Utility of Aerobic Conditioning for the Strength Athlete

Interview with ACA Contributor Alex Viada, NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and USA Triathlon Coach

Alex is the founder and co-owner of Complete Human Performance, and one of the originators of the “hybrid” athlete concept- a training methodology that combines high level strength and endurance into a single program. A lifelong athlete who has participated in and competed in nearly every sport imaginable (some with greater success than others) since being dragged to his first swim meet when he was four years old, Alex holds the record for most weight deadlifted (700 pounds) within a week of running a 50 mile ultramarathon. This record is not official, but is most likely accurate as to date he’s just fairly certain nobody else has bothered to try it. He has close to 13 years of coaching experience with over 400 athletes of all ages and levels, in sports ranging from bodybuilding to ultra running to triathlon to cycling to powerlifting. He has also successfully prepared close to 50 individuals for Ranger School, SFAS, BUD/s, and other selective military programs.

A graduate of Duke University, currently on hiatus from a Masters of Physiology program at NC State University, Alex enjoys lifting squatting and deadlifting heavy things, triathlons, ultramarathons, and wishes he had more time for all of them.