performance in their athletic disciplines,” The Fitness Group explains.
The effects of training intensity are also considerable, according to proponents of the concept. Athletes must endure far more challenging exercises than usual, building mental resilience and helping them avoid issues like fatigue.
“Squatting a heavy weight is challenging by itself,” The Fitness Group explains. “But working leg muscles with lunges around a parking lot or garden is even more difficult, especially when sustained over a long period. Walking with fifty-pound dumbbells in each arm, lunging over the asphalt for more than a minute is nearly impossible for most people.”
The shape hybrid fitness training sessions take is still something personal trainers and coaches are hammering out. However, there’s a clear trend to using items that could substitute for heavy-lifting work people might carry out in their daily lives.
For example, many routines include sledge pushes. This exercise involves adding weight to a metal frame with skis at the bottom and then pushing it from one end of a track to the other. This exercise is intense for the muscles but it also makes most trainees puffed out after a minute or two.
Climbing is another example, although slightly less intensive. Trainees must engage their muscles and surmount tall walls to experience the full benefits.
It is possible to create training splits where trainees perform cardio for the first 30 minutes and then do resistance training for the second 30 minutes. However, this approach goes against the spirit of the idea. The concept isn’t simply to combine cardio and strength exercises into the same workout. Instead, it is to perform them at the same time.
Why Hybrid Fitness Won’t Be Going Anywhere
Critics often posit that hybrid fitness is a gimmick. However, research supports it, meaning that it likely has room to run, with many people preferring it.
One factor is its increasing inclusion in competitive events. Athletes need this sort of training to go up against their rivals and win.
It is also highly adaptable for fitness goals. Even advanced trainers can use it to push through their plateaus and achieve the functional strength they want.
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