Nutrition Strategies in Hybrid Sports

In recent years, hybrid sports have experienced a substantial increase in global participation and professionalisation. Emerging disciplines such as CrossFit® and Hyrox® combine high-intensity resistance exercise with sustained aerobic demands, while classical hybrid sports, including the decathlon and modern pentathlon, have long required athletes to simultaneously express strength, power, speed, and endurance. These multifaceted physiological demands place unique stress on metabolic, neuromuscular, and recovery systems, distinguishing hybrid sports from traditional single-modality disciplines. Despite their growing popularity and competitive relevance, hybrid sports remain underrepresented in contemporary sports nutrition research. Most existing nutritional guidelines are extrapolated from endurance- or strength-focused sports and may not adequately address the combined demands inherent to hybrid competition and training. Furthermore, the rapid evolution of competition formats and training methodologies in emerging hybrid sports has outpaced the generation of robust, evidence-based nutritional frameworks. As a result, practitioners and athletes often rely on anecdotal strategies or non-specific recommendations, highlighting the need for targeted scientific inquiry into nutrition and supplementation practices tailored to hybrid sports.The primary goal of this Research Topic is to address the current lack of sport-specific, evidence-based knowledge regarding nutritional and supplementation strategies in hybrid sports. At present, there is limited empirical understanding of how athletes in disciplines requiring concurrent strength, power, and endurance optimize energy availability, macronutrient periodization, hydration, and micronutrient intake across training and competition phases. In addition, data describing real-world dietary practices and supplementation behaviours among hybrid sport athletes are scarce. This knowledge gap hampers the development of informed guidelines to support performance optimization, recovery, and long-term health. By bringing together high-quality experimental, observational, and applied research, this Research Topic aims to advance scientific understanding of nutrition strategies tailored to the unique physiological demands of hybrid sports. Ultimately, the collection seeks to inform evidence-based practice for athletes, coaches, sport scientists, and health professionals working within this rapidly expanding sporting domain.This Research Topic welcomes original research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and short communications focused on sports nutrition and dietary behaviours in hybrid sports. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: - Energy availability- Macronutrient distribution and periodization- Supplementation strategies- Hydration- Recovery nutrition- Nutritional practices during competition and training. Studies examining both emerging (e.g., CrossFit®, Hyrox®) and classical hybrid sports (e.g., decathlon) are encouraged. Research involving elite, sub-elite, and recreational athletes, as well as interdisciplinary approaches combining physiology, performance, and nutrition, are particularly welcome. All submissions should be grounded in rigorous methodology and contribute novel insights relevant to the optimisation of performance, recovery, and health in hybrid sport athletes. Topic editors: Eduard Isenmann, Patrick Diel Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/76108/nutrition-strategies-in-hybrid-sports