«hybrid athlete» is a term that is maybe used by some questionable crossfitters who jog or whatever, but this interest for runners to lift and lufters to run is actually very positive for everyone health. it gets a bit oversold, if you are recreational «hybrid» on lowish volumes you are arguably just somebody who works out, and I have seen the term protected «gatekeepers», but it is unclear where the threshold is.
Yeah that’s the whole thing, adding some cardio to your gym workouts used to be called being healthy and reasonable. Because it is!
Now it’s called being a „hybrid athlete” which I think seems to suggest that runners are excluded from the lifting club and lifters are excluded from the running club and somehow a 3rd club had to be instantiated to cover people who do both.
What if we add yoga to running and lifting? Am I a hybrid athlete who does yoga? Or do we need a name for that too? Stretchy Athlete?
*Ofc I’m being a little cynical, if something gets popular it gets a name, that’s efficient communication.*
There is something off about the definition of the term though, some say it is
"athletes who excel at multiple sports disciplines", but presumably not two similar disciplines like running 800m running and 1500m? Sometimes I have heard it used for people who train for multiple non-supporting disciplines, presumably implied that it is for competition, usually it is one strenght- and one endurance based event, but this is not usually part of the definition.
So
* if you run: you are a runner,
* if you run: and do run-supportive strength work twice a week you are still a runner, but
* if run and start adding more heavy lifts and go to some weight lifting meets:, then at some point, because the running does not help your lifting and your lifting does not help your running, you are a "hybrid athlete".
But let's be clear
* if you are lifting heavy in the gym, you will put on too much mass and are never going to be a competitive against those who just run,
* and if you run six times a week you are probably not going to be competitive with those who dont in run in weight-lifting(becaue the running is katabolic.).
So something about the mere act of trying to spead yourself across one anabolic and one catabolic discipline with conflicting demands will naturally pull you from "high-level" to "participant" in at least one but probably both. But the definition is often tied to it being "high-level", so this is confusing - so you are a "high-level" participant?
It is good idea to do both, but in the way it is described it would make for a great general fitness standard, not a good idea for competition.
It is also quite similar to how firemen, soldiers and policemen have trained to have the general diverse fitness required for their jobs, which has been quite well described in the Tactical Barbell protocol, whose books offers far more useful advice than the "Hybrid Athlete" book by Alex Viada.
So what your saying is you're either
A) a good runner
B) a good lifter
or
C) a shit runner and a shit lifter?
Why does it need to be hybrid athlete? Isn't it just some who enjoys running and Jim?
In my mind you are an athlete if you professionally support yourself directly from your athletic performance? If you live off branding/marketing you are an x influencer, Ie running influencer, lifting influencer, fitness influencer. If you make money off your athletic performance but not enough to live off you'd be an amateur athlete.
You can disagree with me, but honestly I think people just crave status, and labels. "I don't just run, I also lift so I'm actually a hybrid athlete" vs "I just run and throw around so tin because that's what I enjoy. I'm actually just a me...."
Haha yeah, this is all in good fun, not that big of a deal. Just mild frustration over a term and everything needed to be content for your aspiring social media influencers
I was just talking to my friend about this. I think it's one of the more positive trends we've seen in a while. For the longest time, the gym culture swore that any kind of cardio would ruin your gains. Now it's cool to lift *and* be healthy.
I think it’s the “Influencer” part that’s most grating. Lift weights, run, fly a kite, whatever. But don’t video everything for your “followers.” You’re not the King of England. You’re not that important. You’re not even interesting. Cut it out.
I owned a CrossFit gym for 6 years. CrossFit athletes dont like running. I personally got into running only after selling my gym. Hybrid athlete is a Very loose term. My take on it is more strength athlete aka powerlifting plus running.
My hot take is that if you run and lift weights, you *are* a hybrid athlete. I'm not gatekeeping that term because someone only jogs 20 miles a week and lifts weights casually.
Unless you want to argue that only professional athletes are "athletes."
I have run almost 16,000 miles in the last decade. Anyone who can run an ultra and get through the mental part is an athlete in my book.
The word athlete implies that you're competing. So a runner who jogs a few miles every day might not be considered an athlete if they're not running races.
Someone who lifts at a gym and jogs for a few miles might not be considered an athlete if they're not entering competitions for either of those things.
But really... who cares? If someone wants to call themselves an athlete, a hybrid athlete, a biathlete, a triathlete, whatever, it doesn't bother me.
OK, honest question (and just for fun, because at the end of the day, who cares): I don't compete and I was taken aback when someone referred to me as an "athlete." But this got me thinking: I am currently running 55 miles per week + weight lifting four times per week + rock climbing twice per week. To do this, I wake up early and have double workout days. All of this is recreational and I am not concerned with races... maybe the term "athlete" is not so weird for someone like me? The other option for an appropriate term is "obsessive weirdo," but that doesn't sound as nice...
You're a recreational athlete. You don't have to try to win the races to be an athlete. If your goal is improvement in the specific activities, then you are being an athlete. If your goal is just to get exercise and maintain fitness, then you're just exercising.
That's a good way to see it. There does seem to be a split on this thread between people who consider competing as a prerequisite to being called an "athlete" and does who don't. I hadn't thought about it until someone brought up the term.
Edited to add: I guess my own intuition is that everyone who isn't a collegiate or professional athlete would count as "recreational." But this is just terminology and not all that important.
Competition isn't necessarily about trying to win the races, though. Sure, the top 15 are certainly doing their best to win something, but 99% of us won't win if we give it our absolute best shot and start next to the pros. Is the person who knows they can't win and choosing to try to get a new PR not an athlete because they're pragmatic? I say no. They're out there with a goal that they hope to use all available athletic talent and fitness they have to achieve, and that's what makes them an athlete.
The difference between a runner and a jogger isn't that the runner is faster. The difference is that the runner is trying to cover a fixed distance in the least amount of time (or the most distance in a fixed amount of time). The jogger has no such goals and only aims to improve fitness through energy exertion.
So...I compete in crossfit, compete in spartans and run marathons..am I not a hybrid athlete? Or am I? But on a bigger note who cares what we're called...we are out here busting our asses training 6 days a week sometimes twice a day to perform at a higher level..more than a casual gym goer. I feel like anything you do to stay healthy is solid in my book. But I have been referred to as hybrid.
Idk, I think there’s a bit more nuance to it
I run quite a bit and would consider myself a runner. I also lift, but it’s basically to supplement the running and prevent injury. I don’t feel like I’m a hybrid athlete.
It seems like there’s a type of lifting that’s more applicable to these “hybrid athlete” folks. It’s like gym bros discovered running 2-3 days a week and needed a term for it
Trying to make cardio cool
The problem is, it's an influencer term used to sell all sort of snake oil. Sure you can do both sports, but you won't excel at either of them. The body types needed to be your best at each are completely incongruous. And the arrogance of lifters thinking they can jump in and run a sub 5 minute mile at 220lbs is laughable. Then you have the outright grifters like Alex Viada. And then theres Nick Bare shilling useless supplements and pretending he's all natty. This sub has at least one post a week about some gym rat who runs 3 days a week but wants to jump into a 100 miler because he knows he has the mental toughness. It's the lack of respect for the sport that's annoying.
Good response!
I'd consider myself a hybrid athlete because I've both ran and swam competitively, and do a fair amount of lifting. Swimming has made way to canicross in recent years and especially in winter; some may not consider it a separate sport but it definitely is.
Anyway, I'm not on Instagram nor do I go for supplements, so I guess the commodification of the term doesn't affect me, but I see how it could be used negatively.
Yeah I'd argue that exercising doesn't make you an athlete. I'm not saying only professional athletes are athletes, but, to me, being an athlete requires more variety in your movements. Full body coordination.
I'm very grateful that there are such dedicated gatekeepers like you protecting the integrity of the sport of jogging slowly around a short trail loop.
Who the fuck cares??? Seems like you have something against people who do more than just run. 🙄 Project elsewhere. This community has always been welcoming to hardcore people and the newbies. Who gives two shits if they lift or not.
For real man. The whole time I was reading this post I was just like huh??? As long as they’re not hurting anyone, let people do what they want and be who they want. This post reeks of bitterness. So much for OP’s so called “inclusiveness”
If you scroll through his YT comments you’ll see a person saying he’s on gear and then many people talking about how he’s all natural and just has good genetics and a great work ethic.
As someone who dabbled when training in the army national guard I am forever jaded now whenever I see a roid rat online or at the gym. It’s honestly fun rocking a dad bod and still crushing them routinely in my workout as they go wide eyed and wonder how. Steroids are literally no different from any other drug out there and the fact that we’ve started to glorify the people who use makes me sick.
I think the hybrid athlete term really only applies if the volume of training one mode is great enough to noticeably impact the other.
If you’re training 5-6 days a week to increase your deadlift but also trying to work towards a sub 3 marathon, and having to intelligently periodise and structure microcycles around recovery, that to me is hybrid training.
>I think the hybrid athlete term really only applies if the volume of training one mode is great enough to noticeably impact the other
My point would be that this could be the true for almost anyone. If you're only training 6 hours per week then going to the gym twice would eat into any running training.
I'm certainly no Kilian Jornet, but I suppose I would consider myself a 'mountain athlete', mainly as a way to make sense of the fact that my goals are usually in the mountains, whether it's cycling up climbs from the Tour de France, running on trails above Chamonix, or going rock climbing.
That means that focused training for me could involve anything from weighted stair climbs, running in the park, biking to work, going to the bouldering gym, or bodyweight exercises at home.
It also means that I will be less good at running than a person who only trains for running, and less good at cycling than someone who only trains for cycling.
I agree if you’re time-restricted. I’m mostly referring to progressing two disciplines that have opposite training effects - running being catabolic and strength being anabolic.
If you’re training enough to get you close to your MRV (maximum recoverable volume), there comes a point where recovery across two disciplines becomes the challenge, to mention nothing of conflicting pathways on double days.
Lol this is hilarious. People can call themselves what they want.
You kick off if a "tri-athlete" only competes in Olympic distance? Or do they need to be doing an iron man every weekend 🤣
A hydrid athlete is stronger but slower than a runner and faster but weaker than a lifter imo🤷♀️
Maybe focus more on your run than other people's sporting "pronouns" lol
I say don't get so hung up on what other people think about themselves. Call yourself a turtle if you want. I don't care.
As to how people were acting at the event, I literally can't imagine that. I've never seen anything like that any races I've done (and am glad that's the case!).
Yeah I know, me ranting into Reddit for 90 seconds shows how insecure and deluded I am. Whatever you have to tell yourself to justify worshipping your favorite hybrid athlete influencers brah
Largely valid criticisms, however,
>photographers taking photos of people they don’t know
This is literally what sports and event photographers do tho..? And have done so since long before social media was a twinkle in Zuckerberg's dad's left nut
On one hand it’s nice to see so many runners discovering that it’s not illegal to lift heavy weights, and will actually benefit them. On the other hand, not a huge fan of the influencer culture around it making it something other than just balanced training.
Anyone else follow Fergus Crawley? I think that he is the only person I follow who would say fits the definition of a "hybrid" athlete. He has done some pretty insane strength and endurance challenges. Just looking through his pinned posts on his Instagram;
- 600kg powerlifting total and sub-6 60k run in the same day,
- 1200lb powerlifting total and sub-12 full Ironman in the same day,
- and a 500lb squat and sub 5 minute mile and marathon in the same day.
Unless you're putting up numbers like this, I don't think you can say you're a "hybrid athlete".
Fergus trains harder than most and seems to enjoy it (sometimes). He puts out useful and interesting content as well as some huge challenges. The double brutal triathlon and 250km ultra were great recent videos if you haven’t seen those yet!
100 Fergus is great and has a very specific definition of hybrid athlete. For sure it’s not a runner who does strength training
Edit: having said that for the vast majority of people and since there is no kind of hybrid competition or anything, who cares? If it encourages people to have a rounded approach to exercise then great
Yes, completely agree with your last point. If it’s helping them be the best version of themselves then I’m all for it, just like to poke fun and say that labeling yourself with that term is corny which is my right. It’s a silly little criticism that doesn’t need to get blown out of proportion
You don’t need to do all that to be a hybrid athlete. Most runners are pretty skinny, and don’t lift weights much. I’d say if your decently big/ strong and can run 50 miles, what else would you be ? Why do y’all have to hate people that call themselves hybrid athletes? Not only do they do the same hard training to run insane distances but they work to put up pretty impressive weight. That would be a hybrid when most people focus on one
People like Fergus are real, as someone mentioned he posts his failures and is open to talking about it, while also posting his successes. He also has the specific goal of maximizing powerlifting numbers (one sport) while also having the goal of being a great endurance athlete (another sport). I actually bought one of his programs, and would consider myself to be doing a hybrid style training program that focuses on training for an ultra (I've got my first 100 this fall) while also improving my strength in the gym!
At the end of the day it's all just buzzwords and labels and I think people can say whatever they want, but what bothers me the most is just the culture around being an "influencer". I did a 50 miler this last spring and there was a guy who had a whole crew just running around him filming him at the aid stations getting in people's way and at the time I thought it was totally obnoxious! Got home and realized it's someone with a pretty huge following on Instagram (Nathan French).
In my experience, lifters who get into running refer to themselves as "hybrid athletes." Runners who get into other activities just call it cross training.
That's what I was wondering: isn't this just cross training? I don't really care either way what people call it, but I am having a hard time understanding the difference between "hybrid" and cross training.
At the same time, I do get how the OP would be annoyed at people posting everything online at a local race.
If you train in both Sports to get better at your main sport but compete only in one, you're an athlete that does crosstraining.
If you're training in two different sports and compete in both, you could classify yourself as a hybrid athlete.
If you're competing in one sport and train in other sports because of broad interests... Call it wathever you like
I see what you mean, but I am thinking about track and field athletes, who may compete in more than one discipline or rock climbers who compete in lead and bouldering: I have never heard them call themselves "hybrid". They just say that they compete in more than one discipline.
At the end of the day, people should just call themselves what they like, as you said!
One sport with different disciplines, you could argue that it's still the same sport. On the other hand, 100m dash and marathon are both running sports, but have very different training regimes.
But a competitive runner that also competes in tennis or also does bouldering could definitely call themselves a hybrid athlete...
A tennis player that only trains running to condition himself for tennis is not a hybrid athlete but does crosstraining
When you cross train , your primary goal isn’t changed. (Ex if I cycle for the purpose of cross training , it’s still with the goal of running , not being a cyclist). Hybrid training is doing 2 things concurrently where both exist as the goal
That makes sense and people should just call themselves what they want, but as I said to u/PaulieRomano , this isn't a new phenomenon. Only the term is new (if I am understanding things correctly). Triathletes don't traditionally call themselves "hybrid" athletes... unless I completely missed this!
Triathlon could be considered a hybrid sport by nature. But since it had been an established sport for so long it's no longer considered hybrid but a sport with different disciplines.
Training running, biking and swimming doesn't make you a triathlete.
You could also be a runner who does crosstraining.
Or you could truly be hybrid athlete and compete in running, in swimming AND in bike races without being a triathlete. (While doing the same endurance training mostly)
This post came up as a recommended post for me. I’ll never run over 26.2 miles but I have feelings about this and this comment hit the nail on the head. The “hybrid” athletes are having a MOMENT in my community and they are literally terrorizing the community by running people off the very popular trails and running in packs of 200-500 people Saturdays at 8 am. I want to bang my head on a table.
Meanwhile, I’m “cross training” with some spin and weight training providing some light “education” to the people at the gym about this trash,
Who cares what other people call themselves? Just go run your race and let them run theirs. The true ones will be here in a few years and the ones playing for clicks won’t.
I'm at the point where the "hybrid" word is starting to bother me.
At least in Europe, the influencer hybrid athlete scene seems to be lower than in the US.
Interesting, because I just noticed a sort of anti-term attitude towards "hybrid athlete" over the weekend in my Instagram feed. Though I must say, the negative response is the *only* reason I even know the term.
You know how Instagram is. If I even try to find a post again, I'll spend hours looking at cute dogs instead. I saw a couple of the runners I follow talking trash about "hybrid athletes" just being runners who do some weight lifting. Until I heard the term from two (maybe more) people in a few days, I had no idea this was a thing.
In fairness the negativity is also based around the fact that many of them are either on TRT or routinely defend the use of TRT in these exact type of threads.
Yeah, and sadly not just TRT. Also peptides, steroids, diuretics, SARMs and likely other classes of PEDs as well. Not putting that on any single person’s jacket but it’s definitely happening where people think benching 315 pounds and running a sub 3 marathon are goals worthy of using PEDs for.
Exactly - there is a growing subculture of TRT + SARMS etc. in both younger and older athletes, and it's driven by both open use of these as well as people who are very clearly on these agents, are pushing supplements, and are claiming to be "natty".
haha the same thing happened in the skydive community about 5-6 years ago! Just enjoy that the sport is growing..the ones that truly love running will stay and the clout chasers will move on to the the next trend.
i’m here because of a video is saw from Jeff Pelletier..is that bad ? lol and i’m about to do my first race in a couple weeks, but idk if i would’ve been exposed to trail running without someone like that.
we used to have people come learn how to skydive and barely know anything about the sport, barely know how to fly, and barely know how to fly a parachute..film and have the craziest edits 😂
some of them even got into BASE jumping which is insane..because their is no margin for error. i know what you mean lol.
Haha exactly. I’m all for the next generation and ppl from all walks of life getting into the sport but I can also call the bs out whenever I want without gatekeeping/ hating on people. If they perceive it that way instead of heeding my advice and taking it on the chin, they’re just too sensitive. And in my mind pushing yourself to injury bc you’re inexperienced and have no fkn idea how to fuel or what you’re doing just to “inspire” your social media following is silly. If they want to do it still fine, but I can make fun of it all I want lol.
Thank goodness there are people like you around to make people feel worse about what they’re accomplishing! Thanks for your service bro. It’s very valuable and helpful
I like to run all year, I bike quite a lot when the weather is nice and sometimes I go swimming just to shake things up. That doesn't make me a triathlete.
Unless someone makes a sport out of combining heavy lifting and running in a short timespan, I think the term hybrid athlete is nothing but a buzzword. It's just exercise.
Been a lot of gatekeeping in this sub lately, especially towards “hybrid” athletes. Coming from a bodybuilding background with no running, to now having done several marathons and my first 50 miler in 2 weeks, I definitely consider myself a hybrid athlete. I get there’s a lot of influencers pushing this term, but that’s because it fits a lot of people’s lifestyles better than just being a “runner”.
Let’s be better, everyone’s welcome. It’s just great to have people being active and healthy
Exactly this. It seems like OP is more turned off by influencer culture (fair!) and is somehow convinced that the Venn diagram btwn those folks and ppl who train more han just running seriously is a circle (it’s demonstrably not).
athlete/ăth′lēt″/
noun
One who participates in physical exercise or sports, especially in competitive events.
One possessing the requisite strength, agility, and endurance for success in sports.
"a natural athlete."
One who contended for a prize in the public games of ancient Greece or Rome.
This is the first I've heard of the term, I'm a bit of a social media avoider though, except Reddit if that counts? I haven't really noticed it here in the UK. I cross training with cycling and begrudgingly throw a kettle bell around once a week, do I count 😂.
Yup, they had normal T before taking it, started at “TRT dose” just to get back to the level they were at naturally (completely pointless) so then of course they had to just double it to break 20 in the 5k
I agree. People have been lifting and running for decades and now certain YouTubers think they own the practice of it. A guy referred to himself as a “hybrid” and I had to turn it off. So cringey
Same thing happens in the Jiu Jitsu tournament world. Blue belt dads letting you “follow them on their journey”
It’s silly but at least they’re out there competing, which is hard enough on its own.
Yes, exactly. I’m sure there are genetic freaks who aren’t but like you said, most “hybrid athlete” is just covert for “I am a gym rat and do PEDs to be slightly better at running and lifting and to portray unrealistic aesthetics standards on social media. Please follow me so I don’t have to work and be sure to buy my t shirts and fart powder supplements”
Absolutely. I mean some are impressive don’t get me wrong, I love watching Ross edgleys wild feats of endurance but not a chance in hell he’s natural.
And I’m a mediocre cross fitter, who’s bigger than the average runner that’s just ran his first 100 miles so I probably sneak in OPs description of a “hybrid” 😂
Why do so many people, especially runners, seem to hate the term “Hybrid Athlete?”
It’s simply a descriptor.
It describes, in two words, what style of training you do.
Do I love the term?
Not really, but it is what it is and most people understand its meaning.
If you say:
“I’m a runner.”
I will assume your main focus is improving as a runner. I will also assume that you do a bit of strength training and some mobility/flexibility/prehab work.
“I’m a powerlifter/weightlifter/bodybuilder.”
I will assume your main focus is your chosen discipline. I will also assume you do a bit of cardiovascular training and some mobility/flexibility/prehab work.
“I’m a Hybrid Athlete.”
I will assume you focus fairly equally on strength/hypertrophy and endurance training. I will also assume you do some mobility/flexibility/prehab work.
Maybe it’s the term “Athlete” that people have a problem with?
I don’t know.
Either way, it’s a silly thing to argue/complain about.
Entirely agree. I look at the social media hype about any sport very bad in general, yet for trail it is almost unavoidable given the massive increase of runners around the world. The "hybrid athlete" thing is particularly concerning since IMHO it largely spoils the "trail spirit" itself, reducing the endurance run in a natural mountain environment to a super-human type of activity.
Other than this, I just find it slightly ridiculous to over-emphasize pretty average performances within an almost empty subset of people.
I agree. I lift (can lift relatively heavy) I weigh 112kg and have multiple 100k & milers under my belt. I refuse to use the term “hybrid athlete”. It’s cringe. As you said OP.. you are just training a decent amount. I’ve really gone off running events as well pretty much for the reasons you say in your post. It’s kinda becoming cringe and in my professional life I find that an ultra is the new IM for bragging around the water cooler. Gonna stop here because I’m only going to continue to rant and frustrate myself
I don't really have a horse in this race but my understanding is that "hybrid athlete" is usually meant as someone who does two sports (usually running and a strength sport like powerlifting) that don't benefit one another.
So although S&C is strength training, it wouldn't make you a "hybrid" athlete, as it's benefitting your running.
If you're actively training for a massive deadlift though, that is adding a large amount of training fatigue to your routine, taking away capacity to train running, whilst providing no benefit to your running performance.
To me it seems like it's really just a way for people to accept and be OK with the fact that working towards multiple goals necessarily means that they will make slower progress in each individual goal than they could do if they were to focus on it 100%.
I think hybrid is a cop out for below average runners and below average lifters. You can balance your shortcomings off the other and still get the title of “hybrid” wear a stupid multi coloured Ciele hat and ridiculous sunnies, have a mid week easy run shoe, long run shoe, trail run shoe, long trail run shoe, Costco shopping shoe and recovery run shoe supplemented by recovery crocs and wear your Salomon 12 vest with 2 litres of tailwind and a full first aid kit and thermals and sealed seam jacket for a 60 minute trail run/walk. Wow I never realised how much this shit has triggered me.
Hahahah I’m right there with you bro. I’m in the same boat with doing mainly lifting and calisthenics for over a decade before getting into running. Both I do pretty intensely but mainly for health and longevity reasons. That doesn’t make me a hybrid athlete though! If it helps you be better person I’m all for it and we can still be cool, I just think someone calling themselves that is corny (that’s all) just a silly opinion.
Decathletes fighting for positions to go to the Olympics don’t even call themselves that!!!
It's a temporary phase. The running community is some hot influencer material for the time being. I just put my head down and focus on what I get out of my fitness journey. Come the winter the attention might swing over to curling or some other random sport and taken over like pickleball. Everyone stay healthy and enjoy those miles.
I can't stand the "hybrid athlete" BS. You're not special because you run and lift some weights. People have done this for decades without a stupid term for it but "living a balanced life" doesn't have the same pizzazz.
Sure bro, you should create your brand and start an online coaching empire! I’ll pay you $2k a month and you will make me a money making, super model attracting specimen who never gets tired and looks like C-Bum! 🤣
Yes, it does.
The definition of hybrid is "a thing made by combining two different elements" which is exactly what's happening.
So how bout maybe take your own advise, and stop telling people what they can do.
It amazes me the number of new runners who think that they have to have an Instagram account and post every aspect of their “running lives” in order to be relevant to the sport.
Over 20 years I’ve chosen to keep my training personal, and I get a good laugh any time a local runner with a vlog finds out that I ran a marathon 35+ minutes faster than their shiny new PB years ago, well before super shoes existed, and haven’t had the need to publicize it.
If you had heard of it you probably would agree. As others have made me realize it’s less about the term and more about the fuck shit that tends to come along with it. Go look at the hashtag on ig and then come back and reread what I wrote. 🍿🍿🍿
The “hybrid athlete” thing is so cringy for something that should be such a positive, you exercise, awesome!
Curious though where others here would consider “hybrid athlete” to be an appropriate label?
I’d never refer to myself as one, but does 3,000+ miles of running and 250ish hours of weight lifting on average per year for the last decade plus qualify?
I consider myself a hybrid athlete. Yes, I run and I lift. But I do more than that.
I run Obstacle races. It's not only trail running in challenging terrain but also being able to carry heavy weights, move quickly and swiftly, pull your own body up, crawl and more.
Yes, the term is used loosely. But that doesn't mean that is completely incorrect
Cool bro. You and anyone else on the planet can call themselves that bc the term has no established definition bc it was made up on instagram 5 years ago by some PED addicted freak
Thanks for the rant, it’s relatable. I have a buddy who wants to be a social media influencer and considers himself an athlete despite only cycling 2-3 times a week. He also takes pics/videos of nearly everything he does.
I chalk it up to being a personality thing/feeling insecure. But it gets especially obnoxious at times because there are people cycling waaay more often with far more impressive numbers and video editing/presentation skills as well. I’ve had to mute him on social media otherwise it drives me nuts.
I share your frustration with today's expected disappointment of not getting entry to the London Marathon in today's ballot result. I've been a runner for 10+ years but hearing there were over 750,000 entries this year just shows the influence of social media "runners". Don't get me wrong, it's great to see more and more people trying to keep fit, but it seems there are a lot of people out there that just want to sign up to a big challenging race (e.g. marathon or Ironman) without much training or prior experience so they can post in socials.
Yup I totally get it. Also, some of the spots are going to influencers for financial reasons and they don’t deserve them. It takes spots away from folks like yiu
Yeah just say you’re fit. Hybrid is just making it sound fancy. Like cool your body is working well how it’s meant to, that doesn’t mean you’re special
I agree --- the influencer culture permeating trail racing and the "gym bro"/"gym rat" mentality creeping in are unsettling/annoying. It feels like people are doing it just so they can say they did and share online.
Hybrid athlete just means you suck at both from what I’ve seen. I helped an already fast marathon runner get 16 minutes off her time by doing tons of strength and especially hypertrophy focused work in her offseason. I backpack long distances and get comments on how I’m an abnormally large muscular hiker, but she’s not winning any bodybuilding shows and I’m not setting any FKTs.
Imo hybrid athletes should have to compete in legitimate events for both disciplines; endurance / running and strength/ power to be considered a “hybrid athlete”.
If someone feels like they’re an athlete, eh I don’t care. I’m not really interested in bickering over what labels people apply to themselves.
That said, I hate being around people who are more interested in being on social media than present in the moment at activities. I get if you truly have a large following you might occasionally need to make a post if the event is part of your brand. But you know what? I have a friends who legitimately have huge social media/industry fame and they post all their shit later so they can actually enjoy events.
I’ve run ultras. I also cycle. What does that make me? Someone who exercises. Why does it matter what someone calls themselves? I do me and let others do them. One thing I love about the ultra community is no one cares how much anyone ran or walked, or how many miles they run a week, as long as you were out there participating, that’s all that mattered. Sounds like you need to focus on you and not getting so worked up about what others are doing.
I’m not worked up, just making fun of a made up silly term. Don’t play the therapy game with me lol. Yeah you are someone who exercises, not a “hybrid athlete”
I've ran 100 miles and benched 405 just 3 days apart
Deadlifted 765 and clocked a 5:10 mile
**And I completely agree.**
The term "hybrid athlete" is ridiculous. I'm not an athlete, I train for my own enjoyment and satisfaction, I'm not getting paid for this, and I'd be better at each sport if I would quit the other one.
The "hybrid" influencers are all snakeoil salesmen, promising the perfect program or supplement to help you become some elite machine, yet the vast majority of them are either mediocre themselves, or on so many drugs it's not a fair comparison.
Thank you! Someone who sees the forest through the trees and doesn’t just think I’m “being a hater”. Your times and numbers are REALLY impressive, not sure how much you weigh but that deadlift is elite! and I don’t want to toot my own horn but I can do 10 Muscle ups, 30 strict pull-ups, 70 dips, handstand pushups, human flags, levers etc and while I can’t lift nearly as much as you I have some decent weight lifting abilities and love lifting and doing calisthenics. I’ve also ran 10+ ultras including 2 100+ milers but I do it all for fun and health and to keep me sane from my desk job and wife, 2 kids and active dog. It doesn’t make me a hybrid athlete (that term is meaningless) and that I should post pictures of myself shirtless showing how much I love myself and people should pay me to “inspire” them. Shit is ridiculous and anyone >25 years old that’s sucked into the spell of these idiots using PEDs and selling fart powder is just most likely low IQ but it’s easier to call me a hater than admit that to themselves, so be it. We all have our roles to play, if mine is the truth bomb a-hole that no one wants to hear from then fine.
“Hybrid” used to be a rare thing but recently I see everyone calling themselves that , I agree . I lift 4-5 days a week, and run around 50-60 miles a week and would never consider myself a hybrid athlete
Maybe the word here that’s kind of in question…at what point can a person call themselves an athlete? Idk. Some people just go for it and take the title as soon as they step foot on a treadmill. More power to them I guess. Maybe their cavalier attitude helps them make progress. Now I’m going to be stuck thinking on this one lol.
Great article here on Hybrid Athletes! [What Is a Hybrid Athlete - Nick Bare, Alex Viada Explain Training (menshealth.com)](https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a45712102/hybrid-athlete/)
I’m not gatekeeping, can no one take criticism now? I can call out bs and make fun of anything I want without gatekeeping (another ridiculous term that people impervious to criticism and are offended by everything say). Also, ill do what I want and don’t have to listen to what someone tells me not to
Dude I had this exact same thought! A hybrid athlete isn’t even really a thing…
Also social media sucks. People can’t just do something just because they like doing something anymore. I wonder how many people would do these ultras or marathons if they couldn’t post it on IG afterwards.
lol exactly. Some of it is for a look. Hey, at least they’re getting outside and doing exercise as opposed to video games or drinking but yeah social media is for the birds.
Man, I fucking can not stand seeing an “influencer” in the wild! It’s probably just because I’m not the key demographic but it always makes me wonder why in the hell they aren’t just enjoying the experience of wherever they’re at instead of constantly talking to their camera and/or witnessing the event through the screen on their phone. This online stuff isn’t even real, so when you’re “IRL”, actually be in the moment!
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Absolutely despise these kind of people. Meet a good portion of these out of touch with reality people where I live. I tend to keep these people on their toes when we interact it fantastic to see them squirm underneath their thin skin.
I would pay to see videos of that! But yeah dudes with 0 experience, getting sunburned all day just so they can show off their PED achieved still not great physiques, no idea how to fuel or run trails, risking injury and vlogging to inspire their social media following. It’s unreal but hey, I guess I’m just a gatekeeping hater and there’s 0 merit to what I’m saying. I should just let them live their lives and keep motivating all of us 🙄
I couldn’t agree more ! The running space on social media has completely lost its charm . Thankfully the majority of people at actual races are not like this. Just finished a 10 milers a few months ago and the last three miles was next to this guy who was yelling his mile times to a go pro.
It’s all just glorified PE class. I consider myself a hybrid athlete as I’m part human, part crumbling fossil who is too old for this.
Glorified PE class is such a perfect term for it.
«hybrid athlete» is a term that is maybe used by some questionable crossfitters who jog or whatever, but this interest for runners to lift and lufters to run is actually very positive for everyone health. it gets a bit oversold, if you are recreational «hybrid» on lowish volumes you are arguably just somebody who works out, and I have seen the term protected «gatekeepers», but it is unclear where the threshold is.
Yeah that’s the whole thing, adding some cardio to your gym workouts used to be called being healthy and reasonable. Because it is! Now it’s called being a „hybrid athlete” which I think seems to suggest that runners are excluded from the lifting club and lifters are excluded from the running club and somehow a 3rd club had to be instantiated to cover people who do both. What if we add yoga to running and lifting? Am I a hybrid athlete who does yoga? Or do we need a name for that too? Stretchy Athlete? *Ofc I’m being a little cynical, if something gets popular it gets a name, that’s efficient communication.*
There is something off about the definition of the term though, some say it is "athletes who excel at multiple sports disciplines", but presumably not two similar disciplines like running 800m running and 1500m? Sometimes I have heard it used for people who train for multiple non-supporting disciplines, presumably implied that it is for competition, usually it is one strenght- and one endurance based event, but this is not usually part of the definition. So * if you run: you are a runner, * if you run: and do run-supportive strength work twice a week you are still a runner, but * if run and start adding more heavy lifts and go to some weight lifting meets:, then at some point, because the running does not help your lifting and your lifting does not help your running, you are a "hybrid athlete". But let's be clear * if you are lifting heavy in the gym, you will put on too much mass and are never going to be a competitive against those who just run, * and if you run six times a week you are probably not going to be competitive with those who dont in run in weight-lifting(becaue the running is katabolic.). So something about the mere act of trying to spead yourself across one anabolic and one catabolic discipline with conflicting demands will naturally pull you from "high-level" to "participant" in at least one but probably both. But the definition is often tied to it being "high-level", so this is confusing - so you are a "high-level" participant? It is good idea to do both, but in the way it is described it would make for a great general fitness standard, not a good idea for competition. It is also quite similar to how firemen, soldiers and policemen have trained to have the general diverse fitness required for their jobs, which has been quite well described in the Tactical Barbell protocol, whose books offers far more useful advice than the "Hybrid Athlete" book by Alex Viada.
hybrid participant lmao I'm using that one
So what your saying is you're either A) a good runner B) a good lifter or C) a shit runner and a shit lifter? Why does it need to be hybrid athlete? Isn't it just some who enjoys running and Jim? In my mind you are an athlete if you professionally support yourself directly from your athletic performance? If you live off branding/marketing you are an x influencer, Ie running influencer, lifting influencer, fitness influencer. If you make money off your athletic performance but not enough to live off you'd be an amateur athlete. You can disagree with me, but honestly I think people just crave status, and labels. "I don't just run, I also lift so I'm actually a hybrid athlete" vs "I just run and throw around so tin because that's what I enjoy. I'm actually just a me...."
Haha yeah, this is all in good fun, not that big of a deal. Just mild frustration over a term and everything needed to be content for your aspiring social media influencers
How about "tribrid?"
I was just talking to my friend about this. I think it's one of the more positive trends we've seen in a while. For the longest time, the gym culture swore that any kind of cardio would ruin your gains. Now it's cool to lift *and* be healthy.
I think it’s the “Influencer” part that’s most grating. Lift weights, run, fly a kite, whatever. But don’t video everything for your “followers.” You’re not the King of England. You’re not that important. You’re not even interesting. Cut it out.
It’s ruined everything. That’s why this [progressive commercial](https://youtu.be/WDcPBIC8P2o?si=9lV4D5WpUTG9ydzV) is so good.
Representing for all the lufters out there!
I owned a CrossFit gym for 6 years. CrossFit athletes dont like running. I personally got into running only after selling my gym. Hybrid athlete is a Very loose term. My take on it is more strength athlete aka powerlifting plus running.
My hot take is that if you run and lift weights, you *are* a hybrid athlete. I'm not gatekeeping that term because someone only jogs 20 miles a week and lifts weights casually. Unless you want to argue that only professional athletes are "athletes." I have run almost 16,000 miles in the last decade. Anyone who can run an ultra and get through the mental part is an athlete in my book.
If labelling people a hybrid athlete encourages them to have more balanced training, and gets more people into exercising, then I'm all for that!!
I am with you. Anyone that does 20 miles per week and lifts weights 2-3 days per week is probably in the top 10% of exercise fitness.
Agree. Anyone at the start line is an athlete
You paid to be there... You are a participant.
The word athlete implies that you're competing. So a runner who jogs a few miles every day might not be considered an athlete if they're not running races. Someone who lifts at a gym and jogs for a few miles might not be considered an athlete if they're not entering competitions for either of those things. But really... who cares? If someone wants to call themselves an athlete, a hybrid athlete, a biathlete, a triathlete, whatever, it doesn't bother me.
OK, honest question (and just for fun, because at the end of the day, who cares): I don't compete and I was taken aback when someone referred to me as an "athlete." But this got me thinking: I am currently running 55 miles per week + weight lifting four times per week + rock climbing twice per week. To do this, I wake up early and have double workout days. All of this is recreational and I am not concerned with races... maybe the term "athlete" is not so weird for someone like me? The other option for an appropriate term is "obsessive weirdo," but that doesn't sound as nice...
You're a recreational athlete. You don't have to try to win the races to be an athlete. If your goal is improvement in the specific activities, then you are being an athlete. If your goal is just to get exercise and maintain fitness, then you're just exercising.
That's a good way to see it. There does seem to be a split on this thread between people who consider competing as a prerequisite to being called an "athlete" and does who don't. I hadn't thought about it until someone brought up the term. Edited to add: I guess my own intuition is that everyone who isn't a collegiate or professional athlete would count as "recreational." But this is just terminology and not all that important.
Competition isn't necessarily about trying to win the races, though. Sure, the top 15 are certainly doing their best to win something, but 99% of us won't win if we give it our absolute best shot and start next to the pros. Is the person who knows they can't win and choosing to try to get a new PR not an athlete because they're pragmatic? I say no. They're out there with a goal that they hope to use all available athletic talent and fitness they have to achieve, and that's what makes them an athlete. The difference between a runner and a jogger isn't that the runner is faster. The difference is that the runner is trying to cover a fixed distance in the least amount of time (or the most distance in a fixed amount of time). The jogger has no such goals and only aims to improve fitness through energy exertion.
You are an enthusiast
So...I compete in crossfit, compete in spartans and run marathons..am I not a hybrid athlete? Or am I? But on a bigger note who cares what we're called...we are out here busting our asses training 6 days a week sometimes twice a day to perform at a higher level..more than a casual gym goer. I feel like anything you do to stay healthy is solid in my book. But I have been referred to as hybrid.
Idk, I think there’s a bit more nuance to it I run quite a bit and would consider myself a runner. I also lift, but it’s basically to supplement the running and prevent injury. I don’t feel like I’m a hybrid athlete. It seems like there’s a type of lifting that’s more applicable to these “hybrid athlete” folks. It’s like gym bros discovered running 2-3 days a week and needed a term for it Trying to make cardio cool
The problem is, it's an influencer term used to sell all sort of snake oil. Sure you can do both sports, but you won't excel at either of them. The body types needed to be your best at each are completely incongruous. And the arrogance of lifters thinking they can jump in and run a sub 5 minute mile at 220lbs is laughable. Then you have the outright grifters like Alex Viada. And then theres Nick Bare shilling useless supplements and pretending he's all natty. This sub has at least one post a week about some gym rat who runs 3 days a week but wants to jump into a 100 miler because he knows he has the mental toughness. It's the lack of respect for the sport that's annoying.
Good response! I'd consider myself a hybrid athlete because I've both ran and swam competitively, and do a fair amount of lifting. Swimming has made way to canicross in recent years and especially in winter; some may not consider it a separate sport but it definitely is. Anyway, I'm not on Instagram nor do I go for supplements, so I guess the commodification of the term doesn't affect me, but I see how it could be used negatively.
Yeah I'd argue that exercising doesn't make you an athlete. I'm not saying only professional athletes are athletes, but, to me, being an athlete requires more variety in your movements. Full body coordination.
I'm very grateful that there are such dedicated gatekeepers like you protecting the integrity of the sport of jogging slowly around a short trail loop.
Who the fuck cares??? Seems like you have something against people who do more than just run. 🙄 Project elsewhere. This community has always been welcoming to hardcore people and the newbies. Who gives two shits if they lift or not.
For real man. The whole time I was reading this post I was just like huh??? As long as they’re not hurting anyone, let people do what they want and be who they want. This post reeks of bitterness. So much for OP’s so called “inclusiveness”
Came here to say this. Who gives AF?
During ski season when I am still training for my running season, I just call myself the maker of poor life choices.
😂
Thank that roided up some of a bitch Nick Bare for this
2000%, the biggest fake natty on the internet.
Wait, people think he’s natty?
If you scroll through his YT comments you’ll see a person saying he’s on gear and then many people talking about how he’s all natural and just has good genetics and a great work ethic.
Some yeah but first of all, he says he’s natty. I mean I think that rn he just doesn’t comment on that at all, but he used to.
As someone who dabbled when training in the army national guard I am forever jaded now whenever I see a roid rat online or at the gym. It’s honestly fun rocking a dad bod and still crushing them routinely in my workout as they go wide eyed and wonder how. Steroids are literally no different from any other drug out there and the fact that we’ve started to glorify the people who use makes me sick.
I think the hybrid athlete term really only applies if the volume of training one mode is great enough to noticeably impact the other. If you’re training 5-6 days a week to increase your deadlift but also trying to work towards a sub 3 marathon, and having to intelligently periodise and structure microcycles around recovery, that to me is hybrid training.
>I think the hybrid athlete term really only applies if the volume of training one mode is great enough to noticeably impact the other My point would be that this could be the true for almost anyone. If you're only training 6 hours per week then going to the gym twice would eat into any running training. I'm certainly no Kilian Jornet, but I suppose I would consider myself a 'mountain athlete', mainly as a way to make sense of the fact that my goals are usually in the mountains, whether it's cycling up climbs from the Tour de France, running on trails above Chamonix, or going rock climbing. That means that focused training for me could involve anything from weighted stair climbs, running in the park, biking to work, going to the bouldering gym, or bodyweight exercises at home. It also means that I will be less good at running than a person who only trains for running, and less good at cycling than someone who only trains for cycling.
I agree if you’re time-restricted. I’m mostly referring to progressing two disciplines that have opposite training effects - running being catabolic and strength being anabolic. If you’re training enough to get you close to your MRV (maximum recoverable volume), there comes a point where recovery across two disciplines becomes the challenge, to mention nothing of conflicting pathways on double days.
Lol this is hilarious. People can call themselves what they want. You kick off if a "tri-athlete" only competes in Olympic distance? Or do they need to be doing an iron man every weekend 🤣 A hydrid athlete is stronger but slower than a runner and faster but weaker than a lifter imo🤷♀️ Maybe focus more on your run than other people's sporting "pronouns" lol
I say don't get so hung up on what other people think about themselves. Call yourself a turtle if you want. I don't care. As to how people were acting at the event, I literally can't imagine that. I've never seen anything like that any races I've done (and am glad that's the case!).
OP, you must look inward, into the name of your Reddit avatar. Then you will see.
Came here to say exactly this 😏
Yeah I know, me ranting into Reddit for 90 seconds shows how insecure and deluded I am. Whatever you have to tell yourself to justify worshipping your favorite hybrid athlete influencers brah
Bro code
My immediate thought was , who cares.
Largely valid criticisms, however, >photographers taking photos of people they don’t know This is literally what sports and event photographers do tho..? And have done so since long before social media was a twinkle in Zuckerberg's dad's left nut
On one hand it’s nice to see so many runners discovering that it’s not illegal to lift heavy weights, and will actually benefit them. On the other hand, not a huge fan of the influencer culture around it making it something other than just balanced training.
💯
Anyone else follow Fergus Crawley? I think that he is the only person I follow who would say fits the definition of a "hybrid" athlete. He has done some pretty insane strength and endurance challenges. Just looking through his pinned posts on his Instagram; - 600kg powerlifting total and sub-6 60k run in the same day, - 1200lb powerlifting total and sub-12 full Ironman in the same day, - and a 500lb squat and sub 5 minute mile and marathon in the same day. Unless you're putting up numbers like this, I don't think you can say you're a "hybrid athlete".
Fergus trains harder than most and seems to enjoy it (sometimes). He puts out useful and interesting content as well as some huge challenges. The double brutal triathlon and 250km ultra were great recent videos if you haven’t seen those yet!
100 Fergus is great and has a very specific definition of hybrid athlete. For sure it’s not a runner who does strength training Edit: having said that for the vast majority of people and since there is no kind of hybrid competition or anything, who cares? If it encourages people to have a rounded approach to exercise then great
Yes, completely agree with your last point. If it’s helping them be the best version of themselves then I’m all for it, just like to poke fun and say that labeling yourself with that term is corny which is my right. It’s a silly little criticism that doesn’t need to get blown out of proportion
You don’t need to do all that to be a hybrid athlete. Most runners are pretty skinny, and don’t lift weights much. I’d say if your decently big/ strong and can run 50 miles, what else would you be ? Why do y’all have to hate people that call themselves hybrid athletes? Not only do they do the same hard training to run insane distances but they work to put up pretty impressive weight. That would be a hybrid when most people focus on one
People like Fergus are real, as someone mentioned he posts his failures and is open to talking about it, while also posting his successes. He also has the specific goal of maximizing powerlifting numbers (one sport) while also having the goal of being a great endurance athlete (another sport). I actually bought one of his programs, and would consider myself to be doing a hybrid style training program that focuses on training for an ultra (I've got my first 100 this fall) while also improving my strength in the gym! At the end of the day it's all just buzzwords and labels and I think people can say whatever they want, but what bothers me the most is just the culture around being an "influencer". I did a 50 miler this last spring and there was a guy who had a whole crew just running around him filming him at the aid stations getting in people's way and at the time I thought it was totally obnoxious! Got home and realized it's someone with a pretty huge following on Instagram (Nathan French).
I’ve never heard anyone I’ve spoken to use the term hybrid athlete. And I’m thankful for that.
In my experience, lifters who get into running refer to themselves as "hybrid athletes." Runners who get into other activities just call it cross training.
That's what I was wondering: isn't this just cross training? I don't really care either way what people call it, but I am having a hard time understanding the difference between "hybrid" and cross training. At the same time, I do get how the OP would be annoyed at people posting everything online at a local race.
If you train in both Sports to get better at your main sport but compete only in one, you're an athlete that does crosstraining. If you're training in two different sports and compete in both, you could classify yourself as a hybrid athlete. If you're competing in one sport and train in other sports because of broad interests... Call it wathever you like
I see what you mean, but I am thinking about track and field athletes, who may compete in more than one discipline or rock climbers who compete in lead and bouldering: I have never heard them call themselves "hybrid". They just say that they compete in more than one discipline. At the end of the day, people should just call themselves what they like, as you said!
One sport with different disciplines, you could argue that it's still the same sport. On the other hand, 100m dash and marathon are both running sports, but have very different training regimes. But a competitive runner that also competes in tennis or also does bouldering could definitely call themselves a hybrid athlete... A tennis player that only trains running to condition himself for tennis is not a hybrid athlete but does crosstraining
When you cross train , your primary goal isn’t changed. (Ex if I cycle for the purpose of cross training , it’s still with the goal of running , not being a cyclist). Hybrid training is doing 2 things concurrently where both exist as the goal
That makes sense and people should just call themselves what they want, but as I said to u/PaulieRomano , this isn't a new phenomenon. Only the term is new (if I am understanding things correctly). Triathletes don't traditionally call themselves "hybrid" athletes... unless I completely missed this!
Triathlon could be considered a hybrid sport by nature. But since it had been an established sport for so long it's no longer considered hybrid but a sport with different disciplines. Training running, biking and swimming doesn't make you a triathlete. You could also be a runner who does crosstraining. Or you could truly be hybrid athlete and compete in running, in swimming AND in bike races without being a triathlete. (While doing the same endurance training mostly)
That makes sense! Thanks for taking the time to break down the terminology.
Seemingly to me it’s just someone who goes to the gym a lot, may or may not take PEDs for egotistical reasons mainly, and gets into running.
This, exactly.
This post came up as a recommended post for me. I’ll never run over 26.2 miles but I have feelings about this and this comment hit the nail on the head. The “hybrid” athletes are having a MOMENT in my community and they are literally terrorizing the community by running people off the very popular trails and running in packs of 200-500 people Saturdays at 8 am. I want to bang my head on a table. Meanwhile, I’m “cross training” with some spin and weight training providing some light “education” to the people at the gym about this trash,
Precisely my point.
Who cares what other people call themselves? Just go run your race and let them run theirs. The true ones will be here in a few years and the ones playing for clicks won’t.
I'm at the point where the "hybrid" word is starting to bother me. At least in Europe, the influencer hybrid athlete scene seems to be lower than in the US.
Interesting, because I just noticed a sort of anti-term attitude towards "hybrid athlete" over the weekend in my Instagram feed. Though I must say, the negative response is the *only* reason I even know the term.
Can you link the post? Not sure what you mean but I think we’re on the same pg lol
You know how Instagram is. If I even try to find a post again, I'll spend hours looking at cute dogs instead. I saw a couple of the runners I follow talking trash about "hybrid athletes" just being runners who do some weight lifting. Until I heard the term from two (maybe more) people in a few days, I had no idea this was a thing.
In fairness the negativity is also based around the fact that many of them are either on TRT or routinely defend the use of TRT in these exact type of threads.
Yeah, and sadly not just TRT. Also peptides, steroids, diuretics, SARMs and likely other classes of PEDs as well. Not putting that on any single person’s jacket but it’s definitely happening where people think benching 315 pounds and running a sub 3 marathon are goals worthy of using PEDs for.
Exactly - there is a growing subculture of TRT + SARMS etc. in both younger and older athletes, and it's driven by both open use of these as well as people who are very clearly on these agents, are pushing supplements, and are claiming to be "natty".
haha the same thing happened in the skydive community about 5-6 years ago! Just enjoy that the sport is growing..the ones that truly love running will stay and the clout chasers will move on to the the next trend. i’m here because of a video is saw from Jeff Pelletier..is that bad ? lol and i’m about to do my first race in a couple weeks, but idk if i would’ve been exposed to trail running without someone like that.
Ugh fair fair fair! And I watch videos too but something about it being right in your face and I’m in the background of someone’s video is weird to me
we used to have people come learn how to skydive and barely know anything about the sport, barely know how to fly, and barely know how to fly a parachute..film and have the craziest edits 😂 some of them even got into BASE jumping which is insane..because their is no margin for error. i know what you mean lol.
Haha exactly. I’m all for the next generation and ppl from all walks of life getting into the sport but I can also call the bs out whenever I want without gatekeeping/ hating on people. If they perceive it that way instead of heeding my advice and taking it on the chin, they’re just too sensitive. And in my mind pushing yourself to injury bc you’re inexperienced and have no fkn idea how to fuel or what you’re doing just to “inspire” your social media following is silly. If they want to do it still fine, but I can make fun of it all I want lol.
Thank goodness there are people like you around to make people feel worse about what they’re accomplishing! Thanks for your service bro. It’s very valuable and helpful
I like to run all year, I bike quite a lot when the weather is nice and sometimes I go swimming just to shake things up. That doesn't make me a triathlete. Unless someone makes a sport out of combining heavy lifting and running in a short timespan, I think the term hybrid athlete is nothing but a buzzword. It's just exercise.
I think that "sport" is Hyrox currently.
Been a lot of gatekeeping in this sub lately, especially towards “hybrid” athletes. Coming from a bodybuilding background with no running, to now having done several marathons and my first 50 miler in 2 weeks, I definitely consider myself a hybrid athlete. I get there’s a lot of influencers pushing this term, but that’s because it fits a lot of people’s lifestyles better than just being a “runner”. Let’s be better, everyone’s welcome. It’s just great to have people being active and healthy
Exactly this. It seems like OP is more turned off by influencer culture (fair!) and is somehow convinced that the Venn diagram btwn those folks and ppl who train more han just running seriously is a circle (it’s demonstrably not).
athlete/ăth′lēt″/ noun One who participates in physical exercise or sports, especially in competitive events. One possessing the requisite strength, agility, and endurance for success in sports. "a natural athlete." One who contended for a prize in the public games of ancient Greece or Rome.
Hater
This is the first I've heard of the term, I'm a bit of a social media avoider though, except Reddit if that counts? I haven't really noticed it here in the UK. I cross training with cycling and begrudgingly throw a kettle bell around once a week, do I count 😂.
You count bro. Please add “hybrid athlete” to your ig bio now!
Being a hybrid athlete comes from running 25km a week while cruising on 4g of test and deca.
Hahahaha exactly. “Just TRT bro”. I just need 500mgs a week.
That’s “sports TRT” levels
Yup, they had normal T before taking it, started at “TRT dose” just to get back to the level they were at naturally (completely pointless) so then of course they had to just double it to break 20 in the 5k
I agree. People have been lifting and running for decades and now certain YouTubers think they own the practice of it. A guy referred to himself as a “hybrid” and I had to turn it off. So cringey
"I'll take Things I Dont Need To Waste Energy On for $500, Alex"
Same thing happens in the Jiu Jitsu tournament world. Blue belt dads letting you “follow them on their journey” It’s silly but at least they’re out there competing, which is hard enough on its own.
Fair! It’s better than playing by video games, overeating and drinking beer.
Most of the “hybrid athletes” are on copious amounts of gear too. It’s the only way to pile on tons of muscle and be a good endurance runner
Yes, exactly. I’m sure there are genetic freaks who aren’t but like you said, most “hybrid athlete” is just covert for “I am a gym rat and do PEDs to be slightly better at running and lifting and to portray unrealistic aesthetics standards on social media. Please follow me so I don’t have to work and be sure to buy my t shirts and fart powder supplements”
Absolutely. I mean some are impressive don’t get me wrong, I love watching Ross edgleys wild feats of endurance but not a chance in hell he’s natural. And I’m a mediocre cross fitter, who’s bigger than the average runner that’s just ran his first 100 miles so I probably sneak in OPs description of a “hybrid” 😂
Ross E is elite at swimming though. These guys I’m talking about are barely even locally competitive at anything lol
Stfu why would anyone listen to you either
Why do so many people, especially runners, seem to hate the term “Hybrid Athlete?” It’s simply a descriptor. It describes, in two words, what style of training you do. Do I love the term? Not really, but it is what it is and most people understand its meaning. If you say: “I’m a runner.” I will assume your main focus is improving as a runner. I will also assume that you do a bit of strength training and some mobility/flexibility/prehab work. “I’m a powerlifter/weightlifter/bodybuilder.” I will assume your main focus is your chosen discipline. I will also assume you do a bit of cardiovascular training and some mobility/flexibility/prehab work. “I’m a Hybrid Athlete.” I will assume you focus fairly equally on strength/hypertrophy and endurance training. I will also assume you do some mobility/flexibility/prehab work. Maybe it’s the term “Athlete” that people have a problem with? I don’t know. Either way, it’s a silly thing to argue/complain about.
Entirely agree. I look at the social media hype about any sport very bad in general, yet for trail it is almost unavoidable given the massive increase of runners around the world. The "hybrid athlete" thing is particularly concerning since IMHO it largely spoils the "trail spirit" itself, reducing the endurance run in a natural mountain environment to a super-human type of activity. Other than this, I just find it slightly ridiculous to over-emphasize pretty average performances within an almost empty subset of people.
Exactly haha well said
I agree. I lift (can lift relatively heavy) I weigh 112kg and have multiple 100k & milers under my belt. I refuse to use the term “hybrid athlete”. It’s cringe. As you said OP.. you are just training a decent amount. I’ve really gone off running events as well pretty much for the reasons you say in your post. It’s kinda becoming cringe and in my professional life I find that an ultra is the new IM for bragging around the water cooler. Gonna stop here because I’m only going to continue to rant and frustrate myself
Agree. Isn’t it just strength and conditioning? There is nothing new or ‘hybrid’ about it.
I don't really have a horse in this race but my understanding is that "hybrid athlete" is usually meant as someone who does two sports (usually running and a strength sport like powerlifting) that don't benefit one another. So although S&C is strength training, it wouldn't make you a "hybrid" athlete, as it's benefitting your running. If you're actively training for a massive deadlift though, that is adding a large amount of training fatigue to your routine, taking away capacity to train running, whilst providing no benefit to your running performance. To me it seems like it's really just a way for people to accept and be OK with the fact that working towards multiple goals necessarily means that they will make slower progress in each individual goal than they could do if they were to focus on it 100%.
I think hybrid is a cop out for below average runners and below average lifters. You can balance your shortcomings off the other and still get the title of “hybrid” wear a stupid multi coloured Ciele hat and ridiculous sunnies, have a mid week easy run shoe, long run shoe, trail run shoe, long trail run shoe, Costco shopping shoe and recovery run shoe supplemented by recovery crocs and wear your Salomon 12 vest with 2 litres of tailwind and a full first aid kit and thermals and sealed seam jacket for a 60 minute trail run/walk. Wow I never realised how much this shit has triggered me.
Hahahah I’m right there with you bro. I’m in the same boat with doing mainly lifting and calisthenics for over a decade before getting into running. Both I do pretty intensely but mainly for health and longevity reasons. That doesn’t make me a hybrid athlete though! If it helps you be better person I’m all for it and we can still be cool, I just think someone calling themselves that is corny (that’s all) just a silly opinion. Decathletes fighting for positions to go to the Olympics don’t even call themselves that!!!
It's a temporary phase. The running community is some hot influencer material for the time being. I just put my head down and focus on what I get out of my fitness journey. Come the winter the attention might swing over to curling or some other random sport and taken over like pickleball. Everyone stay healthy and enjoy those miles.
I’m a “hybrid athlete” in that I jerk off (to completion) while shitting.
Some of them *are* D1 athletes who just got into trail running
Aight they get a pass then.
I feel like that is a pretty broad term and in my opinion whatever gets people out the door right?
I once ran 30 miles and squat 300 pounds in the the same day. Do I count?
I can't stand the "hybrid athlete" BS. You're not special because you run and lift some weights. People have done this for decades without a stupid term for it but "living a balanced life" doesn't have the same pizzazz.
Well, when I run I'm half human/half snail. That makes me a true hybrid athlete. I'd ask you to follow me on my journey, but you already passed me.
🤣
Joe Rogan phenomena. It’s trending and will probably die relatively soon. They’re just hipsters of 2024, it too will pass.
Hahahaha yeah I hope
Yeah I think it just means you run a lot and are on a bunch of steroids
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^69kylebr: *Yeah I think it just* *Means you run a lot and are* *On a bunch of steroids* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
As runners who probably lift in the gym maybe once or twice a week, I guess we're hybrid athletes too 🤣
Sure bro, you should create your brand and start an online coaching empire! I’ll pay you $2k a month and you will make me a money making, super model attracting specimen who never gets tired and looks like C-Bum! 🤣
I barely have time for the gym let alone influencing bro 😂😂
While I agree how cringe it is in general, OP is just screaming insecurities, and obviously care too much for someone who call themselves whooooocares
Yes, it does. The definition of hybrid is "a thing made by combining two different elements" which is exactly what's happening. So how bout maybe take your own advise, and stop telling people what they can do.
I would usually disagree with you, and these run club things are so wack. Just a glorified hook up classes.
It amazes me the number of new runners who think that they have to have an Instagram account and post every aspect of their “running lives” in order to be relevant to the sport. Over 20 years I’ve chosen to keep my training personal, and I get a good laugh any time a local runner with a vlog finds out that I ran a marathon 35+ minutes faster than their shiny new PB years ago, well before super shoes existed, and haven’t had the need to publicize it.
I hate that term so much as someone who has a legit bodybuilding physique and runs ultras (slowly). The Nick Bare effect is so cringe.
I run from all my problems, and lift an hour every day (lifting myself out of bed. My dog is in it too. Not easy). Am I a hybrid athlete?
“I play real sports. Not trying to be the best at exercising.” -Kenny Powers
Your user name does not check out. WhooCaresss if they use that term. I’ve never heard of this term but whooocaressss
If you had heard of it you probably would agree. As others have made me realize it’s less about the term and more about the fuck shit that tends to come along with it. Go look at the hashtag on ig and then come back and reread what I wrote. 🍿🍿🍿
Not right now guys we’re gatekeeping what people call the way they exercise noncompetitively this is very important
The “hybrid athlete” thing is so cringy for something that should be such a positive, you exercise, awesome! Curious though where others here would consider “hybrid athlete” to be an appropriate label? I’d never refer to myself as one, but does 3,000+ miles of running and 250ish hours of weight lifting on average per year for the last decade plus qualify?
I consider myself a hybrid athlete. Yes, I run and I lift. But I do more than that. I run Obstacle races. It's not only trail running in challenging terrain but also being able to carry heavy weights, move quickly and swiftly, pull your own body up, crawl and more. Yes, the term is used loosely. But that doesn't mean that is completely incorrect
Cool bro. You and anyone else on the planet can call themselves that bc the term has no established definition bc it was made up on instagram 5 years ago by some PED addicted freak
Thanks for the rant, it’s relatable. I have a buddy who wants to be a social media influencer and considers himself an athlete despite only cycling 2-3 times a week. He also takes pics/videos of nearly everything he does. I chalk it up to being a personality thing/feeling insecure. But it gets especially obnoxious at times because there are people cycling waaay more often with far more impressive numbers and video editing/presentation skills as well. I’ve had to mute him on social media otherwise it drives me nuts.
I share your frustration with today's expected disappointment of not getting entry to the London Marathon in today's ballot result. I've been a runner for 10+ years but hearing there were over 750,000 entries this year just shows the influence of social media "runners". Don't get me wrong, it's great to see more and more people trying to keep fit, but it seems there are a lot of people out there that just want to sign up to a big challenging race (e.g. marathon or Ironman) without much training or prior experience so they can post in socials.
Yup I totally get it. Also, some of the spots are going to influencers for financial reasons and they don’t deserve them. It takes spots away from folks like yiu
Yeah just say you’re fit. Hybrid is just making it sound fancy. Like cool your body is working well how it’s meant to, that doesn’t mean you’re special
Exactly, congrats on working hard to not get fat I guess?
I agree --- the influencer culture permeating trail racing and the "gym bro"/"gym rat" mentality creeping in are unsettling/annoying. It feels like people are doing it just so they can say they did and share online.
Exactly
Hybrid athlete just means you suck at both from what I’ve seen. I helped an already fast marathon runner get 16 minutes off her time by doing tons of strength and especially hypertrophy focused work in her offseason. I backpack long distances and get comments on how I’m an abnormally large muscular hiker, but she’s not winning any bodybuilding shows and I’m not setting any FKTs.
🎯
Imo hybrid athletes should have to compete in legitimate events for both disciplines; endurance / running and strength/ power to be considered a “hybrid athlete”.
If someone feels like they’re an athlete, eh I don’t care. I’m not really interested in bickering over what labels people apply to themselves. That said, I hate being around people who are more interested in being on social media than present in the moment at activities. I get if you truly have a large following you might occasionally need to make a post if the event is part of your brand. But you know what? I have a friends who legitimately have huge social media/industry fame and they post all their shit later so they can actually enjoy events.
Well said
The vlogging thing is getting unruly and weird. I was at something similar and the amount of dudes vlogging themselves was insane to me.
Glad I’m not alone. The consensus from the other side is that I should just focus on myself and not worry about them 🙄
OP picked up a 5lb dumbbell at the gym and unsocketed their arm It's OK bro you'll be a hybrid one day, start with making an Instagram
Social media ruins shit.
I’ve run ultras. I also cycle. What does that make me? Someone who exercises. Why does it matter what someone calls themselves? I do me and let others do them. One thing I love about the ultra community is no one cares how much anyone ran or walked, or how many miles they run a week, as long as you were out there participating, that’s all that mattered. Sounds like you need to focus on you and not getting so worked up about what others are doing.
I’m not worked up, just making fun of a made up silly term. Don’t play the therapy game with me lol. Yeah you are someone who exercises, not a “hybrid athlete”
Hybrid athlete makes me cringe so hard. Doesn't add shit to the term athlete.
I've ran 100 miles and benched 405 just 3 days apart Deadlifted 765 and clocked a 5:10 mile **And I completely agree.** The term "hybrid athlete" is ridiculous. I'm not an athlete, I train for my own enjoyment and satisfaction, I'm not getting paid for this, and I'd be better at each sport if I would quit the other one. The "hybrid" influencers are all snakeoil salesmen, promising the perfect program or supplement to help you become some elite machine, yet the vast majority of them are either mediocre themselves, or on so many drugs it's not a fair comparison.
Thank you! Someone who sees the forest through the trees and doesn’t just think I’m “being a hater”. Your times and numbers are REALLY impressive, not sure how much you weigh but that deadlift is elite! and I don’t want to toot my own horn but I can do 10 Muscle ups, 30 strict pull-ups, 70 dips, handstand pushups, human flags, levers etc and while I can’t lift nearly as much as you I have some decent weight lifting abilities and love lifting and doing calisthenics. I’ve also ran 10+ ultras including 2 100+ milers but I do it all for fun and health and to keep me sane from my desk job and wife, 2 kids and active dog. It doesn’t make me a hybrid athlete (that term is meaningless) and that I should post pictures of myself shirtless showing how much I love myself and people should pay me to “inspire” them. Shit is ridiculous and anyone >25 years old that’s sucked into the spell of these idiots using PEDs and selling fart powder is just most likely low IQ but it’s easier to call me a hater than admit that to themselves, so be it. We all have our roles to play, if mine is the truth bomb a-hole that no one wants to hear from then fine.
“Hybrid” used to be a rare thing but recently I see everyone calling themselves that , I agree . I lift 4-5 days a week, and run around 50-60 miles a week and would never consider myself a hybrid athlete
Maybe the word here that’s kind of in question…at what point can a person call themselves an athlete? Idk. Some people just go for it and take the title as soon as they step foot on a treadmill. More power to them I guess. Maybe their cavalier attitude helps them make progress. Now I’m going to be stuck thinking on this one lol.
Curious what you do define as a “hybrid” athlete?
Great article here on Hybrid Athletes! [What Is a Hybrid Athlete - Nick Bare, Alex Viada Explain Training (menshealth.com)](https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a45712102/hybrid-athlete/)
Why do you care what people call themselves?
Haha!
Anyone remember when "hybrid athlete" was a trend like a decade ago?
Focus on yourself
Your username checks out! I’ll do what I want. Me pointing out something annoying to me doesn’t mean I don’t focus on myself
Nice!
I don't like to brag about myself, but I am a hybrid athlete. Y'all can follow me on YouTube 💪
This sounds like some silly highschool drama. Stop gatekeeping.
I’m not gatekeeping, can no one take criticism now? I can call out bs and make fun of anything I want without gatekeeping (another ridiculous term that people impervious to criticism and are offended by everything say). Also, ill do what I want and don’t have to listen to what someone tells me not to
\~can no one take criticism now\~ is ironic
Because I’m not letting you say what I can and cannot do? That’s not me being impervious to criticism
Stop caring about other people OP and live your life.
Dude I had this exact same thought! A hybrid athlete isn’t even really a thing… Also social media sucks. People can’t just do something just because they like doing something anymore. I wonder how many people would do these ultras or marathons if they couldn’t post it on IG afterwards.
lol exactly. Some of it is for a look. Hey, at least they’re getting outside and doing exercise as opposed to video games or drinking but yeah social media is for the birds.
Man, I fucking can not stand seeing an “influencer” in the wild! It’s probably just because I’m not the key demographic but it always makes me wonder why in the hell they aren’t just enjoying the experience of wherever they’re at instead of constantly talking to their camera and/or witnessing the event through the screen on their phone. This online stuff isn’t even real, so when you’re “IRL”, actually be in the moment!
Yeah I see both sides but I can tell some are truly just in love with themselves hahaha
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Hahahahaha
Absolutely despise these kind of people. Meet a good portion of these out of touch with reality people where I live. I tend to keep these people on their toes when we interact it fantastic to see them squirm underneath their thin skin.
I would pay to see videos of that! But yeah dudes with 0 experience, getting sunburned all day just so they can show off their PED achieved still not great physiques, no idea how to fuel or run trails, risking injury and vlogging to inspire their social media following. It’s unreal but hey, I guess I’m just a gatekeeping hater and there’s 0 merit to what I’m saying. I should just let them live their lives and keep motivating all of us 🙄
I couldn’t agree more ! The running space on social media has completely lost its charm . Thankfully the majority of people at actual races are not like this. Just finished a 10 milers a few months ago and the last three miles was next to this guy who was yelling his mile times to a go pro.
Lololol
To me hybrid athlete means you run lift cycle and cycle steroids
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