WIXLIB

I’d like to take a (self indulgent) moment, though, and offer a bit onmy background and how this came about. Though originally from anendurance background (in high school), I got into strength training at theend of college, and made fairly good progress in a short period of time,working up to a top bodyweight of 245 pounds with a 745 pound deadlift.There were still several things I was extremely challenged by, however,including stairs and parking spots too far from the gym. And skippingdessert. Also tying my shoes.Around the time that I was just starting to get accustomed to finding goodspots to rest on the three flights of stairs up to my loft apartment, and hadmastered the whole “two stage two breath shoelace tie” (inhale, exhale,lean down, cross laces, sit up, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, lean down,double loop, wrap and tighten, sit up and gasp for air) , I was somehowcajoled into signing up for a 5k - my first real run over 400 meters since Iwas 18. Needless to say, some training was needed, so I gamely attemptedto accompany runners on their training runs and developed an incredibleaptitude for feigning calf cramps and suddenly remembering importantconference calls that I had to go back home to take. Fast forward to therace, and I turned in a mediocre performance, though the post race beerwas outstanding. The beer was too outstanding, actually, since in thatslightly inebriated state I decided to commit to my first marathon - thelogical next step after a 5k.When I started marathon training, I watched my 700 pound deadliftplummet - my recovery just wasn’t there. I lost muscle, I was sore 24/7, Igot stress fractures and shin splints, muscle strains, knee pain and I stillwasn’t a very good runner. Needless to say, mistakes were clearly made,yet the variables seemed to line up - I had a great running program and aTHE HYBRID ATHLETE14

great lifting program, yet nothing came together. A second attempt a yearlater gave me the same results - or lack thereof.The problem was simple - any goodprogram in any sport is designed to pushthe body to near the limits of its recovery- doing enough solid work to maximizethe adaptive response, then allowingjust enough recovery to attack the nextworkout.Combining two programs that push the athlete to 90% and expecting tonot regress may seem to be an obvious no-no, yet it is done all the time,because most athletes still assume there is some dividing line between“strength” training and “endurance” training. The fact is, there is not.Work is work, the principles of physical fatigue, trauma, energy substrateexhaustion, mental fatigue, and adaptive response are absolute, regardlessof the exercise modality, and recognizing this was the first step in creatingsuccessful programming. Being able to break these stimuli and adaptationsdown into discrete components, and train each component in a welldesigned microcycle is where the “magic” came in.THE HYBRID ATHLETE15

Hybrid Training createsa style of programmingthat develops strength,strength-endurance,sport skill, andaerobic conditioningsimultaneously.THE HYBRID ATHLETE 1.016

The magic, of course, is that there IS no magic, just very simpleprogramming principles that are too-often ignored. But perhaps the mostimportant take home message: Work hard, but be lazy. In other words,do as little as possible to attain the necessary result. Lift less often thana powerlifter, run less than a runner, bike less than a cyclist, swim lessthan a swimmer the body has limited recovery, and will quickly becomeoverwhelmed. Isolate what is truly important in each type of training, focuson those areas, and do them well. Cut out the junk miles, cut out the gympissing contests, be draconian in how you approach routines - take thosearticles with the “ten exercises you should be doing” and toss them in thetrash. The more you want to do, the less you should be doing. That is whatHybrid Training, and this book, is all about.What this book is not is a scientific review of the various literaturerevolving around concurrent strength and endurance training. While usefulas a starting point, very little of the literature has provided any usefulconclusions that the author has found regarding this style of programming- as will be discussed later, reductionist/mechanistic approaches have theirplace, but in the arena of complicated, novel programming of a complexorganism in a complex environment, it has its limitations. This is not an“evidence based” book.Quite frankly the lack of evidencebased literature on concurrent trainingfor experienced athletes led to thedevelopment of this entire methodology.THE HYBRID ATHLETE 1.017

Research exists, to be sure, but it is still in an early phase.This book is also not a manuscript being submitted to a peer reviewedjournal. The majority of the information contained can be found in eitherbasic biology texts, or extrapolated from these texts through commonsense. If the reader wishes to view a hundred citations per chapter (whichin most cases you will find, go completely unread even by the author), heor she may wish to look elsewhere - the majority of the statements madeon physiology contained herein can be found in nearly any textbook which is where every individual should start their education in the field ofexercise science. Not on PubMed, not from eBooks (this one excluded - itis fantastic), not from articles, but from the basics.It is remarkable how many questions are answered in the process ofobtaining a basic biology and biomechanics education, and alarming howoften a review of peripherally related, mechanistic/reductionist primaryliterature is being substituted for a basic education in biology. Forgettingthe basics or ignoring the basics is the cardinal sin of exercise science - it isattempting to fine tune a sculpture with a scalpel or nail file while it is still asolid block of wood.THE HYBRID ATHLETE18

02HYBRID TRAININGDEFINED

HYBRID TRAINING DEFINEDHybrid Training is still not easily defined, even though the authortechnically helped popularize the label - the closest definition, wordy asit may be, is that Hybrid Training is “The concurrent training of differentathletic disciplines that do not explicitly support one another, and whosedisparate components are not essential to success at any one sport”.Recognizing the fact that this is a horrible definition, a bit more detailis needed. There are a number of sports which combine strength andendurance- indeed the combination itself is nothing new or novel. Mostany sport falls somewhere in the middle of the pure endurance/purestrength spectrum, though degree varies wildly. Strongman and OLpositions in football are high strength roles that require a certain base levelof endurance and conditioning, while rugby backs or pursuit cyclists requireexcellent endurance, but still need strength and power to win. (Bear inmind, hybrid training principles apply very well to the training of theseathletes, but this is not what makes the principles nor approach unique.)The primary differentiator is that these sports all require this combination- it is not optional. Indeed, peak performance is all about the balance,with each sport having its “ideal” athlete - looking at top decathletes,rugby players, NFL position player, CrossFit games athletes, there’s not atremendous amount of variety in the builds and “performance envelopes”of the top performers.THE HYBRID ATHLETE20

Hybrid athleticism makes no such concessions to “ideal” build - theobjective behind this training is simple - to allow specialists to train allcomponents of athleticism, even ones which they do not appear wellphysically-suited for, without compromising performance in their primarysport. Make no mistake- it is unlikely that a 275 pound pro-totalingPowerlifter will qualify for Boston or run a sub -10 hour Ironman, but thismethodology would still allow this individual to train for and successfullycomplete an Ironman (with performance improvements comparable tomost tri-dedicated programs) while maintaining or improving their total.THE HYBRID ATHLETE21

Hybrid Training is“The concurrenttraining of differentathletic disciplinesthat do not explicitlysupport one another,and whose disparatecomponents are notessential to successat any one sport”.THE HYBRID ATHLETE 1.022

There is, of course, appeal to this methodology beyond the not-so-massivepopulations of Ironman Powerlifters and ultra runners who want to cleanand jerk 1.5 times their bodyweight - these training principles can beapplied to nearly any athlete - there are very few athletes who would notbenefit from a performance increase in their non-primary energy systems.Indeed, improving one’s aerobic capacity can improve recovery for purestrength athletes, and improving limit strength can aid in injury prevention,fix postural/strength imbalances, and improve threshold performance inendurance athletes, not to mention the overall health benefits of beingwell-rounded.What this approach offers is the “without compromise” component getting a SHW powerlifter to run or a cat 1 climbing specialist to lift heavyweights is a challenge - conventional wisdom dictates that they are wastingtheir time with cross training of this sort, and potentially eliciting negativeadaptations, and spending time on cross training is a poor use of both timeand recovery. As we’ll see in both the physiology and practical segments ofthis text, however, this is not the case.So what is Hybrid Training about? It is about analyzing the differentstressors involved in various forms of strength and endurance training,and designing programs based around consolidating these stressors tominimize interference and maximize recovery- this text should be read withthis basic concept in mind.THE HYBRID ATHLETE 1.023

03NECESSARYPHYSIOLOGYTHE HYBRID ATHLETE24

BASIC PHYSIOLOGY OF SKELETALMUSCLE AND STRENGTHObtaining a full understanding of strength production and skeletal musclefunction could certainly be an entire book in and of itself. In fact, the authorhighly encourages the reader to further their understanding through anynumber of free online courses or through picking up a basic physiologytextbook - what will be covered here are just the relevant basics as theyapply to training design and adaptation.MUSCLE STRUCTURESkeletal muscle tissue is a type of striated muscle (as opposed to smoothmuscle, such as the muscle surrounding your arteries or trachea) that iscomprised of multiple muscle cells (myocytes, or muscle fibers), furthergrouped into motor units, which, combined, comprise a single muscle.THE HYBRID ATHLETE25

A myocyte, or muscle fiber itself, is actually comprised of a number ofcontractile proteins that are responsible for muscle contraction. Theseproteins, actin and myosin, are arranged in repeat units called sarcomeres.Multiple muscle fibers are arranged into motor units - which are groupingsof fibers that all share common innervation - in other words, they allcontract simultaneously when the nerve fires.Note that the number of motor unitscontracting at once determines the degreeof contractile force.THE HYBRID ATHLETE26

A very fine, delicate movement may only stimulate a handful of motorunits, while a large powerful movement may stimulate nearly all motorunits - it is the number of motor units contracted that determines voluntaryforce output by any muscle. Worth noting is that the number of musclefibers per motor unit is highly dependent on the muscle’s function - theeye muscles may have a handful of muscle fibers per motor unit (since theaverage motion is very fine against minimal load), whereas the calf musclesmay have a large number of fibers per motor unit (since the need for finemotor control is far less).Motor units are largely comprised of similar “fiber types” - most readersmay be familiar with type I and type IIa/b/x fibers, the former being “slowtwitch,” high endurance, low output fibers, the latter being various types of“fast twitch,” higher power fibers. These categories are largely simplistic fiber type is truly more of a continuum than a set of categories, there beinga number of variable characteristics that are winnowed down into a handfulof types. These will not be discussed, other than to state that motor unitswill typically have a certain similar set of characteristics.When the nerves receive an impulse from the brain to contract, however,the type of fibers that fire is not relevant - it is the size of the motor unit(number of fibers per unit) that determines the order in which they arerecruited - smaller motor units first, larger motor units as the strengthof the impulse increases (though generally speaking, the smaller motorunits are indeed comprised primarily of fibers that have the “type I”characteristics). Note that increasing the number of motor units that canbe recruited simultaneously/rapidly is a learned component of strength thatoccurs over time with both repetition and heavy loading.THE HYBRID ATHLETE27

All these motor unitscomprise a single muscle- every muscle has its ownorigin (attachment closer tothe middle of the body) andinsertion (attachment furtherto the periphery).Muscles are relatively simplein their contraction- whenthey contract, all they do isexert a single force vector,which becomes a singlerotational force around thejoint - this is why everycomplex movement isthe result of the relativecontributions of dozensof muscles operating inunison, fine tuning the jointmovement to achieve thedesired effect.The simple act of raising yourarm in front of you requiresdozens of muscles, hundredsor thousands of individuallycontracting motor units, firing,relaxing, and firing again.THE HYBRID ATHLETE28

There is simply no such thing as muscleisolation in the human body!MUSCLE STRENGTHAbsolute muscle strength is a function of total muscle fiber cross sectionalarea - fiber type has some impact here, but truthfully is less important thanoverall size. What is important to note, though, is that muscle fiber crosssectional area is absolute potential, but muscle shape and attachments canmake a significant difference.For muscle shape, fiber arrangement can make a significant difference incontraction- longitudinally or unipennate arranged fibers are the “standard”arrangement typically pictured for muscle structure.THE HYBRID ATHLETE29

Fusiform, unipennate, and bipennate structure- thin lines are muscle fibers,thick lines are fascia.Bipennate muscles (and unipennate, to a lesser extent), sacrifice range ofmotion and speed of contraction for force generation. Pennate structure isessentially identical for all human beings, however, and this is not a variablethat really needs to be studied for the athlete.Muscle attachments are far more relevant and important. If the reader willexamine his or her pectoralis major muscle for a moment, and observewhere on the upper arm it attaches, then picture the lever action thatmoves the humerus forward, he or she may understand how movingthat upper arm attachment a half inch closer to or farther away from theshoulder joint could make a tremendous impact in torque generationaround the joint. These attachment points are highly variable by individual,with more favorable leverages for force generation allowing for more powerto be generated across that joint with a smaller muscle. There are manyworld class powerlifters and Weightlifters who may seem deceptively“small” in terms of muscle mass- chances are, their leverages arephenomenal!The trade-off, however, is in efficiency and speed - less favorable leveragesfor maximum power tend to be superior for economy of motion andturnover - indeed, many talented distance runners may find that a portionof their economy is due to favorable leverages for running, which maybe less than ideal for squatting. These leverages are not absolute froma biomechanical standpoint, incidentally, as closer attachments do notnecessarily improve running economy (depending on the joint). There arecertain joints where the argument could be made that superior torqueTHE HYBRID ATHLETE30

benefits both strength and endurance athletes, and “inferior” torque wouldonly benefit the individual at a slow walking pace, for example. Generallyspeaking, however, closer attachment points mean higher potential velocityof the bones around the joint, which would be favorable to, say, a cyclistlooking to maintain a high cadence, or marathon runner who needs a fast,efficient cadence over time.Once limb length is considered as well, itbegins to become clear why two individualswith similar overall stats (height,weight, body composition) can have suchdramatically different strengths andweaknesses.Practical muscle strength has a number of more important characteristics,however - beyond leverages, the rate and coordination of motor unitrecruitment is a major determining factor in force production, which can beincreased via repetition and mastery of a given movement - note that thisform of optimization is highly movement specific, with minimal translationto other movements in other words, even improving specific strength inthe low bar wide stance squat may not necessarily translate to improvingspecific strength to the narrow stance front squat or overhead squat. Therewill be some carryover, but it is nevertheless important to note that thesenon-mechanical, CNS/coordination-related adaptations must be practicedfrequently in the specific movements that the athlete wishes to improve.THE HYBRID ATHLETE31

04PHYSIOLOGY OFMETABOLISMAND ENERGYSYSTEMSTHE HYBRID ATHLETE32

PHYSIOLOGY OF METABOLISMAND ENERGY SYSTEMSWhen a nerve impulse stimulates a muscle, a rather complex multi-stepprocess takes place in and around each muscle fiber. Without spendingtime on a lengthy discussion of the various steps, noteworthy are twothings:1. The proteins within a muscle cell are named actin andmyosin - actin can be thought of as the fixed “ladder” thatthe myosin pulls itself along. ATP essentially powers thedetachment and re-attachment of the “heads” or “fists”on the myosin protein that are responsible for contractingthe muscle fibers. This ATP action, and in fact, th

In 2008 I opened CrossFit Wilmington. By that time I had been doing CrossFit-style training for three years and CrossFit was changing rapidly. Olympic weightlifting was becoming the favorite in CrossFit gyms. The weights in most workouts were getting heavier. It was a logical path. Heavier was the only di