In an article reported in the FITNESS and SPORTS REVIEW INTERNATIONAL, Russian researchers found that the maximum speed reproducible in a specific exercise depends upon many factors. Two of the most important are: 1) The athlete’s level of physical development and 2) The degree of his technical mastery.
When an athlete is given an assignment to execute a movement at maximum speed, the movement should have the same biomechanical structure as in the competitive event. This is related to exercise specificity, also known as dynamic correspondence exercises.
In essence, to improve speed of movement as much as possible, the training exercise must be specific to the actual movement to be performed. The athlete must have the skill mastered well enough so that he can focus his attention on speed and not on the technique of executing the movement
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In addition, the athlete must have enough strength to perform the movement at maximum speed from start to finish in a running type exercise. If it is a single joint movement, then the speed is concentrated on the initiation of the movement followed by relaxation after achieving maximum speed. Momentum then takes over.
For more information read Build a Better Athlete, Explosive Running, Explosive Plyometrics and Fitness and Sports Review International