The Art of Speed

Speed is measured, studied, and relentlessly pursued. It’s the edge athletes chase and the difference between good and great. Our Performance Trainers break down the science of speed—revealing what it really takes to run faster, throw harder, and swing quicker. When you understand speed, every aspect of performance accelerates.

By Tony Abbatine

Phew… The sound one makes when they see speed—real speed. The sound you hear when something goes fast. The sound of exhaustion you make after you have worked on speed. Phew.

Ed Lovelace is in the speed business. He is a Phewsioneer and has worked with college and MLB players for years who are searching for the next gear on the speed meter.

His company, Phewsioneering, does one thing: it shares the formula of high-speed running and what it takes to be Phew fast. Improving running speed, throwing speed, and bat speed are all by-products of the Phew training model.

His clients are plentiful—Andrew Velazquez, Dillion Tate, Termarr Johnson, and Jason Gonzalez, to name just a few. My two children, Micaela and Anthony, went from fast to Phew fast under his watch.

I had a chance to slow Ed down for an afternoon to ask the question all athletes want to know—how do I go faster? Here are his answers.

Where Does Elite Speed Come From?

Olympic sprinting is elite and sets the bar for human movement on earth. The men’s 100-meter world record is 9.58 seconds.

That number represents the person who can operate at a full range of motion over a distance that identifies the world’s fastest human. This is how we identify elite, then trickle down with granular specificity.

Elite speed comes from force generated by an athlete and converted into ground force reaction (GFR). GFR is the initial domino that makes all things move in baseball.

Why Is Traditional Speed Training Ineffective?

Traditional speed training such as cones, ladders, and gadgets does not address the core laws of speed. Sensory overload does not build real acceleration.

The law of human acceleration states:

“The human body has the capacity to accelerate up to and no further than 60 yards/meters.”

To accelerate fully, athletes must first get in shape to do speed work. World-class sprinters say you must get in shape in order to get in shape.

Real speed requires oxygen capacity to mitigate lactic acid buildup. This is monitored through what we call “launch codes.”

Launch codes are force protocols that allow athletes to run at partial intensities—70%, 85%, then 100%— with recovery in between.

This model is called lactic acidosis mitigation. Athletes learn to operate in hypoxic (low oxygen) states repeatedly under fatigue.

How Does One Improve Speed?

1. Identify that you are running incorrectly.
2. Understand the formula: Stride Length × Stride Frequency = Speed.
3. Learn proper running positions and angles to create ground force reaction.
4. Train at 30%, 40%, and 50% to learn tempo and effort levels.
5. Never run 100% in practice—100% is for competition.
6. Eat clean and eat enough—speed training burns massive calories.
7. Stretch consistently. Fast athletes must be flexible.
8. Create a daily warm-up and stretch routine.
9. Rest. Fatigue leads to injury.

What Does a Typical Phew Workout Look Like?

While no workout is truly typical, a sample workload includes:

1. 8 × 100-meter warm-up runs (easy pace, no timing)
2. Stretching
3. 3 × 100 meters in 15 seconds
4. Walk-back recovery
5. Repeat 15-second runs
6. 500 wabbas (core work)
7. 8-minute water break
8. That equals one set—complete six sets

Biggest Red Flags in Sprinting

Heel running is the most egregious red flag and indicates:

• Lack of hip strength
• Poor endurance
• Limited range of motion
• Inability to sustain speed

Another issue is leg drag—when the leg trails behind the body. This reduces efficiency and compromises stride length and frequency.

Why So Many Hamstring Injuries?

Athletes are running incorrectly and out of position. Hip flexors cannot support what hamstrings are forced to do.

When athletes suddenly hit full range of motion during competition, the body protects itself, resulting in hamstring pulls, hip tears, or ligament injuries.

Should Athletes Squat to Get Faster?

Weightlifting is beneficial and supports injury prevention and force production. However, it is supplemental. Sprinting is irreplaceable for speed.

Base Stealing and First-Step Quickness

These are by-products of speed. When you build speed, agility follows—just like a cheetah.

Starts and first steps are trained last. Speed over distance builds the kinetic chain first, then precision movements are layered in.

Fast feet do not come from fast feet. Fast feet come from powerful hips.