Currently about 4 months out from my first 100 mile ultra marathon and thought I’d share my current hybrid training workout split.
My goal is to keep as much muscle as possible but also be realistic about my available training time. After all, I’m a single Mom with a full time job, so I have to be extra mindful of both time and energy resources.
About a year ago, I moved to a kind of full body workout split that follows a suggested workout structure from Renaissance Periodization’s hypertrophy style of training. It allows me to hit my focus groups (primary – which for me is glutes & abs) multiple days a week while still allowing recovery time.
With that in mind, here’s my current hybrid training workout split.
Hybrid Training Split – Overview:
- Monday – Gym – Primary Day (Glutes & Abs)
- Tuesday Hill Training & Pick ups – Progressive Mileage ea week
- Wednesday Gym – Secondary Day (Quads, Chest, Shoulders)
- Thursday- 6 Mile Run – HR Training (HR <133)
- Friday – Gym – Moderate Day (Glutes, Chest/Back)
- Saturday – Long Run #1 – HR Training (HR < 133)
- Sunday – Long Run #2 – HR Training (HR < 133)
Monday – Primary day (Glutes, Abs, Chest/Shoulders)
- Walking Lunges – DB 3 x 8-10
- Deadlift – 3 x 8-10
- Incline Sit-Ups
- Front Squat
- Barbell Good Mornings
- Seated Row
- Incline Wide Grip Bench Press
- Cable Lateral Raise
Tuesday – Hills & Pick Ups – Progressive Volume
Example Workout
- 1 Mile Warm Up
- 5 Miles Hill Repeats (Slow up the hill, Fast downhill)
- 8 20-second pick ups (20 second rest in betweeon)
- 1 Mile Cool Down
Wednesday – Secondary Day (Quads, Shoulders, Chest/Back)
- Smith Machine Squat – Feet Forward
- Leg Curl superset with
- Sissy Squat (Body weight and supersetted with leg curl)
- Ab Machine Crunches
- Seated Sumo Lifts
- Curl Bar Front Raise
- Bench Press (Medium Grip)
- T-Bar Row
Thursday – 6 Mile Run
Nice & Easy, Low Heart Rate Training Under 133
Friday – Moderate Gym Day (Glutes, Back/Chest)
- Hip Thrust – Machine
- Abduction – Machine
- Reverse Curls
- Cable Step Ups
- Cable Glute Kickbacks
- Pull Ups
- DB Incline Flyes
Saturday – Long Run #1
This is my longest run of the week, in this 8-week meso (broken down into two, 4-week mesos) the mileage has been anywhere between 12-20 miles varying each week but mostly in the spirit of progress mileage/volume while being cognizant of the hill training which also bumps up in volume each week. This is a low heart rate training run, which for me is keeping my heart rate under 133.
Sunday – Long Run #2
As we build my legs toward that 100 mile goal, we’re working on stacking mileage. Currently, this means it’s about half of the mileage or a bit more that I’ve done on Saturday. This meso, it’s been mostly in the range of 8-10 miles. Again, this is a low heart rate training run.
And that’s it!
Pros & Cons – Hybrid Training Split:
Pros
- Gym/Lifts are on point – The 3-day workout split for the gym is working for me right now. Would I love more days, yes! But it wasn’t realistic. My job, while I am so lucky to work from home, it’s still in an intense phase right now – start up mode. When I know I’m only going to have 3-gym workouts I make them COUNT. I push the weights/the volume and I use a workout tracker to ensure I’m hitting my targets. No leaving that to guessing or ‘remembering’.
- Run Prioritization – Prioritizing my runs right now with a very specific goal. So, this split allows me to remain focused on my goal.
- Intensity – I feel like I am PUSHING myself right now without TOO much. It seems like the perfect mix that puts me on the edge of my training zone but also safely.
Cons:
- Too Much Back to Back, in particular – Legs/Glutes.
(It makes me wonder if guys have an easier time with Hybrid splits as their primary muscles they want to grow are typically Upper Body. Tell me guys! I wanna hear! Is the hybrid split easier for ya’ll or just as much consideration as overall MASS and SIZE are also key factors in your split?)
Fridays Glutes workouts are not ideal to have back to back with a long run following next day. On week one and two of each 4-week meso (especially week 1) I get sore. And on week 3, it’s max weights and it’s then next day max mileage. I figure, that it is better to have sore glutes rather than sore quads going into a long run.
As I get closer to my race, I will definitely take this out of my workout split.
For Mondays Leg Days I’d like to show up FRESHER! It should be a power day! I treat it as such because Sunday’s run although it’s long is low intensity, but it does seem like…in an ideal world, I would not be coming into leg day with two long distance days underneath my belt. Sometimes I think, I need a rest day in between those two long run days and leg day.
But there’s something about Monday’s that gets me pumped up.
We don’t rest on Mondays!! lol, it’s a power day!
