Though many people seem to forget this, functional fitness is about more than looking good at the beach. It’s also important to train your body to move in the way you tell it to, especially if training for a sport. Refusing to do so and instead focusing only on strength and aerobic performance is likely to lead to injury, not to mention make it more difficult to actually kick a ball, turn a corner or jump over a log someone carelessly left lying across a running trail.

This is what this training kit is all about: improving your footwork, coordination and dynamic balance. The items included are perfect for laying out your own little obstacle course that can provide you with a variable and surprisingly intense workout, making it perfect for people who prefer to do their sweating outdoors rather than in a gym.

The low hurdles are useful in the sense that their height can be adjusted quickly and easily. Unfortunately, they’re not sturdy or stable enough for use as parallettes.

The star of the show is the resistance parachute. Attached to your waist, this makes it harder to run the faster you go, thereby strengthening exactly those muscles used for sprinting. Like ankle and wrist weights, this assists with developing high-strength, “fast twitch” muscle fibers in conjunction with longer-lasting endurance muscle – surprisingly, even long-distance runners can benefit from this.

This is definitely a specialty item intended to help you achieve specific training outcomes rather than something a person who’s just exercising for fun and health would buy. You might remember some of the items from sports drills you did as a kid, and the user manual does give some suggestions on how to use them, but for the most part you’ll have to figure out your own routine.