It’s been a couple years since its inception as a fitness phenomenon. By now, “hybrid training” (and its branded fitness competition Hyrox) has sufficiently filtered its way into the cultural lexicon. Fitness clubs everywhere have affiliated themselves with Hyrox-style classes and your Instagram feed is saturated with shirtless jacked guys running, pushing sleds, and throwing wall-balls. As many have been quick to point out, there’s a lot of whiplash and sarcasm which semi-justifiably sees this as a cross-fit rebrand. So what’s the hype about?

What’s most important to a runner? It’s not split times, it’s not heart rate, it’s not weekly totals. The single most important thing for a runner is being able to hit the road and run, pain-free, whenever you want. It’s the simple ability to step outside or hit the treadmill and get in your workout, without worrying about when your knee is going to start hurting or at what kilometre that achilles is going to flare-up. It supports all the performance goals you're chasing. Strength training is a runner’s armour.