By Stephen Portee, MS, CSCS
Speed is not just about running more sprints.
At Apollo, we break speed development down into three pillars — strength, neural coordination, and skill development. When these come together and are trained in the right order, athletes at every level can build real, lasting speed. This builds directly on the ideas we cover in Speed and Power Training for Active Adults, but here I want to walk through exactly how I structure that training for an individual athlete.
Before building a program, I identify what is limiting speed in the first place. There are three common culprits:
Strength. If an athlete is not strong enough, they cannot push off the ground with enough force to move quickly. Speed is fundamentally built on the ability to generate force, and research on resistance training shows a strong, direct relationship between increases in lower-body strength and improvements in sprint performance.[1] Without the strength foundation, no amount of sprint work will produce the results athletes are chasing.
Neural coordination. This is about timing — the ability to apply strength at precisely the right moment. An athlete can be strong but still slow if their nervous system is not efficiently sequencing muscle activation. In my experience, athletes with poor neural coordination tend to spend too much time on the ground between strides or struggle to change direction cleanly.
Skill development. Finally, athletes need to learn how to position their bodies correctly to utilize their strength and timing effectively. This is technique and body awareness — the most advanced and time-consuming layer of speed development.
We use tools like force plates, timed sprints, and video analysis to assess athletes before designing a program. From there, training is targeted to the area of greatest need.
Building strength: This comes first. Weighted sled pushes, resistance training, and foundational strength work allow athletes to produce more force with each step. Simply getting stronger almost always produces noticeable improvements in speed — this is one of the more consistent findings in the sprint-training literature.[1]
Improving neural coordination: Once strength is developing, we add plyometric drills — jumps, hops, bounds — and controlled sprint work. These exercises teach athletes to use their new strength quickly and explosively, bridging the gap between the weight room and the track.
Developing skill: This is where sprint mechanics and technical refinement come in. For younger athletes, we keep drills simple and allow natural movement to emerge — forcing perfect technique too early interferes with athletic development. As athletes mature and gain body control, we refine their mechanics and position them optimally to maximize speed output.
We do not begin with complex drills. We build from the ground up — strength first, neural coordination second, skill last. This ensures long-term development and keeps athletes healthy throughout the process.
Becoming faster is a process. With the right plan, appropriate patience, and consistent execution, anyone — from a youth athlete to an active adult who wants to move better — can improve their speed.
Stephen Portee, MS, CSCS is the Managing Partner and lead strength and conditioning coach at Apollo Performance Chiropractic & Training in Pleasantville, NY.
