Unlock Your True Top Speed — Here's How

You explode out of the line. Arms swinging. legs pushing you forward.

You’re moving fast… but not fast enough. It’s that same damn feeling every time: like your body’s holding something back. You sprint harder. Push more.

You check the timer again. Still stuck. The time won’t drop.

A plateau that doesn’t make sense when you're doing everything right.

And the worst part? You know there’s more in you. You just can’t seem to unlock it.

If this feels like you, then this edition will help you unlock your true top speed. Guaranteed.

In this edition:

•  Run faster without running harder.

• Use your sprint plateau as a signal.

• This week’s focus: Improve your top-end speed by training posture and hip lock — the hidden key to real sprint performance.

— Paco Raven, Editor & Founder

You’ve got the strength. The drive. And yet, you’re still stuck below your top speed. You know and feel you’re faster. But the limit won’t break.

That ceiling you keep hitting? It’s not physical exhaustion. It’s not a lack of effort.

It’s something far more subtle: your body isn’t holding itself in the right shape when you move fast.

In sprinting, posture is performance. And when you lose control of that posture, especially around the hips, your speed leaks away, step by step.

The real problem? Your hip lock is missing…

The hips are your body’s power center. They're not just the link between the upper and lower body. They're the system that transfers energy between them.

A stable hip transfers force. An unstable one loses it. And when it comes to top speed, that loss is deadly.

Hip lock is the split-second moment in sprinting when your stance leg stays tall and strong while the swing leg lifts cleanly through.

It’s the athletic version of a passing gear when it’s dialed in; everything feels sharp and fast.

But when it’s off, your stride collapses. Your hips drop. Your timing falls apart. You keep trying to push harder, but nothing changes.

It doesn’t matter how strong your legs are without proper hip lock, you’re leaking power with every step.

Most athletes don’t even realize this is the issue. They chase top speed by lifting heavier, sprinting harder, or adding volume.

But that won’t make you faster, maybe even slower.
Because speed is a skill. The reason that the limit won’t break isn’t your willpower. It’s the way your hips lock, or better said, don’t lock.

Frans Bosch, a movement scientist from the Netherlands who helped redefine sprint training, showed how many high-speed problems trace back to hip lock.

Hip lock isn’t a buzzword. It’s a hidden limiter. And most athletes are ignoring it.

The good news? It’s trainable.

Hip lock exercises can be slotted into warm-ups, strength blocks, or field work.

Over time, your body learns to organize itself better at high speed. You stop muscling every sprint and start moving like a sprinter.

Whether you’re driving into a breakaway in football, taking off on a serve in tennis, or sprinting a 100m final.

Real top-end speed doesn’t come from effort alone. It comes from posture. And the hips are the anchor point.

When hip lock is dialed in, everything changes. Your stride looks smoother. You feel more explosive.
And that invisible speed limit?

It finally breaks.

You don’t need more reps.
You need better organization.

The truth is, you’re not unlocking top speed because your body isn’t organizing itself the right way, especially around the hips.

And until you fix that pattern, your effort won’t translate into faster times.

That’s why this week is all about rebuilding your hip lock.

We’re not chasing exhaustion or intensity. We’re training control.

The kind that keeps your hips tall, stable, and active when you sprint at max speed.

Here’s one drill we’ll start with:

Wall Knee Drives
Stand tall, both hands pressing against a wall or fence before you.

One leg is planted and locked out, while the other drives forward — knee up, toes up.

Hold that position. Reset. Repeat.
It’s simple, but don’t mistake it for easy. This drill forces you to stabilize through the stance leg while lifting and aligning the swing leg.

Exactly what hip lock demands at top speed.

Where does this fit?

• Use it before training as part of your dynamic warm-up

• Add it to your gym sessions as a coordination primer before heavy lower-body lifts or stand-alone exercise.

Don’t treat it like an accessory. Treat it like foundation work. Because when your body learns to fire in the right sequence, you don’t just move better — you move faster.

And that invisible speed ceiling?
We’re about to break it.

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Thank you for reading.

Next Monday, we will be back with a new Q&A edition.

And if you missed last Monday's Q&A on how to improve your vertical jump, Read it here.

Until next week,
Paco Raven, Editor & Founder
The Stoiclete

DISCLAIMER: None of the content provided in this newsletter constitutes medical, training, or performance advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not intended to be a substitute for professional guidance or personalized coaching. Please be mindful of your limitations and perform exercises at your own risk.