In gyms, coaching circles and online forums, there’s a familiar mantra: “Get stronger to get faster.” It sounds logical enough. After all, more strength means more force, and more force should mean better acceleration, right? But if you work with athletes or clients chasing speed, you’ll know that it’s not always that straightforward. Getting stronger doesn’t automatically mean getting faster.
It’s a conversation that continues to come up, and it’s one that recent research keeps revisiting. A 2025 study on Ethiopian youth footballers looked at the effects of three training approaches: resistance training, plyometric training, and a combination of both. All three groups improved in both linear sprinting speed and repeated sprint ability over the four-week period. But when it came to sprint speed, the groups doing plyometric training or combined training outperformed the resistance-only group. And that raises a really important point about specificity.
The Role of Foundational Strength
Let’s back up a bit. Yes, strength is important. Developing foundational strength through movements like squats, lunges, and deadlifts gives athletes the capacity to produce force. For beginners or deconditioned clients, building general strength often results in better speed and power, simply because they had so little to begin with. This emphasis on building general strength is often a key focus in personal trainer courses, where the goal is to equip learners with the knowledge and skills needed to help clients establish a strong physical foundation.
But as training age increases, and the basics are covered, that transfer starts to wane. If you’re spending all your time lifting heavy but never training to move quickly, your body adapts to producing force slowly. It gets really good at grinding through reps, not necessarily springing into action.
Specificity is Key
That’s where the principle of training specificity comes in. Sprinting is explosive. It involves rapid ground contact, elastic energy storage and release, and a high rate of force development. Resistance training, especially when done at slow tempos or with heavy loads, doesn’t fully replicate these demands. It builds the engine, yes. But without the right gear changes, namely plyometric or speed-focused work, you’re not training the system to use that power quickly.
This is exactly what the study in Ethiopia highlighted. The resistance group improved, sure, but not as much as the plyometric or combined group. Plyometric exercises like jump squats, bounding, or hurdle hops tap into the stretch-shortening cycle and develop reactive strength. These are qualities that more closely resemble the neuromuscular demands of sprinting. In short, they train the body to produce force fast, not just produce force.
Strength Has Its Place
This doesn’t mean strength training is redundant. Far from it. But it does mean we need to be more strategic. Strength is a foundation. It’s what allows athletes to tolerate load, reduce injury risk, and generate the force needed for performance. This is why programming for strength is still a key pillar in any strength & conditioning coach course.
But beyond a certain point, especially with well-trained individuals, simply increasing strength won’t make them faster. To improve speed, you have to train speed.
Practical Programming Considerations
So how does this translate into practice for strength and conditioning coaches or personal trainers? Start by identifying the athlete’s level. Are they new to training? If so, a good strength programme will absolutely help. But if they’ve already built a base, it might be time to introduce more velocity-based work. Think explosive lifts, medicine ball throws, resisted sprints, and of course, plyometrics.
It’s also worth considering how training is periodised. A block of heavy lifting followed by a block of speed and plyometric work can create a nice transition from building capacity to applying it. Alternatively, combining both elements in the same phase, as seen in the combined group from the study, can be very effective when programmed well. The key is to ensure that there’s intent and structure, not just random exercise selection.
This kind of approach is exactly what quality personal trainer courses and strength & conditioning coach courses cover; how to make programming decisions based on the athlete’s needs and the performance outcome you’re chasing.
Sample Training Block: From Force to Speed
To make this practical, here’s a simple four-week training block example:
Weeks 1–2: Foundation + Force Production
- 2x per week: Heavy compound lifts (e.g. squats, trap bar deadlifts, lunges)
- 1x per week: Submaximal sprint drills (technique focus)
- Optional: Core strength and mobility
Weeks 3–4: Power + Speed Development
- 2x per week: Contrast training (e.g. squats paired with box jumps or sprints)
- 1–2x per week: Plyometric-focused session (e.g. bounding, hurdle hops, lateral jumps)
- Include resisted and unresisted sprints
This progression moves from strength-building to applying that strength explosively. For more advanced athletes, you can increase the intensity of the plyometric and sprint work while tapering the volume of heavy lifting.
The Bigger Picture
Another takeaway from the research is the importance of understanding what you’re actually trying to improve. If the goal is repeated sprint ability (RSA), strength alone might not cut it. RSA also relies on aerobic fitness for recovery between sprints. That means high-intensity interval training and aerobic development should also be in the mix. No single method does it all.
In the end, stronger doesn’t always mean faster. Strength is part of the picture, but only when it’s applied in the right way. The best coaches understand how and when to shift gears from heavy lifting to explosive movement, from force production to force application. Because speed, in sport and life, isn’t just about power. It’s about how quickly you can use it.
References
Chekle, B. (2025). The effects of plyometric and resistance training on linear sprinting speed and repeated sprinting ability of youth players in Ethiopia. SPORT TK – EuroAmerican Journal of Sport Sciences, 14, Article 16. Click here to review the full research article.
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