Speed-strength vs strength-speed is a tough concept to grasp for many coaches. There’s not really any debate as to which is which, but if you ask the average coach what these terms mean, you’re gonna get a puzzled look as they try to reach into the back of their brain (where they keep their undergraduate education memories) to try to explain it.

Some coaches understand this concept, but many either get them backward or don’t know what they mean at all. I’ve always been of the understanding that words matter, so I think we should do our best to understand these concepts.

I’ve yet to find an article that really breaks down these two terms well, so I thought I would take the time to lay out the easiest and best way to understand strength-speed and speed-strength. A while back I wrote an article about The Dynamic Effort Method (and 3 others), and did a podcast episode that touched on these two and why they matter when it comes to the dynamic effort method.

What is Strength-Speed?

In its most simple terms: strength-speed means to display strength in the presence of speed. Now, when you read that it sounds like it means being so fast that you create strength/force. Hell, that’s what I thought it meant for an incredibly long time and there are many many coaches out there that still believe this. Strength-speed actually means the opposite and I’m going to explain that.

Strength-speed is being able to create a lot of force in a short amount of time. It’s being able to create the greatest impulse in the shortest amount of time. This quick force production is so high and happens so quickly that it creates speed. Strength-speed is having speed as a byproduct of strength or force production.

When training for strength-speed, it’s thought that bar speeds should be between 0.75-1.0m/s2 (meters per second squared). Anything slower than that and we’re entering more into strength training territory while anything faster is more speed-strength/explosive speed training.

Strength-speed is the offensive lineman getting off the line quickly to block. Not because he’s fast but because he can recruit maximal muscle fibers incredibly quickly.

What is Speed-Strength?

In its most simple terms: speed-strength means to display speed in the presence of strength. Again much like strength-speed this sounds like the opposite of what it actually is. It sounds like it means to be so strong that you’re able to produce speed. In reality, speed-strength is being so fast that you’re able to produce large amounts of force.

Speed-strength is being able to produce such great speed, that you create more force. It’s being able to create or accept forces at a rapid rate. You can think of speed-strength as speed creating force.

Speed-strength intensities are thought to be between 1.0-1.3m/s2. This is slightly faster than our strength-speed intensities so the loads are going to be lighter.

A great example to help you understand speed-strength is to think of the pine needle that goes through a telephone pole during a category 5 hurricane. The pine needle does not create much force on its own, however, the 150mph winds can send the frail needle through a solid wood telephone pole because of the great speed it is traveling at.

Why is Strength-Speed vs Speed-Strength Important?

Everything is important when we’re programming and training. Understanding physical preparation for the field of play involves understanding the adaptations your athletes need, and what they’re already capable of so you can create a program to get them where they need to be.

In addition to knowing what will help your athlete excel on the field of play, knowing how to tackle these adaptations is paramount to programming with any level of success.

If you’re working with an athletic population, you need to understand that MOST of your athletes will be well-versed on the speed-strength side of things, but lack the prerequisite levels of absolute strength to have much strength-speed. This is an important distinction because it means that things like the dynamic effort method, some Oly lifts, etc won’t necessarily have the desired increases in strength that you may be looking for. It also means that your percentages will need to change when compared to a traditional Westside-influenced template.

In addition to the above-stated reasons, when you can explain it properly, you sound really smart! This is always a huge bonus when talking to athletes, coaches, or parents who think your education consists of a weekend course so they can understand that you know what you’re talking about.

The Important Differences

Before we get going here I think it’s important to understand that not everyone is going to have the same training stimulus from the same intensities. It’s my belief (and experience) that those with higher levels of absolute strength are going to benefit from strength-speed work in a way that those with lower levels of absolute strength won’t. This is important because many coaches and athletes waste a lot of time working at strength-speed intensities in an effort to get stronger, and that’s an exercise in futility.

You have to have a good amount of absolute strength already in order to get stronger from strength-speed work. This is one of the reasons the dynamic effort method doesn’t work for most of your athletes when it comes to strength. This method and these intensities still have a lot of benefits from speed, to technique, to added volume, but if you’re banking on the dynamic effort method having much of a positive effect on your strength when you’re not already “strong” you’re mostly wasting your time.

Don’t misunderstand this as an indictment of the method, I still use it with my athletes. I just understand that its impact on strength is almost less than minimal for the majority of them.

Wrapping It All Up

This was a short one but there isn’t a ton of information here, just a little bit of important information. Remember the differences between speed-strength and strength-speed:

• Speed-strength is the ability to display speed in the presence of strength. Speed-strength is like being so strong that you’re fast.

• Strength-speed is the ability to display strength in the presence of speed. Strength-speed is like being so fast that you create more force.