Rethinking the “Glute Problem” in Sprint Acceleration

Have you ever had this happen?

You work really well with an athlete in the gym.
Strength improves, loads go up, exercises look solid.
Numbers are better, the athlete feels stronger.

Then you go back to the track…
and in the first few steps, almost nothing changes.

Acceleration is still slow, ground contact times remain high, and sooner or later some hamstring tightness starts to appear.
And the obvious thought comes up:

How is this possible? They are clearly stronger.

This scenario is far more common than we like to admit.

And it’s usually at this point that a very natural reflex kicks in:
Maybe they’re still not strong enough.

So we add more load.
More glute work.
More strength.

But what if this is the wrong question?

Is it really a strength problem?

In early acceleration (especially in the first 5–10 meters), performance is rarely limited by force production alone.
Much more often, what actually limits the athlete is: