The concept of hybrid fitness is gaining momentum by effectively combining strength and aerobic exercise.
As a certified personal trainer and someone who enjoys exercise, efficiency has never been my top priority. I prefer to take my time rather than rush and risk injury. But with my busy schedule and time crunch lately, I decided to try Kathryn Kunz’s 30-minute hybrid fitness routine.
Kunz packs a lot into a relatively short time frame, targeting nearly every muscle group in the body. To tackle her program, you’ll need a mat, two reasonably heavy dumbbells, and a little courage.
How Kathryn Kuntz does a hybrid workout
30 Minute Hybrid Workout | Full Body | Weighted | Strength + Conditioning | You and Me | Repeats Available – YouTube Watch On
Kunz’s workouts are structured like a HIIT (or high-intensity interval training) session, with timed workouts and breaks in between.
After a 5-minute warm-up, work for 40 seconds, rest for 15 seconds, and complete 2 circuits of 4 exercises, 2 times each. Kuntz follows this with a cardio-based finisher consisting of 12 exercises, each performed with 30 and 15 seconds of rest. The routine ends with a 5-minute cooldown.
Kunz uses two 7.5 kg/16.5 lb dumbbells for his workouts. I used 5.4 kg/12 lb dumbbells.
What I learned from doing hybrid workouts
It took over 30 minutes
Calling this a 30-minute workout is a bit misleading. By the time you complete the warm-up, all circuits, and cool-down, you’ll be exercising for over 40 minutes. However, it helps that Kuntz includes a warm-up and cool-down, since many workouts advertised as 30 minutes don’t include a warm-up or cool-down.
Even with the extra 10 minutes, I felt like I was able to get a well-rounded workout in significantly less time than usual. If you’re short on time, you’ll probably do this routine again.
Some exercises were difficult
I’ve been training consistently for almost 20 years, so I’m comfortable doing most exercises. But despite my background, some of Kunz’s moves were challenging. Especially the alternating table reach in the warm-up and the one-handed mountain climber in the cardio finisher.
This highlights one of my biggest complaints about fitness influencers: their inability to see changes. “Feel free to modify some of the exercises as needed,” Kuntz says in the workout description, but doesn’t show how. Ideally, a second instructor would have appeared in the video to demonstrate alternative options and make the workout accessible to a wider range of fitness levels.
Good benchmark training
Kunz’s training is challenging and not easy for beginners. If you’re new to exercise, consider this program again after you’ve gained some experience.
One of the great things about YouTube workouts is that you can use them as benchmarks for your progress. So if you can’t complete this workout now, try again after you’ve built up some strength and endurance. You might be surprised at how much you’ve improved.
If you’re just starting out, we recommend doing something like this HIIT workout for beginners or this bodyweight workout for beginners instead.
