Table of Content
One way to get better at attacking is to practice your footwork! Getting a fast approach comes with lots of practice, and a fast approach can make you a much more effective weapon. To make this more beneficial, make sure you are jumping when you are practicing your footwork. You could also practice rolling and diving on flat grass, padding, or carpet. Avoid doing too many repetitions of higher-impact drills like these. However when conditioning for volleyball it’s important to look at the demands of the game, not just the length.
Developing strength in one leg will translate into double leg squats as well, helping someone jump off 1 foot or 2. This is a more advanced exercise than front squats and requires significant strength to come out of a deep squat position. Before attempting a single leg, master the technique and build some strength in a 2 legged squat. Power exercises are resistant or strength exercises done with speed. This means rather than how much weight or how many reps can be done, focus on how high you jump, far you throw or fast you can move. It strengthens your legs and stabilizes your ankles to reduce injury risk.
Volleyball Hitting 101 (Beginner-to-Intermediate)
Building strength in these muscles can reduce the chances of injury. For optimal shoulder stability, there will be a ~45 degree angle between your arms and torso when your elbows are at chest height or lower. If someone is unable to, push out of the bottom position moving your body as one unit, start with your hands on a bench, or box and lower the height as you get stronger. Good technique is more important than weight and depth and is worth taking the time to develop.

These qualities are important as volleyball is a very quick game mostly made up of short movements and lots of change of direction. Conditioning will be developed through game play, practices and workouts. Like agility exercises, moving weights with speed and the ballistic nature of power exercises also drain the nervous system so they are best done near the beginning of a workout. Everyone gets nervous before tryouts, but our drills, tips, training, and resources will have you feeling confident before you head to your next school, rec league, or club tryout!
Volleyball Drills: PUT YOUR PARENTS’ SKILLS TO THE TEST
Again your mission is to throw the ball as high up against the wall/into the air as possible which, if done correctly, will be a full body explosive movement. We’re now shifting gears from strength training into what we’d call a speed strength movement . Speed strength exercises can be thought of as a mixture of both or simply as a ‘power’ exercise.

They should be done with dumbbells by raising the way up to your shoulder and slowly lowering it back down. Finally, burpees work your core and engage the rest of your upper body muscles and are one of the most effective overall body exercises. Burpees consists of standing up, lowering to plank position, doing a push-up, and then jumping back up to your feet. Jumping rope allows your blood to flow throughout the body and improves your ability to move quickly. Jumping rope can be done by using both feet at the same time, single legs, and utilizing different speeds. Agility ladders are also an essential component of agility exercises in which you can do sidestep toe touches, lunges, hops, and jumps.
How Many Sets & Reps? How Much Weight? How Often?
For this reason you will see the list below include both kinds of exercises. Preventative role in jumper’s knee and shin splints, which are very common injuries. I love this article and I agree that mental skills are really not talked much about. It's hard for me to find music that motivates me every game. Setting goals individually and for your team is another great way to get ahead in any sport.
This workout can be done at the bottom of a set of stairs or anywhere with something for you to tap your toes on. The goal is to stand near the step and tap the toes of each foot repeatedly, alternating as if you were running. As a former international level volleyball player, I now spend my days working out and writing for Volleyball Vault. I look for ways to bring my wealth of experience and knowledge to create unique and insightful perspectives in my content.
Putting It Together: Workout Routine For Volleyball
All beginner and intermediate players will benefit from drills for the fundamentals of setting, passing, standing float serving, and hitting. Coach Nev has helped hundreds of athletes with the physical and mental preparedness they need to stand out from the crowd. Planks strengthen your arms, back, shoulders, glutes, and hamstrings.

Crunches work the rectus abdominis, the midsection of your body. To do a crunch, lie flat on the ground, bend your knees to put your feet flat on the ground, put your hands behind your head, and contract your abs to curl up toward your knees. Don't pull on your neck -- only go as far as you can with the strength of your abs. Wall sits strengthen your quads, hamstrings, and adductors. To do a wall sit, find a flat wall and press your back flat against it, then bend your knees until they reach a 90-degree angle, with your ankles directly under your knees.
T – Hands straight out to the sides, lift the hands as high as you can squeezing the shoulder blades together. Let the weight come down to the floor between reps. This will unload the spine and reduce the load you need to bring to stop and change of direction. If the knees are collapsing in as someone squats, it may be helpful to place a mini band around the knees as a reminder to use the glutes. These kinds of exercises will translate to how high someone jumps and how hard they hit. Anticipate pulling yourself into a squat to give yourself more time to catch the ball.

This is a place where girls learn how to work hard, play hard, and build a champion’s mindset. The dumbbell snatch is best for training triple extension , power development and improving explosiveness. This common core exercise is great to strengthen the core of your core – your middle tummy. Perform for 30 seconds with a 15-second break between sets. Set aside one-third of your intended workout time for warming up--if you’re working out for 30 minutes, plan to use 10 minutes for your warmups.
Upper body exercises include pushups, bicep curls, and burpees. Push-ups utilize multiple muscle groups and strengthen your arms, core, chest, and legs. To perform a push-up, start in plank position and bend your elbows, lowering your body to the ground and then push yourself back up. Bicep curls strengthen your wrists and arms which is essential for hitting in volleyball.
Agility drills will help with change of direction on the court as well as improving reaction time. Following a warm up the next kind of exercise you will want to do are those for agility. Each section will fatigue these systems however as your nervous system fatigues, it will be harder to focus and execute movements with high intensity. For this reason typically over a workout the progression of sections is from those that require high focus and nervous system demand to those that demand more of the muscles. Our four-part series will help anyone suffering from knee valgus, knock knees, and a lack of overall knee stability. These easy-to-follow workouts can be completed in less than 10 minutes, and they support the musculature that can prevent knee valgus and develop healthier knee movement.