The Physiology Of Hybrid Performance & Crossfit Athletes - Evan Peikon
The Progress Theory
What Are the Biggest Learning Curves When Training Cross-Fit Athletes?
Cross-fit athletes have disproportionately well-developed mitochondrial density but simultaneously tend to have poor capillary density which you don't see in endurance sports. Traditional endurance training models just aren't equipped for that type of demand and CrossFit athlete has to do everything at once so a lot of these athletes they're really limited by their systemic cardiovascular control.
Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance. In this episode, we have Sports Physiologist & Bioscientist, Evan Peikon.
What does the physiology of a hybrid athlete look like? We can understand the physiology of individual strength and endurance sports, and through this series of the Progress Theory, we also know how strength training can have a positive effect on, for example, running performance through improved running economy. But physiologically, can the two co-exist? In this episode, Evan and I discuss the role of the cardiovascular system for hybrid training, the effect of muscle size on endurance performance, and have a go at predicting how far hybrid performance can go.
But before we get to the show I want to thank our sponsors, who the show would not be possible without.
I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to my production partner, KULT Media.
KULT Media has been instrumental in the development & success of the progress theory.
They have created brand guides, comprehensive podcast strategies, enhanced the podcast production, developed custom workflows for me and edited & mixed all of the video, audio and social media content.
Their simple Coach, Create & Collaborate process has saved me 100’s hours in podcast production, resolved countless technical issues and consistently help me to improve my podcasting game.
So if you want to establish and engage your audience, or are ready to launch your own podcast head to www.kult.media to learn more.
Thank you to HMN24 – fuelling human potential and optimising everyday human performance and well-being.
First of all – HMN24 is not a sports supplement company. I’ve seen sport supplements be used as a method to improve performance in the gym and at a certain sport. However, these supplements, like a pre-workout, are often used on top of a lifestyle which does not provide the foundation needed for optimal performance. There’s no point taking pre-workout supplements if your sleep, hydration, and nutrition is an unstructured mess. I’m convinced that a large percentage of injuries are often caused, not because training was poor, but because a poor lifestyle foundation increased the athlete’s susceptibility to injury. Sports supplements are often used to plaster the cracks in poor lifestyle habits, which only causes more future problems.
And this is where HMN24 is different. The product range at HMN24 not only helps improve your foundation; it optimises it. The HMN24 products are designed to fit around your circadian rhythms, from the moment you wake up, to key moments in the day when you need optimal focus, to getting the best sleep at night, there’s a product to optimise each phase of the day.
I can’t recommend enough the “live on form’ pack, consisting of the products Rise, flow and pre-sleep. Rise is for the morning and is my absolute favourite. It tastes amazing. Rise contains caffeine for increased morning alertness (though not a huge amount of caffeine, which is sooo much better for avoiding gastro-intestinal distress), electrolytes from coconut and watermelon powder to increase hydration after the previous night’s sleep, and B-vitamins, to ensure you ready to win the morning. I’m not a fan of long-winded morning routines. I wake up, have my Rise with ice, and get straight to writing, and I’ve seen such an improvement in getting into deep work.
By the time 2pm comes around the effects of caffeine from Rise has worn off, but I don’t want to take more caffeine because that’s going to interrupt getting to sleep later on. This is where Flow is perfect. It’s a caffeine-free nootropic, perfect for improving alertness and concentration during that mid-afternoon slump. And finally, I take pre-sleep just before bed, which is a comprehensive night-time complex, formulated to help support well-being and fortify the body against the fatigue and stress that come with leading a performance-driven lifestyle.
I can’t recommend these products enough they are a game changer for human performance. And also, while you’re at their website hmn24.com check out there plant protein, which is incredible for smoothies post-training, and their website includes articles and an awesome podcast for those wanting to learn more about human performance. You can even check out the episode I did with them, I thoroughly enjoyed that chat I had with Phi Learney, Co-founder of HMN24, and it has led to an awesome collaboration with HMN24 supporting The Progress Theory. If you want a 10% discount on all HMN24 products either head to their website via the links in the Instagram bios of @theProgresstheory or my personal Instagram @drphilprice or use the code PHILPRICE at checkout.
In this episode, we discuss:
- 1:11 - Introduction
- 3:52 - Working at Crossfit Think Tank
- 5:20 - The Crossfit athlete, mitochondrial density and the dilation of blood vessels
- 9:21 - Arterial blood pressure and cardiac output
- 13:10 - The influence of genetics
- 15:30 - The difference between Crossfit athletes and Hybrid athletes
- 18:32 - Physiological ceilings
- 20:56 - VO2max in elite CrossFit athletes
- 23:28 - Critical metabolic rate, muscle relations and respiratory endurance
- 29:11 - The use of NIRS
- 32:57 - Body position, skeletal muscle pump and gene expression.
- 40:07 - The development of exercise science
- 43:16 - Hybrid training advice for coaches
- 46:28 - Understanding recovery/aerobic base training
- 52:49 - What’s the future potential for the hybrid athlete?
- 1:00:25 - Can being elite in one sport affect being a good hybrid athlete?
Follow and subscribe to The Progress Theory on Instagram and Youtube, and check out all of our other episodes.
FOLLOW OUR PODCAST
Follow our Host / Guest
Explore these Resources or Items Mentioned in the Show
In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:
Consultation with Evan - Crossfit think tank
Emergence performance substack
For all our other episodes and to get in touch, please visit www.theprogresstheory.com.
Thanks for listening!
All rights reserved. © The Progress Theory & KULT Media LTD 2025
Mentioned in this episode:
The Science of Hybrid Training
It was originally thought that you could not effectively train for both strength and endurance at the same time because they required different adaptations which were not compatible with each other. It was claimed that ‘an interference effect’, blunted the adaptations for strength if you simultaneously trained for endurance. However, recent developments in sports which require both strength and endurance have really challenged this idea, with hybrid athletes producing impressive performances in both strength and endurance sports together. This had led scientists, coaches, and athletes to rethink what is humanly possible and suggests the interference effect is not as influential as originally thought. But what is a hybrid athlete? What is the ‘interference effect’? And how can we maximize our training to improve at the same time our strength and endurance performance? In this book, Dr Phil Price provides insight into the misconceptions surrounding strength and endurance training by distilling the past 50 years of research and drawing on the conversations he had with great scientists, coaches, and athletes on The Progress Theory podcast. This book is essential reading for hybrid athletes and coaches who are looking to understand the key training variables and their effect on the simultaneous development of strength and endurance performance.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
