You've probably noticed some of us are more genetically inclined to run fast than others.

We often see this as a rigid barrier, a hand fate has dealt us.

But if we look deeper, at the underling factors that make up speed, we can clearly see that almost all of them can be improved.

Being fast requires driving lots of force into the ground relative to your body weight.

This means getting stronger, getting leaner, or both, will increase your sprinting power.

And increased sprint power leads to longer strides, making you faster.

Utilizing plyometric exercises improves your elasticity, or bounce off the ground.

This means you'll spend less time on the ground, accumulating more strides per second.

That'll also improve your sprint times.

And there's lots of other ways to get faster, too.

Cleaning up technique inefficiencies improves your stride rate.

Unlocking tightness in your hips can increase your stride length.

Developing better coordination, especially during the key 8 to 12 year old window, helps both your stride rate AND length.

The reality is everyone has a bunch of different ways they can get faster.

So why, if there's so many ways to improve, do very few athletes ever break past their seeming genetic speed limit?

Because the thing they need most is almost always the thing they hate doing.

Bouncy athletes hate lifting, but it's often the key to them gaining even more speed than they already have.

Conversely, strong athletes avoid speed and plyometric work except in minimal doses that don't move the needle.

Highly fit athletes too often avoid both, preferring to stick to their superior conditioning over any attempt to build speed.

All are missing out on golden opportunities.

Ones that could take their game to a whole new level.

Because the truth is EVERYONE can raise their speed limit.

To do so, though, each individual must train their specific weak links.

Those needs can vary significantly from one kid to the next, so I can't give you one simple answer for how to map it out.

But I can tell you that, for most of us, the thing you're avoiding is most likely what will unlock your ultimate potential.

The answer to raising your genetic speed limit is to attack your weakest link, persistently over time, until you turn it from a liability into a strength.