Debate: Strength vs Speed
- Jake Hicks
- Aug 24
- 8 min read
Before you read this leave your bias and your ego at the door. There are far greater benefits to working WITH the other side than against them. Here's my take.
I break down the old argument people have about strength versus speed and explain why it’s not a binary choice. I walk you through practical ways to think about strength, speed, and how to program both so they actually work together. Allow me to give you my take on this matter.
To watch the video version of this topic on YouTube CLICK HERE.
Outline
Define what we mean by “speed” and “strength”
The engine and transmission analogy
Rate of force development — a simple definition
How to train speed across different loads
Over‑speed training examples and misconceptions
Velocity based training: uses and misunderstandings
Practical programming: timed sets, stopwatches, and warm‑ups
Eccentric work and “sport tempo”
Track vs weight‑room thinking and how to merge them
Actionable takeaways
1. Start by specifying what you mean
People arguing “strength vs speed” are often not even talking about the same thing. When someone says “speed,” they might mean sprint speed on the track or they could be referring to moving weight faster in the weight room. When someone says “strength,” they often mean heavy barbell lifts in the weight room but some people have different definitions for strength. Me personally, I define strength more generally as force output. Before debating priorities, level set your definitions:
Speed: could mean sprinting, movement velocity in the weight room, or the ability to access high force outputs quickly.
Strength: for me, is force output — how much force you can create. Strength, or ability to express forces can be specific to the task at hand. So make sure you are talking about the same task.
2. Strength is the engine; speed is the transmission
Think of strength as the engine that sets your ceiling. Strength creates raw power. Speed — or the ability to express that force quickly — is the transmission that lets you access that ceiling.
“You don't want this big strong motor without the transmission to express it. And you don't want a fancy transmission for an engine with no power."
So you need both: build the engine (increase force capacity), and train the transmission so you can reach that capacity quickly in the context you need (jumping, sprinting, or maybe weight room specific). This is why I argue that strength is the tide that raises all boats, respectfully, not speed.
3. Rate of force development (RFD): keep it simple
RFD is the speed at which you can reach your highest output. In plain terms: how fast can you get to your peak force. Faster RFD matters for sprint starts, quick strikes off the line, and any sport action that requires near‑instant power.
Key points about RFD:
It’s about accessing high outputs quickly — not some mystical metric.
To improve it, you must practice speed with different loads: light, moderate, and heavy.
Light loads impose tight time constraints (fractions of a second to express force); heavy loads give longer time to reach peak output.
Important to understand that the time constraint is very important. Most sports operate with very fast time constraints. You must produce them quickly. Think about sprinting and jumping. On the other had, longer time constraints can help raise your peak output so you would never want to omit your heavy lifting. Good programming often reflects the time of year. You would be working more heavy lifts in the off season but as the season nears you may transition and prioritize exercises that have a demand more specific to sport. But the real key is, practice this concept of producing max force outputs with all loads as well as general exercises (such as weight room) and sport specific exercises.
4. Train the full spectrum of loads
To improve both strength and speed you must work across a spectrum. Example for jumping: What do you call a jump where your feet don't leave the ground? I call it a barbell squat. You are still driving the ground, or should be anyways, as hard as you can. The weight is what doesn't allow you to leave the ground.
Near‑max weights (e.g., 80%): develop raw strength and force capacity.
Moderate weights (e.g., 30–60%): train force production with less absolute load and faster velocities.
Bodyweight, assisted, or overspeed variations: teach the nervous system to move faster and refine timing.
Don’t get stuck training only one end. Everything from heavy singles to light, high‑speed reps has a place.
5. Over‑speed training: what it is and real examples
Over‑speed training helps your body learn what faster movement feels like so it can adapt. Examples:
Swinging something lighter than your bat to speed up bat speed. Many baseball players swing a heavy bat, then pick up a regular bat and it feel so light! Ironically, it's been shown that swinging a heavy bat first slows down the bat speed of your regular bat. Swinging a lighter bat before your regular bat has been shown to increase bat speed. That's the importance or the advantage of overspeed training. Using loads that are lighter to help your body learn to move faster. This is a major hack to understand.
Running down a slight decline to exceed your usual top speed in a controlled way.
Using a bungee or assisted pull while sprinting to let someone experience moving faster than they can alone.
Overspeed treadmills can help in this area as well, although highly controversial.
These methods don’t replace strength work — they augment the transmission so the engine’s power is usable.
6. Velocity Based Training (VBT): the right perspective
VBT is simply tracking how fast you move a load. It’s a useful metric and mindset, not a magic secret reserved for light weights. It's for all loads, I'd argue ESPECIALLY for heavy loads.
Force = mass × acceleration. If mass is constant and you increase velocity, acceleration rises and so does force output.
Velocity matters across all loads: fast warm‑up sets often predict big days and PRs with heavy singles.
If you don’t have fancy devices, you can use a stopwatch or timed sets to emphasize speed.
“You don't ever want to just train light and fast, or just train heavy and slow. You want to try to move everything fast.”
7. Practical programming: timed sets and the stopwatch method
I’ve used stopwatches as a simple and effective way to build around moving loads fast for short windows. The idea: give athletes focused, competitive time periods (5–10 seconds) to do as many quality reps as possible with moderate to light loads. Benefits:
Builds a speed mindset and competitive environment.
Teaches athletes to produce force quickly across rep schemes.
Is easy to implement with just a stopwatch — great for coaches and younger athletes.
Timed sets encourage intentional, full‑effort warm‑ups and prep sets, too. If your warm‑ups are moving faster than usual, that’s often a sign you’re primed for heavy work that day. I wrote about this in my Prep Sets article. CLICK HERE to read it.
8. Eccentrics and "sport tempo"
In sport there are almost no slow eccentrics — actions are fast in both concentric and eccentric phases. You don't get to choose. If you play football, those collisions are coming full speed. So you might want to train in an environment that focuses on speed eccentrics which I also call "Sport Tempo". Training eccentrics faster (where appropriate) is a skill and should be individualized:
Some athletes naturally tolerate and express fast eccentrics; others don’t and need more development.
Timed sets often force faster eccentrics because to complete maximal reps in a short window you must move the negative quicker.
I call this approach “sport tempo” — it mirrors the high‑speed demands athletes face in competition.
9. Track coach vs weight‑room coach: same goal, different tools
Track coaches and weight‑room coaches are often trying to accomplish the same outcome: high‑quality, specific speed and power work with short bursts and adequate recovery. Some parallels:
Track world: cut out long, slow conditioning in favor of short, high‑quality sprints and metrics.
Weight room: cut down high‑rep, endurance‑style sets and favor short, intentional sets aimed at speed and force production.
Both worlds can borrow ideas, there are too many similarities to ignore
For me personally, I like to learn the most from track coaches. They are the masters of understanding load management, recovery and force expression. Many track teams have a track coach as well as a strength coach. They work together, not against each other. They compliment each other in what they do. For example, I love the concepts that Tony Holler has created in "Feed the Cats". In the weight room, I'm trying to do the same thing. Personally, I'd call it "Feed the Farm" for the weight room. I'm taking this speed concept to all loads, especially heavy. Another reason I'm so bullish on the low rep sets.
10. Convert load focus into force focus
At some point you need to shift from "how much weight on the bar" to "how fast am I moving the load?" You max is moving the slowest. A weight you can't lift isn't moving at all. You need to learn how to move it faster.
I beginner in the weight room sees someone lift a big weight and they will say "wow that's a lot of weight. An advanced lifter sees someone lift a big weight and they will say "wow that was fast."
Some will even go as far to say strength is literally measured by speed not pounds. You might max out on deadlift at 500 pounds. It's the most you can lift. I max out at 700 pounds. 500 pounds isn't heavy at all for me. So pounds is relative. It's more accurate to look at the speed. 500 pounds for you moves really slow making it heavy. 500 pounds for me moves really easy, making it light. Here's another gem, the stronger you are, the slower you can move a max lift. Start using a VBT unit, watch the speeds of a freshman in high school's max lift vs an elite power lifters. There's a massive difference.
Actionable takeaways
Define your terms. Be explicit about what “speed” and “strength” mean in your context.
Train the engine and build the transmission congruently: build force capacity and practice accessing it quickly.
Use the full load spectrum — heavy, moderate, light, bodyweight, and assisted movements.
Include over‑speed drills where appropriate (light implements, declines, assisted sprints).
Track velocity if possible; if not, use timed sets or a stopwatch to enforce speed intent.
Make warm‑ups intentional and speedy when appropriate — they’re indicators of readiness.
Individualize eccentric training and practice “sport tempo” for athletes who need it.
Conclusion
Strength and speed aren’t opponents — they’re partners. Strength sets the ceiling; speed is the mechanism that lets you reach it. Think of a vault with a lot of money in it, speed is the access code to access the money. Get on the same page with your coaches and athletes about what you mean by each term, then design training that deliberately develops both force capacity and the ability to express it quickly. When you do, you get a more complete, practical, and sport‑applicable athlete.
Here's my one ask, speed people and strength people, instead of arguing start collaborating.
ALL of my athletic based training programs are designed with this mindset. I look at the time of year and the sport to know when I need to shift my training priorities. Shop my programs. Or don't I don't care. But I told myself I would share any and everything I could about everything I learned from training and from all the time I've put in as a coach. Schedule a free call, email me I'm always happy to chat and answer questions.
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