If you get Stronger, then you’ll be faster

   If athletes want to get faster then they must focus on intensity. Trying harder, getting stronger, and getting more powerful than they are now is going to determine whether or not they get faster.  

   This is a fact I believe most coaches, parents and athletes just don’t understand. Athletes can run with perfect form, perform agility drills, etc. “” but if they have no horsepower, they have no speed. Becoming stronger and more powerful will make all their speed and running skills easier to learn and perform well. 

   If an athlete get stronger and more powerful in the weight room, they he or she have an easier time maintaining optimal acceleration angels and balance, but only through building strength and power. 

   The skills necessary for optimizing speed such as arm drive; front side/back side mechanics, posture, core strength and multi-directional control, will all improve with more strength and power. It really is intensity that drives athletes to greater strength and power. Intensity can also improve technique due to increases in the stability of joints and greater muscle recruitment throughout the body for muscles which produce and resist force. The higher degree of voluntary tension throughout the muscles of the body also reduces the types of joint stress which can often lead to a higher injury potential. This means more time playing and less time injured.

   Maximizing one’s strength and intensity will always result the highest output of power and athletic ability. It’s simple; if athletes want to maximize their power and explosiveness, then they have to be able to generate the highest amount of strength in the shortest period of time. This simply is the definition of speed: How fast an athletes can produce force (strength). 

   The bottom line is that stronger and more powerful athletes will always dominate on the field and court of play. This is one of the most important reasons for investing time in the weight room during the season and throughout the offseason. The result is an athlete who will simply be faster, more athletic “” and most importantly “” more resistant to injury.