# Conclusion

In this course you’ve investigated speed and power in relation to sport and fitness. The key learning points from the course are that:

- speed and power are key components of fitness in a range of sports and activities
- in simple terms, speed relates to how quickly we move, while power is a combination of strength and speed
- in order to design effective training programmes, you need to understand the mechanics and physiology of speed and power
- speed training methods include speed resistance methods (as with sled-pulling) and speed assistance methods (as with downhill running)
- power training methods include plyometrics and Olympic lifts.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course E236 Applying sport and exercise sciences to coaching.

You might interested in another OpenLearn course taken from this Open University course: Training for endurance in sport and fitness.

OpenLearn - Training for speed and power in sport and fitness
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