{"id":1027728,"date":"2026-06-15T08:30:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T08:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1027728\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T08:30:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T08:30:25","slug":"the-hybrid-fitness-movement-weve-definitely-noticed-the-community-it-builds-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1027728\/","title":{"rendered":"The hybrid fitness movement: \u2018We\u2019ve definitely noticed the community it builds\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gym-goer Sarah O\u2019Byrne started running two months ago only because a fellow member talked her into entering a hybrid fitness<\/a> event in Dublin<\/a> this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI signed up without looking at what was involved,\u201d she says of Tryka, a relatively new, \u201cmade in Ireland<\/a>\u201d alternative to the phenomenally successful Hyrox<\/a> international fitness race series. On closer inspection, she thought \u201cthere\u2019s a lot of running\u201d for somebody who hadn\u2019t run before. <\/p>\n

Yet, part of Tryka\u2019s appeal to recreational fitness enthusiasts is that the 500m runs for most categories are only half the distance of those often in Hyrox. The overall format is similar, a run alternating with a functional workout \u2013 eg rower, bike, sled push and pull, and eight in total.<\/p>\n

There is nothing new about hybrid training, which combines strength and cardio exercises, but packaging routines into competitive events has greatly broadened its appeal over the past 25 years. CrossFit, which was founded in 2000, could be considered the pioneer in popular tests of endurance and strength.<\/p>\n

Having signed up two months ago for Tryka\u2019s July event, O\u2019Byrne (44) says it \u201cdefinitely pushed me to the next level of training harder, and I started running for the first time\u201d, adding: \u201cI would never have done that without an event to do.\u201d But she found running easier than she expected and the week we talk is planning her debut at a 5k parkrun<\/a>.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Byrne works out at DBK Fitness in Glasthule, Co Dublin, a small group personal training gym. The first time she walked in the door nearly four years ago, she started with individual coaching because she was too nervous to join a group.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very unfit. I just thought, I\u2019m going to be bigger than everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

About four months later she braved her first class and found it was not \u201ccompetitive and posey\u201d, as she had feared. Since then, gym classes have become \u201ca massive part of my routine\u201d, she says. So much so that after she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in January 2024, among her first thoughts was dismay that treatment would interrupt her gym-going. After two surgeries and radiotherapy she resumed training in September of that year.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe name Tryka ‘comes from building the concept around the trier, not the winner’. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I was starting again but it\u2019s been really great. I am definitely fitter than I was,\u201d says O\u2019Byrne, who has lost 25.4kg (4st) in the past year. A clinical psychologist and mother of two, she does gym sessions five times a week before going to work at the nearby Treehouse Practice, and also two weekly runs, in preparation for the women\u2019s doubles in Tryka\u2019s 500 division at the RDS on July 3rd-5th.<\/p>\n

This is the most popular category, says Trkya founder Brian Lee, a Dubliner who co-founded the healthy food and salad chain Chopped in 2012, which was bought by a private-equity firm in 2024. He competed at pro level in Hyrox for a number of years and saw a gap in the market for community events that he says would have less of a \u201cmen\u2019s tops off\u201d vibe and be less intimidating to more casual fitness participants.<\/p>\n

\"Tryka:Tryka: Participants at an event at The Stables Fitness and Wellbeing. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw \"Tryka:Tryka: Participants at an event at The Stables Fitness and Wellbeing. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw \"BrianBrian Lee is Tryka’s founder <\/p>\n

The name comes from building the concept around \u201cthe trier, not the winner\u201d. The winning, as far as he is concerned, is in the showing up to give it a go. The \u201cka\u201d was tacked on for a spiritual dimension \u2013 \u201cpeace and harmony\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lee\u2019s wife Sinead works with him in the business as director of sports performance. They want to cater for all types of people with an interest in fitness, from \u201csomeone who\u2019s just getting off the couch\u201d to \u201cseasoned veterans\u201d. A father of two children aged six and nine, he has the 5k and mini-marathon constituency in his sights. Women currently make up 65-70 per cent of Tryka entrants. <\/p>\n

The Lees are expecting 20,000 people through the doors next month for their fourth event, between spectators and 9,500 participants, which is more than double the entry number for the opening event last October.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think most people can give Tryka a go,\u201d says Kieran Butler, a coach at DBK Fitness, who says he feels Hyrox is more \u201cniche\u201d. But he believes there is space for both, particularly considering how difficult it can be to secure tickets for the latter\u2019s events and the travel involved for most of them.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u2018I did a Hyrox after six weeks training with no previous gym experience\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you set a goal like completing a fitness event, it does add that bit more accountability for each person,\u201d says Butler, who will participate in Tryka next month for the first time, along with 20 of the gym\u2019s members, all making their debut too. As children, we push ourselves into sport, in competitive environments such as school, but tend to shy away from that as we get older, he suggests.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s incredibly rewarding when you delve back into that competitive environment. You set yourself the challenge of competing a fitness event and the feeling that comes with accomplishing that is really why these events are so successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AnnaAnna and Patrick Syme of The Stables Fitness and Wellbeing in Gorey. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw <\/p>\n

Tryka operates a league for both gyms and workplaces, with everybody racking up points by participating, but the better the performance, the more points gained. Top of the league after three events is The Stables Fitness and Wellbeing in Gorey, Co Wexford. Having been \u201cHyroxing like mad for the last few years, we were very familiar with the hybrid fitness training regime\u201d, says Patrick Syme, who runs the fitness centre based on a family farm with his wife Anna. This latest gamification version appeals to a lot of their clients because of its entry-level nature and easy access to events in Dublin, rather than mostly having to travel overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that we\u2019ve definitely noticed about hybrid fitness games, fitness events, over the years is the community that it builds,\u201d says Syme, who likes how every member can contribute to Tryka\u2019s point system. While they do not have as big a membership as some of the gyms in Dublin, \u201ca lot of our members have done really very well in it\u201d. <\/p>\n

With around 80-100 from The Stables competing in each event, some are even volunteering to compete in two or three different categories, to maximise points. A number have already booked for the first grand final, which is a flight away \u2013 in Lisbon, on October 10th \u2013 before series two starts in Dublin at the end of that month. Meanwhile, Tryka has its first London event in September, with Birmingham lined up for next year.<\/p>\n

Patrick and Anna Syme, who will be competing in the Hyrox world championships in Stockholm, June 18th-21st, welcome Tryka\u2019s addition of a family category. They were able to participate with their sons Olly (14) and Harry (12) at the February event. \u201cIt\u2019s great craic and a lovely angle.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"TrykaTryka at The Stables Fitness and Wellbeing. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw \"TrykaTryka at The Stables Fitness and Wellbeing. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw <\/p>\n

Making them sound like real contenders for \u201cIreland\u2019s fittest family\u201d, their daughter Isabele (10) competed in the first Hyrox Youngsters (eight-15 years) event in Amsterdam in January.<\/p>\n

Hyrox didn\u2019t do anything new in using skiers, rowers and sleds, says Syme, but it created an event and a race for gym-goers to train towards. Whether they opt for Hyrox or Trkya, or both, \u201cit gives them an incentive\u201d. The Stables has run three \u201csimulated\u201d Tryka events; 170 people entered the latest one earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Everything in these events is \u201cdoable\u201d, Syme says. \u201cThe crux of it comes down to how quick you do it.\u201d Whether members are looking to do Hyrox or Tryka, training classes are much the same and many of their clients say they have never been so fit in their life.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re training for a marathon, \u201cyou\u2019re just a runner, you\u2019re not necessarily strong\u201d, he adds. The Stables runs its own hybrid fitness event once a year, the Epic Games, and will have 84 teams of four competing in it on August 29th.<\/p>\n

Josh Percival, co-founder with rugby international Andrew Porter of the Three State personal training gym in D\u00fan Laoghaire, Co Dublin, sees different hybrid fitness brands giving a \u201chuge culture push\u201d to a way of training that has been around for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that strength training is super important for our long-term health; we also know that cardiovascular exercise is very important for our long-term health. And it does combine the two together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile people are changing how they spend their leisure time \u2013 less in the pub, more in active groups and saunas, he suggests. \u201cThere\u2019s way more run clubs; even this morning, we had 30 or 40 people in ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Percival has not tried Tryka but has been considering encouraging members to give it a go. He likes the inclusive approach, which is in keeping with Three State\u2019s ethos, and believes the demand for such events is just going to grow and grow.<\/p>\n

In a world that\u2019s \u201cgetting more and more techie\u201d, he adds, people increasingly want to do exercise \u201cand in a group environment, because you get to actually meet people\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AA Hyrox competition in Cologne, Germany, in April. Photograph: Ying Tang\/NurPhoto\/Getty Hybrid fitness: what is it?<\/p>\n

\u201cHybrid\u201d fitness is a trendy name for combining strength and cardio exercises. It has surged in popularity, with the evolution of mass-participation races and events being both a cause and effect. Here\u2019s a snapshot of some options:<\/p>\n