Nowadays, many of us have busy schedules, so we barely have enough time to squeeze out workouts into. Hybrid exercises are one of the ways you can make your fitness routine more efficient. Build a few circuits with hybrid exercises, and you’ll be able to complete a full-body workout in less than 5 minutes.
A hybrid exercise is a movement that combines two or more exercises during your reps, so you target many large muscle groups simultaneously. It typically involves working through multiple planes of motion during each rep.
The efficiency of hybrid exercises allows you to build functional muscle strength in less time. You can also use hybrid exercises to force your muscles to work twice as hard as they would during conventional exercise, allowing you to get more out of your workouts.
Hybrid exercises are particularly helpful when targeting muscles in the legs since they allow you to perform movements that isolate muscles like your glutes while performing compound exercises.
Simple Hybrid Exercises You Should Add To Your Next Workout
Let’s take a look at some straightforward hybrid exercises that will make your workout session more efficient:
1) Burpee Jacks
Conventional burpees are hybrid exercises despite their popularity since it combines two exercises (pushups and jump squats) into one movement. You can make the exercise even more challenging by adding the plank jack and pylo jack to it. This exercise gives you a full body workout and gets your blood pumping. Give burpee jacks a try if you want to simultaneously target your legs, chest, shoulders, glutes, and core.
To perform this exercise:
- Get into the starting position, standing with your feet together.
- Slightly squat as you bend over and place your hands on the ground. Jump your feet backward to put yourself in a high plank position and keep your feet together.
- Perform one pushup and return to the high plank.
- Now, jump your feet out wide in the plank position without letting your hips rise too high.
- Bring your feet back together and jump them to your hands before standing back up.
- Now, perform a jumping jack before returning to the high plank for another rep.
2) Renegade Row Push Up
Here’s a hybrid exercise that targets your chest, back, and core. It also works muscles in your arms and your glutes. Your core carries a considerable share of the load during the exercises since they stabilize your body and prevent it from rotating.
To perform the exercise:
- Place a pair of kettlebells or dumbbells next to your chest, which should be about shoulder-width apart.
- Place each hand on the corresponding kettlebell or dumbbell and keep your palms facing in. You can place the dumbbells a little closer to your body if you want your triceps to carry more of the load. That also makes it easier to keep your core stabilized while rowing.
- Get into a high plank position with your arms and legs straight. You can keep your knees on the ground if you find regular pushups to be too challenging.
- Perform a pushup, dropping your chest to the dumbbells, and return to the high plank.
- Now, row one dumbbell to the side, driving your elbow back and down towards the ceiling. Lower the weight, perform another pushup and then row the other side to complete a rep. Try not to shrug your shoulders when rowing to force your back to do more work. Also, avoid rotating your torso as you row the dumbbells.
3) Pull-Up And Knee Tuck
Pull-ups are one of those exercises that should be in everyone’s fitness routine. From professional athletes to people in the military, the pull-up has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to target the large muscles in your back. So why not add some knee tucks to the exercise to make it even more challenging?
Here’s what the exercise looks like:
- Hang on a pull-up bar with your palms facing away. You can also get into the chin-up position if you find pull-ups to be more challenging. Your arms should be fully straight while your legs hang.
- Perform a pull-up, bringing your chest to the bar. Engage your back muscles as you pull your chin over the bar.
- Pause at the top of your rep and bring your knees toward your chest while driving your elbows down. Return to the starting position to complete your rep.
Making knee circles at the top of each pull-up makes this exercise even more challenging. That way, your obliques are also engaged during your reps. If you’re new to working out, start with simply handing on the bar and performing knee tucks. Add pull-ups to the exercise as your endurance improves.
4) Side Lunge Leg Lift
Combining side lunges with leg lifts is a great way to work your glutes by combining a compound exercise and an exercise that isolates your glutes. Want a cuter set of glutes? This exercise is for you.
Here’s what it looks like:
- Get into the starting position, standing with your feet together. Step out to the side and sink into a side lunge.
- Drive your butt backward and bend your outside knee as you lower your body. Keep your heels planted on the ground while trying not to lean forward. Keep your other leg straight as you perform the lunge, and keep both toes pointing ahead.
- Drive with the foot you lunged with and return to the starting position. Now lift the leg you used for the side lunge out and up to the side. Return to the starting position and repeat the process with your other leg to complete a set.
5) Squat To Lunge
This exercise targets muscles in your legs, like your glutes, quads, and hamstring. It combines two of the most popular leg bodyweight exercises to give your legs a thorough workout. You can also grab a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells to make it more challenging.
Here’s what it looks like:
- Get into the starting position for squats with your legs hip-width apart.
- Drop down and perform a squat and return to the starting position.
- Now, perform a lunge with one leg and return to the starting position.
- Perform another squat, return to the original position, and lunge with your other leg to complete a rep.
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