Question: Elliot Hulse's Lean Hybrid Muscle Program

[Hundley52]

Does anyone have experience with this program? I've been following him for a while. I enjoy his videos as they are often about things that I think about as well. As anyone know's that follows him, he seems like a decent guy who knows a lot about the subjects that he speaks on. He's always trying to sell his programming, which is how he puts food on his table, I'm sure. No faulting that. He does keep his programming very secret (again that's how he makes his money) and the way he presents it in his advertising makes it seem very different from what a lot of others do.

Basically what I'm asking, as someone who trains hard and trains others as well as studies Kinesiology at Ohio State University, what does his programming look like? I'm curious to see what he's doing that is different and the same from myself.
I'm not asking any to give me the program or anything but maybe just a run down of a typical training session, or at least your thoughts if you've used it for a while and had good results.

[joeyy17]

In for this

[Jasonk282]

Love the man, going to go to his open gym next year when I'm down in Tampa visiting family. Don't know much about his program though, hardly anything. But he's one strong mofo.

[ironwill2008]

Does anyone have experience with this program?

Nope. I don't have a clue about his programming.


But I do know this; the mechanism for building muscle and strength hasn't changed one iota from the days of the first bodybuilder of record---Eugen Sandow. The exact same things that worked back then still work today; training on an experience-level routine/program based on progression of the weight and/or reps lifted with good form over time.

If there's anything about some "special" program you pay money for that would make it more 'effective' than anything you'll find in the stickies at the top of this forum---for free---is that you may be more likely to work harder, and stay with the as-written program more closely, if you have $$$ invested.


BTW, I have absolutely no axe to grind with Hulse; he's one of the few youtubers who has a functioning brain in his skull (and believe me, from the nonsense I've witnessed on the vast majority of youtube 'fitness' channels, that puts him WAY ahead of the pack). It's just that as far as weight training is concerned, there's nothing new under the sun, regardless of how it's been repackaged and promoted. I don't fault Hulse for selling his programs; if there's any fault involved, it's with buyers who expect anything from it other than what's already been out there for the past 150 years.

[Hundley52]

Nope. I don't have a clue about his programming.


But I do know this; the mechanism for building muscle and strength hasn't changed one iota from the days of the first bodybuilder of record---Eugen Sandow. The exact same things that worked back then still work today; training on an experience-level routine/program based on progression of the weight and/or reps lifted with good form over time.

If there's anything about some "special" program you pay money for that would make it more 'effective' than anything you'll find in the stickies at the top of this forum---for free---is that you may be more likely to work harder, and stay with the as-written program more closely, if you have $$$ invested.


BTW, I have absolutely no axe to grind with Hulse; he's one of the few youtubers who has a functioning brain in his skull (and believe me, from the nonsense I've witnessed on the vast majority of youtube 'fitness' channels, that puts him WAY ahead of the pack). It's just that as far as weight training is concerned, there's nothing new under the sun, regardless of how it's been repackaged and promoted. I don't fault Hulse for selling his programs; if there's any fault involved, it's with buyers who expect anything from it other than what's already been out there for the past 150 years.

You have good points there. I know that there isn't a whole lot new out there in the way of training in the sense of tear fibers, build muscle, repeat. However, even I fall into ruts of things that I like to do at the gym and avoid to a certain extent the things that I enjoy less. So, I like the idea of looking at programming from different perspectives. Most of the last year I've spent powerlifting for the 198 weight class and I've done pretty decently. However, I am now bored and ready to move on.

I'm working a new programming idea that I consider a hybrid idea. I'm trying to mix HIIT and powerlifting together. The theory in my mind is sound. HIIT style training increases the mitochondrial density in your muscles as well as minor hypertrophy. Powerlifting increases hypertrophy as well as strength. If done properly, potential injury should be minimal and they should compliment each other nicely. What are your thoughts?

[ironwill2008]

You have good points there. I know that there isn't a whole lot new out there in the way of training in the sense of tear fibers, build muscle, repeat. However, even I fall into ruts of things that I like to do at the gym and avoid to a certain extent the things that I enjoy less. So, I like the idea of looking at programming from different perspectives. Most of the last year I've spent powerlifting for the 198 weight class and I've done pretty decently. However, I am now bored and ready to move on.

I'm working a new programming idea that I consider a hybrid idea. I'm trying to mix HIIT and powerlifting together. The theory in my mind is sound. HIIT style training increases the mitochondrial density in your muscles as well as minor hypertrophy. Powerlifting increases hypertrophy as well as strength. If done properly, potential injury should be minimal and they should compliment each other nicely.



What are your thoughts?

HIIT as in 'High Intensity Interval Training,' a form of cardio conditioning?

[tjzippy]

Elliot is a cool guy and definitely knows his stuff.
i bought his hybrid program a long time ago , (didn't want to just download it as i really like his channel).

It is just well thought out circuit training, in it he talks about a third type of muscle fiber .which i believe he is relating that to type IIA fibers , Fast Oxidative/Glycolytic , its basically a middle road between slow twitch and fast twitch as it uses both glycogen stores and oxygen , he related this muscle fiber to almost like a strength endurance type thing.

i am not a scientist so don't quote me on that xD this is just his believe

based on that he believes his mix of heavy circuit training will make you stronger for longer and still have a big hypertrophic reponse

i used the program for about 3 months and enjoyed it, as for results. i definitely got fitter but cant comment on size gains as i was eating at maintenance

based on your numbers on the big three i would say you are leaps and bounds ahead of this program as far as strength gains go.

he does have one called "grow stronger method" which is a nice blend of low rep work on the big three and gymnastics

[Hundley52]

HIIT as in 'High Intensity Interval Training,' a form of cardio conditioning?

Yeah that's what I mean by HIIT. Obviously I'm not doing anything HIIT related with 400# deadlifts or anything. But, to give you an example, on Friday, I did a workout with front squats, dead lifts, box jumps, tire flips and 400m "sprint". 135# on the squat and deadlift, 24" box, and 350# tire. 10 reps each for 4 rounds. Then in the afternoon, I went and did a standard back workout with pullups and rows and all that.

[Hundley52]

Elliot is a cool guy and definitely knows his stuff.
i bought his hybrid program a long time ago , (didn't want to just download it as i really like his channel).

It is just well thought out circuit training, in it he talks about a third type of muscle fiber .which i believe he is relating that to type IIA fibers , Fast Oxidative/Glycolytic , its basically a middle road between slow twitch and fast twitch as it uses both glycogen stores and oxygen , he related this muscle fiber to almost like a strength endurance type thing.

i am not a scientist so don't quote me on that xD this is just his believe

based on that he believes his mix of heavy circuit training will make you stronger for longer and still have a big hypertrophic reponse

i used the program for about 3 months and enjoyed it, as for results. i definitely got fitter but cant comment on size gains as i was eating at maintenance

based on your numbers on the big three i would say you are leaps and bounds ahead of this program as far as strength gains go.

he does have one called "grow stronger method" which is a nice blend of low rep work on the big three and gymnastics

I posted the workout i did on Friday above in response to Ironwill2008. Is that something like what the program would call for? I ask because I really am pulling back from the power lifting because I'm getting bloated and kind of fat. I want to maintain the strength that I've built but also fight my genetic tendency to stay between 15 and 20% BF.

[ironwill2008]

Yeah that's what I mean by HIIT. Obviously I'm not doing anything HIIT related with 400# deadlifts or anything. But, to give you an example, on Friday, I did a workout with front squats, dead lifts, box jumps, tire flips and 400m "sprint". 135# on the squat and deadlift, 24" box, and 350# tire. 10 reps each for 4 rounds. Then in the afternoon, I went and did a standard back workout with pullups and rows and all that.

You're describing conditioning-type training similar to what Strongman competitors or MMA fighters do. It's a great way to develop overall strength and endurance.


There's nothing at all wrong with mixing/matching all manner of training styles. You just have to keep in mind that specificity rules all, and that if you spread your efforts out over many different disciplines, your results will reflect that diversity; no one area will progress as quickly as if your training were more-focused on just one goal at a time.

[Hundley52]

You're describing conditioning-type training similar to what Strongman competitors or MMA fighters do. It's a great way to develop overall strength and endurance.


There's nothing at all wrong with mixing/matching all manner of training styles. You just have to keep in mind that specificity rules all, and that if you spread your efforts out over many different disciplines, your results will reflect that diversity; no one area will progress as quickly as if your training were more-focused on just one goal at a time.

Yeah, I know that. However, I cannot get away from what I am and what I do for a living. I am a career Marine who is in a program to go to college and commission. I don't make money off of how heavy I squat and deadlift. I make my money being able to run and move weight in a functional manner with endurance. My life and the lives of my buddies could depend directly depend on my physical training. I'm always over weight by our height weight standards and because of that, I have to keep my BF low in order to pass tape tests. I love picking up the heaviest **** that I can and am not going to stop. I've just gotten really close lately to 18% BF and that's my max allowed by the Marine Corps.