Dan Pfaff Insight Part 2: Preventing Hamstring Injuries

Today I will continue my second post in a series of blog posts related to Coach Dan Pfaff and his unique training methods. I have recently watched many of his presentations and clinic files and have paired that with the knowledge I gained while using Coach Pfaff’s training style in my collegiate throwing career as an All-Big 12 Hammer Thrower and Shot Putter, to write articles reflecting training tools I feel could be beneficial to the strength and conditioning community.

As a Strength Coach and an athlete, one of the most frustrating injuries can be a hamstring pull or strain. I was the unfortunate victim of a nasty hamstring pull my red-shirt freshman year of college. This injury happened at about the 25 yard mark of a 40 yard timed sprint during the Football winter testing week just prior to Spring Ball. I had just ran a 4.71s laser timed 40 in my first attempt (not bad for being a 240lb Freshman), but unfortunately that first attempt would also be my last attempt….ever. If you have ever pulled a hamstring while running you can relate to the feeling and fear of re-injury I am talking about. The thought of doing it again is always lingering in your head, and I swear you can always feel a little tickle in the hamstring when you really push it during heavy lifting or hard running.

After that incident I made it my mission to make my hamstrings bulletproof because I didn’t want that feeling I felt during that 40 ever again. I was lucky, in that the next year I joined the Iowa State Track program and my training style changed drastically and I was introduced to a ton of new exercises that were being implemented by a very knowledgeable track coach; John Dagata. Many of these exercises and workouts were unlike anything I had ever done before. There were all sorts of Multi-Jumps, Multi-Throws, General Strength Circuits, Ancillary Strength Circuits, and Sprint workouts that I had never seen or done before. There were also 4 to 5 multi-dimensional running drills that I credit with making me much more athletic and much more resistant to injury.

These multi-directional running workouts placed a heavy emphasis on shorter-distance forward running, backwards running, back pedaling, and cross-over running, with an emphasis on proper technique and full speed max effort repetitions. We usually did these 1-2 times a week depending on where we were in the training year. The distances would vary from 10-30 meters, and we would have prescribed reps and sets for each exercise at each distance. It is important to remember the reps were done at an all-out maximum effort from the start of the exercise to the finish line, at which point we slowed down over the course of 20 meters very slowly. Each exercise was done for its prescribed distance and all reps at that distance were completed before we moved on to the next exercise or next series of distances. These runs were done on a non-lift day or on a lift day, but prior to the weight training session. See graph below for sample layout:

Multi-Dimensional Running Workout (Done 1-2x Weekly)
Exercise	Distance	Reps
Forward Sprint	10	3
Backwards Sprint	10	3
Cross-Over Run	10	2 each way
:45-:60s rest b/t reps, 2:00-4:00min rest b/t sets.
Forward Sprint	20	2
Backwards Sprint	20	2
Cross-Over Run	10	1 each way
:45-:60s rest b/t reps, 2:00-4:00min rest b/t sets
Forward Sprint	30	1
Backwards Sprint	30	1
Cross-Over Run	30	1 each way

The thought process for this multi-directional speed training evolved after Coach Pfaff went in and studied the sport injury records among the entire student athlete population during his time at LSU. His research found Basketball players and Defensive Backs had the fewest incidence of hamstring injuries among all athletes in the department. He then looked at what do these athlete’s do in their sport that is different than other athletes in other sports? The Answer: They are moving backwards and multi-directional all the time. Next time you watch a basketball game, pay attention to the angles of running these guys are put in on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The same goes for defensive backs in Football. They are reactive and multi-dimensional in almost all of their movement patterns. They may forward run, they may cross-over run, or may backwards run depending on what the offensive player is doing. Training speed and technique in these movements also helps strengthen musculature that otherwise goes neglected if only running in straight line. I can personally verify the demands of these different running patterns are much different than normal linear running, simply based on the soreness I had in my adductor and glute region the day after my first multi-dimensional running workout.

Coach Pfaff credits backwards running patterns as a primary reason he saw a drastic decrease in hamstring injuries with his athletes. I second that as well, and I credit the cross-over running patterns for my strength gain in my ab-adductor strength that I never could get with an exercise in the weight room. Not only do you develop strength in these often neglected areas, you also begin to master (at full speed) basic athletic movement patterns that are often not taught with a significant emphasis, but used in almost every sport. It is important to implement these cautiously with a major emphasis placed on proper technique. It is very easy to tweak a muscle that hasn’t been activated in a “sprint” type movement before. Utilizing a build up approach when first implementing these may be beneficial if the athlete has never done multi-directional runs. A build up allows them to work up to full speed over 10-30 yards which decreases the chance for injury substantially when the actual peak max effort speed demand may be only 5-10 yards, not 10-30 yards.

Here are a few specific coaching points:

Forward Short Sprint:

Forward Sprint Starting Position

Staggered Heel-Toe Stance

Hands loaded in hip and chin opposite of up and back knee

Drive out explosively with good running technique until prescribed distance

Backward Short Sprint:

Backward Sprint Starting Position

Staggered Reverse Heel Toe Stance

Hands loaded in hip and chin opposite of up and back knee

Chest Over the knee with slight forward lean

Upon starting the movement bring heel to glute and extend in a “reaching” manner

Utilize same arm action as running forward but with a slight forward lean

Continue with heel to glute mechanics until rep distance is complete

Crossover Run Short Sprint:

Crossover Sprint Starting Position

Crossover Sprint First Step

Standard Athletic Stance Start

Upon initiating movement drive back knee up and over front leg (similar to carioca step)

Utilize opposite arm-opposite knee arm action

Keep shoulders in line with lateral movement pattern (shoulders square and eyes straight ahead)

Closing Thoughts

These multi-directional sprints are a training tool I implement with every sport I train. In saying that, I can also say that I have had very few hamstring injuries with my athletes and I think this is a big reason why. In training over 100 male and female athletes on a daily basis this year, I’ve only had 1 athlete suffer a hamstring injury, which happened after the athlete showed up late to practice and jumped into drill work without a proper warm up. I still take responsibility for the injury because they are one of my athletes, but the injury was likely caused by lack of warm up, not improper training.

When implementing multi-directional sprint training into your program be sure to keep an eye on total running volume. I use standard sprint volume limitations (200-400 yards total) when programming intense short sprint distances. I always error on the side of lower volume, especially if a lift will be taking place after the sprints. Also, be mindful that these sprints may be very taxing to athletes with a younger training age, or who have never done multi-directional running before, and adding a demanding intense lower body strength workout after multi-directional work can lead to an increased risk for lower body injury. Always keep in mind that if you add something somewhere, usually you have to take something from somewhere else in the workout. You cannot simply just keep adding, that’s when you run into a wildfire of injuries and begin to see signs of over-training with your athletes.

As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss multi-directional sprint training feel free to leave a comment, shoot me an e-mail (brouille@ohio.edu), or message me on twitter (@zbrulet).