Staying fit and training for volleyball is necessary for success in the sport. You can practice the skills and plays but without strengthening your core, your joints involved with high range of motion, your tendons and powerful muscle movements, you will not go far. There is a lot of strength needed in order to be able to stay focused and energetic during long volleys. A player must be able to work hard and to their maximum potential to win every point.
Movements such as hitting or attacking the ball require a great amount of core strength. A large portion of the power/speed that the ball is hit comes from the back muscles and the abdominals. The limbs need a stable and strong base to branch off from in order to be powerful as well. Crunches, sit ups and leg lifts are great work outs for the abs. Using the physio ball is also extremely beneficial because the abdominal muscles are working extra hard during flexion because the ball allows for extension on the way down. Also, static planks for increased stability strength is an awesome work out for the core. Weight lifting for the back muscles is needed as well since this is also part of the core that many people forget about. Back hyperextensions with a weight can be done, lat pull downs and rowing exercises will help strengthen the back.
Core strength will aid in the strength training of the appendages. Bicep curls, tricep pull downs, squats, chest press, leg press and shoulder press are basic weight lifting procedures for a volleyball athlete. It is also important to note that progressive overload is the system to be used when starting to lift weights. Start small and increase weights then repetitions slowly and at a pace that is right for you.
It is possible to add more weight lifting exercises to the work out plan but it is not good to over do it while in season. The body needs a quick recovery to be able to explode during certain movements during game play. If muscles are constantly recovering from muscle break down during weight lifting it will not be up to speed to match the demands placed on it during the fast paced game. This is where training such as plyometrics is great, but we will get into that another time!
Hey Stephanie really good post. I really like how you talk about the various amounts of exercises to strengthen all the muscles both upper body, lower body and core. Even though I'm not a volleyball player or ever was, I know from watching the sport that it's very dynamic in the fact that you use your whole body. In terms of core training, adding rotational core exercises in the transverse plane would be very beneficial to a volleyball player due to the torque they put on their core when serving the ball. I'd also be very interested in plyometrics training for volleyball players since the sport includes a lot of forceful jumps due to blocking and serving as well. Good post overall, I look forward to the next one.
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