Strong, Conditioned, and Ready for Anything — How to Become a Hybrid Athlete

The Art of Manliness

Education, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2026

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For decades, fitness culture has tended to break people into two categories: you’re either a strength guy or an endurance guy. You lift heavy or run far — but not both.

But my guest today says you don't have to choose; you can excel at both modalities and be ready for anything.

Alex Viada is a coach, a physiologist, and the author of The Hybrid Athlete. He’s a powerlifter who's also completed Ironman triathlons, and he's deadlifted 700 pounds and run an ultramarathon in the same week. Even if your goals are much more modest — you'd like to, say, set some weightlifting PRs in the gym and be able to run a decent 5k — Alex's training philosophy can help you combine lifting and endurance in a smart, sustainable way that builds true all-around fitness.

In our conversation, Alex explains how to combine training for strength with distance sports like running or cycling, how to test your progress, how to recognize and avoid the two kinds of fatigue, and why becoming a hybrid athlete will help you live more adventurously — and more capably.

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Transcript

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1:29.9	Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the AOM podcast, which since 2008 has featured conversations with the world's best authors, thinkers, and leaders that glean their edifying, life-improving insights without the fluff and filler.
1:42.4	The AOM podcast is just one part of the McKay mission to help individuals practice timeless
1:46.3	virtues through thought, word, and deed.
1:49.0	Also, be sure to explore our articles in Art ofmanliness.com, read the deeper dives we do in
1:53.0	our substack newsletter at dyingbred.net and turn our content into real-world action
1:57.3	by joining the Strenuous Life program at straneuslife.com.
2:00.6	Now on to the show.
2:09.4	For decades, fitness cultures tended to break people in the two categories.
2:13.1	You're either a strength guy or an endurance guy.
2:15.5	You lift heavy or run far, but not both. But my guest day says you don't have to choose. You can excel at both modalities and be ready for anything. Alex Viata is a coach, a physiologist, and the author of The Hybrid Athlete. He's a power lifter who's also completed Iron Man Triathlons, and he's deadlifted 700 pounds and run an ultramarathon in the same week.
2:34.5	Even if your goals are much more modest, you'd like to say set some weightlifting
2:37.6	PRs in the gym and be able to run a decent 5K, Alex's training philosophy can help you combine
2:42.0	lifting and endurance in a smart, sustainable way that builds true all-around fitness.
	...

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