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The purpose of this study was to quantify and rank the sensitivity of maximum sprinting speed to changes in the strengths of individual leg muscles.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A full-body musculoskeletal model was combined with dynamic optimization theory to predict the effects of muscle strengthening on maximum sprinting speed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Maximum sprinting speed was most sensitive to a change in hip muscle strength: a 10% increase in hip strength increased maximum sprinting speed by 2.59% compared with 1.02% and 0.33% for the same change in ankle and knee strength, respectively. A 10% increase in hip strength increased step frequency by 2.24% and step length by just 0.4%. When muscles were grouped according to their anatomical function (e.g., flexors vs extensors), maximum sprinting speed was most sensitive to changes in hip-flexor strength: a 10% increase in hip-flexor strength increased maximum sprinting speed by 1.40% compared with 1.12% and 0.77% for the hip adductors and ankle plantarflexors, respectively. When individual muscles were strengthened in isolation, maximum sprinting speed was most sensitive to a change in iliopsoas strength: a 10% increase in iliopsoas strength increased maximum sprinting speed by 1.07% compared with 0.54, 0.44, 0.44 and 0.36% for adductor longus, adductor magnus, soleus, and gluteus maximus, respectively. Maximum sprinting speed was relatively insensitive (&lt;1%) to changes in vasti and hamstring strength. Running speed was maximized by prioritizing step frequency over step length.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Strength training programs designed to maximize sprinting speed should focus on the hip flexors (iliopsoas) and hip adductors (adductor longus\/magnus). Strengthening vasti, gluteus maximus, and hamstring will improve sprinting speed only marginally.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s10439-026-04184-9","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T14:36:25Z","timestamp":1779806185000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Running Speed is Maximized by Strengthening the Hip Flexors and Hip Adductors"],"prefix":"10.1007","author":[{"given":"Kaiwen","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yi-Chung","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9234-1782","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marcus G.","family":"Pandy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]]},"reference":[{"issue":"6","key":"4184_CR1","first-page":"376","volume":"13","author":"A Mero","year":"1992","unstructured":"Mero, A., P. 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