Movement

Centr Team

How to harness the power of hybrid training

Looking to level up your strength and cardio? Check out Hybrid Strong now.

The big benefits of hybrid training

So now we know that hybrid training is the ultimate formula for the all-round fitness machine – let’s drill down on the main benefits.

1. Improve your heart health: Research has shown that a combination of cardio and resistance training was more effective at improving cardiometabolic health than endurance, resistance or interval training alone. That means you’re less likely to experience conditions like heart disease and diabetes by doing hybrid training compared to only doing HIIT, only jogging or only lifting weights.

2. Become a better athlete: Whatever your game, the best way to get better is through improving multiple elements of your fitness. Runners perform better with strength training. Footballers – whether it’s soccer, rugby or American football – need strength, explosive speed and endurance.

3. Reduce your chance of injury: A study into the link between training load and injury in team sports suggests that a mix of training – for instance explosive acceleration work plus building aerobic endurance – can reduce the risk of injury.

4. Less how you look, more how you feel: Rather than getting caught up on achieving six-pack abs or weight loss, hybrid training puts the emphasis on your overall fitness and performance. This effect is amplified if you’re combining strength and cardio to train for an event like HYROX or a marathon.

If you’re still on the fence about mixing cardio with lifting because it might wreck your gains, let us bust that myth immediately.

Is hybrid training better than regular strength training?

Answering this question comes down to your ultimate fitness goals.

Hybrid training is for you if you want lean muscle gain alongside functional everyday movement and stamina. It will make you an overall fitter person: someone who can bench press an impressive weight and run for the last train without running out of breath.

But if maximizing strength and muscle mass is your goal, then traditional strength training – like you’ll find in Chris Hemsworth and Luke Zocchi’s Centr Power program – is the way to go.

There’s no right or wrong, only what works for you and the things you want to do.

What makes a good hybrid training plan?

Like any style of training, the biggest risk with hybrid training is overdoing it. Overtraining makes you more likely to fatigue, which can lead to sloppy form and increased injury risk.

This is where the balance and structure of your hybrid training routine becomes important.

If possible, aim to split your strength and cardio across separate days, as in the example below.

A hybrid training plan for you – inspired by the structure of our Hybrid Strong program.

If you don’t have time to split your training across separate days and want to blend strength and cardio into one effective session, the order in which you do the modalities can make a difference:

• If your goal is to maximize muscle growth, lift weights before doing cardio exercises to ensure you have the energy to lift heavy and with intensity.

• If building up endurance is your priority, do cardio before switching to lifting weights.

It’s also important that you dial in your nutrition and recovery routine to support your hybrid training.

Try hybrid training for yourself with expert coaching from Chris Hemsworth’s team in Hybrid Strong. Train at home with high-intensity strength training and HIIT, or mix up your cardio with treadmill running.