Want to Get Faster? Train Your Body to Produce Force Fast

Speed is really a force problem

Speed training asks your body to do something we gradually stop doing as we get older: move explosively. We walk, we jog, we lift weights and we cycle, but we very rarely ask our body to accelerate quickly, jump, sprint, or produce a large amount of force in a very short period of time.

For most adults this kind of movement becomes increasingly uncommon, and that is a shame — because speed is not simply something you are born with. Genetics certainly play a role, but speed is also a physical quality that can be trained, provided we understand what actually makes someone fast.

When you watch a good sprinter, everything seems effortless. Their feet appear to barely touch the ground before they are flying forward again. But underneath that smooth movement, something far more violent is happening, because the runner is repeatedly applying large forces to the ground in incredibly short periods of time.

Newton gave us the basic principle centuries ago: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When you push against the ground, the ground pushes back against you. The important question is not simply how strong you are, but how much useful force you can apply in the right direction during the tiny amount of time your foot is actually in contact with the ground.

Classic sprint research has shown that faster runners are not necessarily moving their legs through the air dramatically faster than everyone else. Instead, one of the major differences is their ability to apply greater forces to the ground during very short ground-contact periods (Weyand et al., 2000). If you want to become faster, you need to become better at producing a lot of force very quickly.

Being strong and being explosive are not the same thing

Imagine two people who can both squat 100 kg. If you give them five seconds to produce maximum force, they might look reasonably similar. However, if you ask them to produce that force in a fraction of a second, the difference between them can become enormous.

One person may be able to access a large amount of their available force almost immediately, while the other takes longer to build up to it. This ability is related to what exercise scientists call rate of force development, which describes how quickly force can be produced (Aagaard et al., 2002).

This matters in sport because you rarely have unlimited time to produce force. When sprinting, jumping, or rapidly changing direction, everything happens quickly, and by the time you have slowly worked your way up to maximum force, the opportunity has already disappeared. While maximum strength is still important, particularly for acceleration, speed requires you to express that strength quickly.

Strength + speed = power

In exercise science, muscular power is the rate at which work is performed, and reflects the combination of force and velocity (Cormie et al., 2011). In simple terms, it asks whether you can produce force while moving quickly.

A heavy squat can develop enormous force, but the bar moves relatively slowly. A jump uses less external resistance, but you move very quickly. A sprint requires you to produce large forces at very high speed.

This is why a good speed program should not consist entirely of heavy strength training or entirely of jumping exercises. Instead, it should develop different parts of the force–velocity spectrum (Suchomel et al., 2016):

• Heavy strength work develops your ability to produce force
• Explosive resistance exercises teach you to produce force faster
• Plyometrics develop the ability to rapidly absorb and reproduce force
• Sprinting provides the most specific practice of all: actually running fast

The sprinter versus the marathon runner

If you place an elite 100-metre sprinter next to an elite marathon runner, it is immediately obvious that they are adapted for very different demands. Sprinters tend to carry considerably more muscle, particularly through the hips and legs, while marathon runners are generally much lighter and are optimised for running economy and sustaining submaximal force for long periods.

However, we need to be careful with the conclusion we draw from this. The sprinter is not faster simply because they have bigger muscles. If muscle size alone determined speed, bodybuilders would dominate the Olympic 100 metres, and they do not.

More muscle can increase the potential to produce force, but that force still needs to be coordinated and expressed rapidly through the specific movement. Sprinting depends on neural drive, intermuscular coordination, tendon behaviour, technique, stiffness, strength relative to body mass, and the ability to apply force in the correct direction (Morin et al., 2011).

Functional bodybuilding for speed

This is why I like to think of speed training as a form of functional bodybuilding. You are developing muscle and strength, but you are also teaching that muscle to do something useful.

Instead of asking how much force your muscles can produce, you begin to ask how quickly they can produce it, and whether they can produce it in a way that actually makes you faster.

This distinction is important, because while traditional resistance training can improve sprint performance — especially in less trained individuals — there eventually comes a point where simply adding more weight to the squat does not continue to improve sprint speed (Seitz et al., 2014). At that stage, you need to practise expressing strength at speed.

Enter plyometrics

Plyometric training becomes particularly useful here, although the term is often used too loosely. Not every exercise that involves jumping or fast movement is true plyometric training.

Proper plyometrics make use of the stretch–shortening cycle, where muscles and tendons rapidly absorb force before immediately reversing direction to produce force (Markovic & Mikulic, 2010).

Think of a jump: you dip down quickly, absorb force, and then explode upwards. That rapid transition is what makes plyometrics valuable for athletes. Examples include countermovement jumps, bounds, hops, drop jumps and hurdle jumps.

Research supports their use. A meta-analysis of 26 studies found that plyometric training improves sprint performance, particularly when it includes horizontal displacement and sprint-specific movements (de Villarreal et al., 2012). This makes sense — if your goal is to move quickly across the ground, you should practise producing force in a similar direction.

Not all “explosive” exercises are equal

It is important to be honest about what certain exercises actually do. Movements like burpees, star jumps, skipping and mountain climbers can all be useful, but they are not automatically effective speed-development tools simply because they involve movement or jumping.

If your goal is conditioning, burpees can be excellent. If your goal is coordination and rhythm, skipping can be useful. However, if your goal is maximum sprint speed, you need exercises that prioritise high-quality, explosive force production.

Fatigue becomes a major issue here. Twenty-five exhausted jump squats at the end of a circuit may create a burning sensation, but by the later repetitions you are no longer producing meaningful power.

Quality beats exhaustion

This is one of the biggest differences between speed training and general fitness training. In conditioning, fatigue is often part of the goal. In speed training, fatigue is usually the enemy.

If you are practising sprinting, you need to be fresh enough to actually run fast. If you are performing jumps, each repetition should be powerful. If you are doing bounds, you need stiffness, control and force production. Once performance drops, you are no longer training speed; you are simply accumulating fatigue.

This is why speed sessions often look deceptively easy. You sprint, then rest. You jump, then rest. You repeat this pattern with long recovery periods. To an outside observer it may not look like much is happening, but the entire structure is designed to allow repeated high-quality efforts. The rest periods are not wasted time — they are essential for restoring the nervous system and muscular system so that true speed and power can be expressed again (Haff & Nimphius, 2012).

If you want to run fast, you need to run fast

This sounds obvious, but it is often overlooked. You cannot fully replace sprinting with gym-based exercises. Squats can make you stronger, jump training can make you more explosive, and sled work can improve horizontal force production — but at some point you must practise sprinting if you want to become a faster runner.

Sprint performance is highly specific. Acceleration, upright mechanics, foot placement, posture, arm action and timing all require practice.

What about agility ladders?

Agility ladders can be useful tools. They are fun, they work well in warm-ups, and they can improve coordination, rhythm and foot control. However, it is important to understand their limitations.

Moving quickly through a ladder is not the same as improving maximum running speed. The forces, mechanics and demands are different. Ladders can be a useful supplement, but they should not be mistaken for a primary method of developing sprint speed.

Strength still matters enormously

Despite the focus on speed, strength training remains essential. Maximum strength provides the foundation for force production, and research shows that combining heavy resistance training with explosive work can improve jumping, strength and sprint performance (Rhea et al., 2009).

However, the mechanism is more complex than the old idea that heavy lifting simply “activates” all muscle fibres before jumping. Modern research refers to this as post-activation performance enhancement, and its effects depend on many factors, including training status, load, recovery time and the specific task (Blazevich & Babault, 2019).

Importantly, recent evidence suggests that while it can improve jumping performance, its effects on sprint performance are less consistent (Wilson et al., 2013). Simply pairing heavy squats with immediate jumps is not a guaranteed method for improving speed.

Rest might be more important than you think

One of the most overlooked aspects of speed training is recovery between efforts. If you perform a heavy squat and immediately attempt a maximal jump, fatigue may actually reduce performance. Research suggests that short rest periods can impair output, while longer recovery windows of several minutes produce better results (Tillin & Bishop, 2009).

The key idea is that the process is not “lift heavy, then immediately explode,” but rather stimulate, recover, then perform.

Sleds deserve a special mention

Sled training is one of the most practical tools for developing acceleration, because it directly overloads horizontal force production. Resisted sprinting allows you to practise pushing against the ground with greater force while maintaining sprint mechanics.

Research supports its effectiveness for improving sprint performance, jumping ability and change of direction (Petrakos et al., 2016). However, load must be appropriate. If the sled is too heavy, the movement becomes slow strength work rather than speed development.

A better way to start

For those new to explosive training, it is best to begin with simple, controlled progressions. A session might start with a warm-up followed by short accelerations at moderate intensity, gradually increasing speed over time. This can then be followed by a small amount of high-quality plyometric work such as jumps or bounds, before moving into strength training.

The key is progression. The body needs time to adapt to explosive forces, especially if sprinting and jumping have not been part of regular training for years.

My four favourite ways to develop speed and power

Short acceleration sprints over 10 to 20 metres are one of the most effective ways to develop acceleration, provided they are performed with full recovery and high intent.

Broad jumps and bounds are also valuable, because they develop horizontal force production, which is directly relevant to sprinting.

Resisted sled pushes or pulls allow you to overload acceleration mechanics — but the load must be appropriate so that movement quality is maintained.

Lightly loaded explosive movements such as kettlebell swings or loaded jumps can help bridge the gap between strength and speed, provided they remain fast and controlled.

Where do squats fit?

Squats and other lower-body strength exercises remain a core part of any speed program, because they build the force-producing capacity that underpins sprinting and jumping. However, they should not be automatically paired with jump squats under the assumption that this enhances muscle fibre recruitment.

Instead, training should be organised around clear goals. If the goal is strength, train strength. If the goal is power, use appropriate loads and move them explosively. If the goal is contrast training, ensure recovery is sufficient to maintain performance quality.

Speed matters more as we age, not less

Speed training is not only relevant for athletes. While older adults do not need to perform maximal sprints, the ability to produce force quickly becomes increasingly important for everyday life. Recovering your balance, catching yourself from a stumble, crossing a road quickly, or standing up from a chair all require rapid force production.

Strength provides the capacity for force. Power determines how quickly that force can be accessed.

So, do you want to become faster?

The process begins with building strength, but it does not end there. You also need to sprint, jump and move explosively so that your body learns to express that strength quickly. The key is to choose exercises that match the physical quality you are trying to develop, and to allow enough recovery to maintain performance.

Speed is built through a combination of strength, power, technique, coordination and specific practice. When these elements come together, the result is not just a stronger body, but a body that can express that strength when it matters most.

Plus you won’t be the first to go in a zombie apocalypse.