Hybrid athletes are all the rage, according to my very accurate population cross section – Instagram. It won’t take long scrolling to see “fitfluencers” discussing how blending running and lifting is the secret to maximising results. For those wanting to take it further, HYROX is growing rapidly in popularity ¹. But what does being a hybrid athlete actually mean? More importantly, if you want to build muscle and strength, should you train like one? And finally, is being a hybrid athlete even healthier? Let’s unpack it properly. By the end of this article, you may realise that hybrid training is far less exotic than social media suggests.
What Does Being a Hybrid Athlete Mean?
In common parlance, a hybrid athlete is someone who trains both resistance and cardiovascular modalities within a weekly program. That might look like lifting three times per week and running twice. Often, sessions are organised carefully so they do not clash. For example, a long run might sit far away from a heavy squat day.
In a stricter sense, a hybrid athlete is defined by competing in events that have opposing demands and adaptations. Alex Viada for instance, competes in both Powerlifting and ultramarathon events. These sports demand different physiological adaptations. Endurance training promotes mitochondrial density and fatigue resistance. Heavy strength training promotes neural efficiency and maximal force production. When training stress is high enough, improvements in one domain can reduce peak performance in the other. By contrast, events like HYROX blend strength and conditioning toward the same performance outcome. In that case, resistance and cardio complement each other rather than compete.
For most people, hybrid training simply means performing both strength and cardiovascular exercise each week. That is not extreme. That is structured physical activity. Although it’s a bit of a fad, it’s a net positive which is getting more people physically active.
Can You Build Muscle as a Hybrid Athlete?
Short answer: yes, provided total training stress is managed.
The fear that cardio “kills your gains” comes from early research in the 1980s suggesting an interference effect ². However, modern evidence paints a different picture. A study by Babcock et al. (2012) found that concurrent training did not significantly reduce hypertrophy compared to resistance training alone ³. More recent research by Schumann et al. (2022) showed similar findings ⁴, ⁵. Muscle growth and maximal strength development were largely preserved when aerobic and resistance training were combined. Concurrent training works. When progress stalls, the problem is usually excessive workload rather than biological incompatibility.
This is where opportunity cost matters. Every training session consumes recovery resources. Sleep, nutrition, psychological stress, and total weekly volume determine adaptation. If you increase running mileage while maintaining maximal strength volume, fatigue accumulates. Something must be adjusted. Interference is rarely the issue but mismanaged total stress is. For recreational lifters training 3 – 5 hours per week, concurrent training is unlikely to blunt muscle growth in any meaningful way. For elite athletes pushing performance ceilings in both domains simultaneously, careful planning becomes necessary.
So, Do You Need to Be a Hybrid Athlete?
Public health guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous cardiovascular activity per week, alongside resistance training. Meeting both improves cardiovascular health, muscle mass, insulin sensitivity, bone density, and long-term independence. From a health perspective, combining strength and conditioning is ideal. From a performance perspective, priorities matter. Some research suggests that when maximal lower body strength is the primary goal, separating endurance and resistance sessions may improve outcomes ⁶. Performing high-intensity conditioning immediately before heavy lifting can impair explosive performance in that session. Therefore, intelligent scheduling improves results.
For general population trainees, however, the limiting factor is rarely molecular signalling pathways. It is time, consistency, and recovery capacity. Someone new to lifting should build strength gradually before layering in high-volume conditioning on top. Someone new to endurance work should increase mileage progressively to avoid overload and may start with less strength sessions per week. Health improves when workload rises in line with adaptation. Hybrid training does not need to mean extreme competition. It can simply mean balanced development.
So, Do You Need to Be a Hybrid Athlete?
No. You do not need the label. If you lift weights and perform cardiovascular exercise, you are already training concurrently. That does not make you special. It makes you aligned with evidence-based guidelines. If you want to compete in HYROX, ultramarathons, or Powerlifting, programming must reflect those goals. Trade-offs exist at high levels of performance. Training resources are finite. But if your goal is to build muscle, improve heart health, and remain capable long term, concurrent training is not the enemy. It is smart.
Meet activity guidelines. Progress gradually. Manage fatigue. Adjust volume according to your priorities. That approach may not trend on Instagram. But it aligns perfectly with our philosophy at Sydney Strength Training: Stronger For Life. If you’re unsure how to manage concurrent training and you would like to both become fitter and stronger, contact one of our expert coaches, today.
References:
- https://www.gym-flooring.com/blogs/stats-hub/hyrox-stats
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00421333
- https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00035.2012
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-022-01688-x
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-021-01587-7
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2018.1464636