What I read: Strength and endurance may not be enemies after all, Globe and Mail, by Alex Hutchinson, October 14, 2025
Here’s the study being reported on: Ferguson C, Furrer R, Murach KA, Hepple RT, Rossiter HB. Power and Endurance: Polar Opposites or Willing Partners? Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2025 Nov 1;57(11):2480-2495.
The academic research article about the study is open access, and you can read it here.
Why it’s in the news: The incredible popularity of Hyrox competitions. From the Globe, “More than half a million people around the world will take part in a Hyrox competition this year, alternating eight kilometres of running with eight workout stations, including sled pulls, sandbag lunges and medicine ball tosses.”
Sarah and I have been doing Hyrox-style workouts at the gym with our personal trainer Cody, who is one of the many people training for Hyrox competitions. I love sled pulls, sandbag lunges, rowing, ski erg, and wall balls. (We’re also skipping burpees!)
What’s the upshot: Again from the Globe, “A growing body of evidence suggests that strength training can enhance endurance in two key ways. One is that it increases efficiency, enabling you to burn less energy while running or cycling at a given pace. The other is that it enhances physiological durability, keeping your muscles functioning well even as you fatigue. Those are the primary reasons top long-distance runners typically incorporate a few weekly weightlifting or plyometric sessions into their training routines. They’re seeking better endurance, not bigger muscles. The picture is a little more complicated when it comes to the effects of endurance training on muscular strength and power. For the average person, there’s no negative effect on muscle-building, but for trained athletes there may be a slight negative result.”
The fact of the matter is most of us aren’t athletes specializing in endurance or strength. We’re everyday athletes who want to be able to hike all day with a pack, or paddle and then portage a canoe. Or we’re everyday people who just want to carry groceries home from the store. We want to lift small children when they want to stop walking. For most of us, strength and endurance both matter, and they work together.
Sam doing weighted lunges at the gym
