Speed: What Actually Makes Someone Faster

Speed is produced by several underlying adaptations, and each requires a different type of stimulus.

Coordination is one of the most specific. To improve the coordination of a fast movement, that movement has to be practiced quickly. Slow practice does not fully develop the motor program required at maximal velocity. This is why sprinting, jumping, throwing, or other high-speed tasks need to be performed at or near the speed the athlete is trying to improve.

The quality of each repetition matters. Once fatigue causes the athlete to slow down, the training stimulus changes. High-velocity work therefore does not need to follow traditional high-volume set-and-rep structures. A small number of maximal-quality repetitions may be more useful than continuing after velocity has fallen.

Motor-unit recruitment is different because it is primarily muscle-specific rather than movement-specific. Heavy strength training and brief maximal isometrics can improve recruitment and contribute to faster performance even though those exercises are not performed at maximal velocity.

Other adaptations, however, require actual fast movement. Increased motor-unit firing rates and increased muscle-fiber shortening velocity do not appear to develop from heavy strength training alone. They require genuinely high movement speeds. Maximal intent with a slowly moving heavy load is therefore not a substitute for fast training.

Strength work can also interfere with speed when poorly managed. Excessive fatigue can promote shifts toward slower muscle-fiber characteristics, and unnecessary hypertrophy can add mass that the athlete then has to accelerate and decelerate. This is especially relevant when muscle is added distally rather than around the hips.

Actionable takeaway: Train speed through three main targets: practice the actual fast movement for coordination, use heavy work or brief isometrics to improve transferable recruitment, and include genuinely maximal-velocity work to improve firing rate and shortening velocity. Stop the work when speed begins to fall.