I first heard about The Hybrid Athlete, led by Joe Vennare and his brother Anthony, from an unlikely source, when it comes to health and fitness: The Smart Passive Income Podcast with Pat Flynn. (I happen to know that Pat has gone through at least one round of P90X and maybe some other programs, so it’s not too far-fetched.) The way the two brothers divide their work is that Joe is the “front man,” and Anthony is “the boss,” as described on their About page. Anthony did all the talking on the podcast, too, as he described their innovative online fitness business.
Plank Rows with a kettlebell
You can read the details, which are an interesting and touching personal story, but the short version is that they started with an at-home personal training business, then a 12,000 square-foot training center, and eventually The Hybrid Athlete website.
Here’s the innovative business idea: A “Pay What You Want” pricing for their workouts, in document form. They also sell kettlebells, which are included in some of their workouts, and they are charging the lowest price possible. Joe explained on the podcast that they worked out a deal with the manufacturer, because they strongly believe it is more important to help people get fit than it is to make a profit selling kettlebells.
What do they offer on the site?
- Go back to the About Us page, and read The Hybrid Manifesto for some inspiration!
- A Training Blog which covers a variety of fitness and health topics, including example workouts
- Videos demonstrating training circuits for a particular purpose (such as the “Do More Pull Ups” video, above right); they also have a YouTube channel for demonstrating individual exercises and full workouts.
- The Pay What You Want store, where there are recommended prices for some training programs, others listed as zero dollars, and the kettlebells for the lowest price possible (and free shipping!)
I decided to try one of their workouts, so I purchased The Body Weight Training Program. This is a six-week program. For now, I just wanted a “taste” of what the workouts were like, so I did them for a few days. They are structured similar to a P90X workout, minus the equipment of course (body weight!). Start with a warm up (jumping jacks, arm circles, etc.) and move on to push ups, lunges, squats, and so on. What I like about using a written exercise plan is that you can really pace yourself as hard as you want, or back off if necessary. This training program shows you exactly what to do each day, for six weeks.
If you are unfamiliar with any of the exercises described in the workouts, (such as the Bird Dog, a plank exercise), just look it up on their website.
I recommend The Hybrid Athlete as a “free to try” option to find a new workout, or a training program you can use for a few weeks. They also have specialized programs for Obstacle Races, Triathlon, and even Social Media for the Fitness Professional. Go ahead and try one for free, but I hope you’ll be glad to pay something and help their business/mission to grow and prosper.
