Who's Really Hybrid?

By Jonny Pain

And so we arrive at my final article of this series for Built For Athletes.

My goal with these pieces has been to provoke some thought around how we perceive ourselves and how we perceive training, often presented within a ‘Hybrid’ methodology.

The Evolution of "Hybrid" in Fitness

What’s been very interesting, from my perspective, over the past five or so years is how the use of the word Hybrid has changed within the fitness industry and community.

Back in my very first article for BFA, I described the origin of the term (Alex Viada in 2013) and my part in piecing together the puzzle that became the industry-revered book, The Hybrid Athlete.

The (rather wordy) definition put forth in that book was:

“The concurrent training of different athletic disciplines that do not explicitly support one another, and whose disparate components are not essential to success in any one sport.”

Yet, now, that definition wouldn’t fully apply to many of today’s so-called Hybrid Athletes.

Who’s Really Hybrid?

So, the question suddenly became—who is right when claiming to be hybrid?

I’m here, as an original owner and pioneer of the term, to tell you that it doesn’t f*****g matter!!

As a coach, I’ve had to listen to people arguing—

“That’s not what hybrid is! I’m the real hybrid athlete.”

“Hyrox isn’t even hybrid, it’s just running n’ sht.”*

They’re missing the bigger picture (or, more importantly, letting their egos block the actual point).

While we provided a definition, the entire purpose of that original book was to break down barriers between factions like strength vs. endurance training, to open up opportunities, and to fuel curiosity by dispelling myths like “cardio kills gains.”

Seeing this idea evolve and inspire more people to take on new challenges was the ultimate goal.

And it worked… until the self-proclaimed gurus arrived.

Hybrid is What You Make It

So, I’m here to say—it doesn’t matter.

If you identify with your sport and community as Hybrid, then go for it! Use that common language to inspire others, challenge yourself, and have fun.

If you’re trying to gatekeep the term just to boost your own vanity, shame on you. You’re shutting others out and just reinventing the ‘functional fitness’ debate. Please, crawl back to your cave!

And… from an OG perspective, training for Hyrox can be truly Hybrid.

To excel, you need:

✅ Limit strength to handle event requirements efficiently.
✅ Excellent aerobic capacity to manage the overall sport well.

Refer back to the original definition—this is Hybrid AF.