Strength & Speed Workouts

According to Gray Cook, founder of Functional Movement Systems in Danville, Virginia, strength is your ability to produce force while speed is how quickly you produce force. Adding speed to strength is called power, an essential factor in many sports, such as soccer, golf and martial arts. You can train to improve both strength and speed together.

Jump Rope Strength Circuit

According to Cook, jumping rope not only improves your stamina and speed, but also your rhythm and posture. This circuit training method combines traditional strength training with jumping rope, challenging your ability to change skills and sustain endurance. Pick five or six strength exercises to do that train different movement patterns, such as pushing, pulling, rotating, lunging or pressing up. After you do one strength exercise, do a jump-rope exercise for 30 seconds. Start with one jump per second, and progress to two jumps once you get a steady rhythm.
There are several variations you can do for jumping rope. You can jump with your feet together, with one leg up, or with one foot in front of the other. You can also jump side to side and back and forth.

Plyometrics

Plyometric training is doing high-intensity movements repetitively as fast as you can, according to Juan Carlos Santana, director of the Institute of Human Performance in Boca Raton, Florida. This increases how quickly you move and respond to your environment, such as running and catching a ball, or punching and moving away from your opponent's strikes and kicks. To do this level of training, you must have a strong foundation of strength, stability and mobility to prevent injuries.
A sample plyometric exercise is the box jump and depth jump combo. Use a step or a sturdy platform that is as high as your knees. Jump onto the step and immediately jump down to the front, using the momentum from the first jump to land. When you land, keep your spine in neutral position with your knees and hips bent. Your knees and toes should be pointing forward when you land.
Once you are familiar with the form, use another step or platform to do two consecutive box and depth jumps. Do them quickly without pausing during the jumps like a kangaroo.

Elastic Equivalent Training

To increase your strength and speed, Vern Gambetta, director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems in Sarasota, Florida, recommends doing one strength exercise followed by a power exercise that trains a similar movement to the strength exercise. This is called elastic equivalent training (EET), which builds proper firing of muscles in movement, and strengthens your joints and muscles to prevent injuries during power training.
For example, you can do a dumbbell squat press followed by a kettlebell clean and press, or you can do a push-up followed by a medicine ball chest pass.