1. Promoting Health & Longevity
   Weight, anaerobic and aerobic training have a positive effect on our overall health, hormone balance and well-being.
   A balanced body composition improves mobility, bone strength, sleep quality and leads to a lower resting heart rate. Leading longevity researchers such as Peter Attia recommend a combination of endurance and strength training for a long, healthy life.
2. Prepared for every adventure
   Be ready for all challenges in life. It's a cool feeling to welcome every challenge. Whether you want to do a few pull-ups with friends on the beach or - as in my case - run a half marathon with your brother. Most everyday sports are based on endurance or strength - you are well prepared for both.
3. New Challenges
   For me, this was one of the most valuable insights in hybrid training. Especially if you have been doing strength training for a long time, for example, rapid progress in half-marathon pace is a great challenge.
4. mindset balance
   The balance between rapid maximum strength and tough endurance is also reflected in everyday life. During strength training, testosterone is released, during endurance training, cortisol. During strength training, you feel strong and give it your all for a short time, while when running, toughness and mental strength count.
5. springboard for new sports
   In recent years, there have been more and more sports that require both strength and endurance. The most prominent examples are Hyrox, 1km sprints and CrossFit.

To design your hybrid training plan, you can do the following:

1. Status Quo Analysis:
   First, determine where you are currently at. You probably already have some experience in your sport, perhaps you are a runner, cyclist or do strength training.
2. Goal setting:
   Set your goals here. For example, this could look like this: 5x5 120kg bench press + sub 1:30 half marathon. You have complete freedom here. Use your goals to try out things that you enjoy.
3. Training for Goals
   Now you decide how and by when you want to achieve your goals.
4. keep interference effect low
   One concept that has been proven by some studies is called the "interference effect". The basic message is that if you train at a very high level for a marathon, you will most likely experience negative effects in strength training. The goal is to minimize this effect as much as possible.
5. Adjust
   Pay attention to your body. Muscles, but also the central nervous system, for example, have to get used to the training volume. If you have signs of fatigue, you should definitely plan more recovery days, i.e. breaks.

Monday: Strength training (push training)

Tuesday: Interval runs

Wednesday: Strength training (pull training)

Thursday: Zone 2 Long Run

Friday: Strength training (legs + abs)

Saturday: break

Sunday: Zone 2 Long Run

Here the focus on strength and endurance would be fairly balanced. Strength training is covered by a push/pull/legs split.

Endurance, i.e. aerobic fitness, is strengthened by two Zone 2 runs and one interval run.

Once you have achieved the necessary basic fitness in both areas, you can train with a mesocycle. This cycle lasts 4-12 weeks and focuses on one training area in greater detail, for example more endurance before a marathon.

This is by no means a must, but it can help you perform even better.

If you plan to do multiple sessions in one day, try to do cardio in the morning and strength training in the afternoon. Leave as much time between training sessions as possible.

Recovery becomes more and more important with higher training intensity. While at lower intensity, good recovery directly after training is sufficient (such as enough sleep, good nutrition, stretching), during very intensive phases you should also zoom out and plan a fixed recovery day or even a deload week (week with deliberately fewer kilometers / weight).

Here are a few general tips that help me on my way:

• Fast means slow and slow means fast: Don't make the mistake of always going full throttle when running. Especially at the beginning, it is essential to build up an aerobic base - a relaxed run is the best way to do this. Find this out by: Training your heart rate with a fitness tracker. Or making sure that you always run at a "conversational pace". That is, only run as fast as you can comfortably hold a conversation with someone.
• Especially at the beginning, it is important for the body to slowly get used to the training volume. There are often exercises that are less strenuous for joints etc., but have similar effects. Do you have joint problems from running too much? Train more on the bike, where you can also perfectly train your basic endurance and at the same time protect your body.
• When doing strength training, make sure that you do fewer repetitions (maximum 8-10) so that you really provide a strong training stimulus.
• Pay attention to your diet. Even though it is important for strength and endurance sports, if you combine the two, this point is even more important. Make sure you consume enough macro and micro nutrients and eat a high-protein diet.

If you really only want to focus on one sport, hybrid training is not for you. For most people, hybrid training is probably the best type of physical, holistic training. Discover new sports, live longer, live healthier and enjoy the different challenges in everyday life. Make sure that you leave enough time between endurance and maximum strength exercises and do not overtrain.

Efficiency is the be-all and end-all in hybrid training. This is also the reason why many hybrid athletes trust Kjavik. With our One sneaker, you not only run more naturally, but you also strengthen your foot muscles (according to several studies, by up to 57%).

(Studies: 1. Curtis, R., Willems, C., Paoletti, P. et al. Daily activity in minimal footwear increases foot strength. Sci Rep 11 , 18648 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98070-0 --- 2 . Jennifer Xu , Susan A Saliba, Abbis H Jaffri: The Effects of Minimalist Shoes on Plantar Intrinsic Foot Muscle Size and Strength: A Systematic Review)