What the f*** is a Hybrid Athlete (and am I one?)

Hybrid training isn’t some brand-new invention. People have always wanted to run, lift, and test themselves across disciplines. CrossFit was the first to bring that to the mainstream; mixing strength, conditioning, and endurance into one unpredictable sport. It proved you don’t have to choose a lane.

Hybrid training/racing takes that same mentality but packages it differently. Instead of the unknown, it’s about absolute repeatability. Every Hyrox is the same test, after all. The challenge isn’t surviving chaos, it’s chasing progress and seeing how your time stacks up against thousands of others worldwide, again and again.

Together, they’ve shifted how we think about training, not as endurance vs strength, but as capability across everything.

So why is everyone doing it? Well this is my take: traditional sports are hard to break into. They’ve been around forever, and competing at a good level demands years of coaching, access, and specialisation. For most of us, that ship sailed after school or uni. 

Training, as a sport, is still new. Its broad spectrum makes it more accessible. Less about specialising, more about testing yourself across movements most of us already know. Lunges, runs, carries, pushes. Familiar work, reframed in a competitive arena.

And that’s why it’s catching fire right now. Hybrid racing fills the gap left when traditional sport stops being an option, giving adults a way back into competition without needing to be a pro or pick a single lane. It’s not just exercise anymore. It’s a new sport, born from the way we already train.

So, are you a Hybrid Athlete? Well If you train across disciplines instead of just specialising in one, then yeah, probably. Whether you choose to call yourself one is optional. The nose tape is too.