One can improve their speed but as a general rule if you are not born with the right stuff...you cant get it!!!!
I personally think that we subscribe to the genetic theory of abilities a bit too much. On noes, I’m not built like a runner due to my genes, so I may as well sit on the coouch, eat doritos, etc.
There is a woman who helps run an outfit called Nerd Fitness. A professional advised her that she wasn’t “designed” or “built” for weightlifting. Today, she can deadlift over 420 pounds, and she weighs less than 140.
“One can improve their speed but as a general rule if you are not born with the right stuff...you cant get it!!!!”
I agree. There’s definitely a genetic component. I was a sprinter, so more fast twitch muscle. I run distances to stay healthy, but it really takes a lot out of me, and I’m definitely not a fast distance runner. When I was younger I could do a 5 minute mile, but that’s more like a sprint to some extent, and doing that for more than 1 mile wasn’t going to happen. Now I can do a 5 minute mile in my car.
If you’ve ever watched elite runners at a marathon, they’re a different species than most of the rest of us.