Exercises for Volleyball

Some key exercises for volleyball are...

• Plyometrics
• Multi-joint weight lifting exercises
• Single-leg free weight exercises

                          Jumping Sky High

Plyometric exercises for volleyball are also known as jump training. If you want to jump higher, the most obvious and usually the best thing to do is jump more. 

Multi-joint is a fancy way of saying lift weights. You want to lift weights and focus more on using free weight (barbells and dumbbells) and focus less on machine weight training. The key is to execute your lifts by putting force through the ground. For example, the barbell squat you put force to the ground. Machine leg curls and leg lifts... the foot isn't fixed. You want the foot fixed as in the execution of the barbell squat.

Single-leg exercises for volleyball are important because they force you to work on core stability. You must stabilize your core while executing the exercises. This is key in all volleyball athletic movements.

Kettlebell Training for Volleyball

Will kettlebell workouts improve your volleyball vertical jump, speed, agility and quickness? Absolutely!

The kettlebell is the ultimate tool for all-round power endurance fitness. A traditional Russian kettlebell is a cast iron weight that looks like a handle with a cannonball attached to it. 

The Kettlebell is designed for repetitive base lifting and teaches movement essential to athletic development. You can use kettlebell workouts to achieve any fitness or weight loss goals. 

The Diva Kettlebell Workout for Volleyball

Why should volleyball players do kettlebell workouts?

Kettlebells are really an all in one fitness tool. No other single training tool trains for volleyball fitness better than kettlebells do.

The kettlebell can easily replace barbells, dumbbells, thick bars, belts for weighted pullups and dips, medicine balls, grip devices, and other volleyball strength training equipment. 

Advantage of Kettlebell Workouts

Kettlebells are great for training for power endurance for volleyball while also developing the cardiovascular system and strengthening joints all at the same time. 

Perhaps the biggest advantage of the kettlebell is it’s unique design. The kettlebell has a thick handle set apart from a compact center of mass. 

The kettlebell handle is offset from the tools center of mass. The handle being set apart from the center of mass makes the workout much more demanding than when training with a conventional dumbbell or barbell. 

When using a kettlebell, the force of the kettlebell insists on pulling you off balance, continuing to constantly make you use your core stabilizer muscles to control the weight during the exercise movement. 

Kettlebells Don’t Take Up Space

Another advantage of training with kettlebells is that fact they don’t take up much space. Kettlebells are much more convenient to train with because they are so easy to store and move around. 

Kettlebell Workouts Strengthen the Rotator Cuff

The kettlebell trains your back to be strong and elastic in movement. With the majority of the kettlebell weight off the center of mass, you are forced to stabilize at the rotator-cuff which makes the shoulder joint healthy. The dynamic movement the kettlebell provides makes it great for shoulder rehabilitation, preventing injury and all around strength development at the shoulder joint. 

Kettlebell Exercises for Volleyball are Great for Eccentric Strength Training

The kettlebell is the ultimate weight lifting tool for conditioning the body for extreme decelerations. Volleyball is full of sudden stops and change of direction movements. You can train with kettlebells to condition yourself to deal with these forces. 

Kettlebells are great for developing deceleration strength or eccentric strength. Traditional strength training such as Olympic power lifts such as barbell cleans or snatches don’t train for eccentric strength as well as kettlebells do. 

You cannot swing a barbell between your legs the way you can a kettlebell. The kettlebell can better load your hips because you can take the kettlebell past the lockout position between your knees and back between your legs. 

The eccentric loading movement of the kettlebell swing is great for training hip extension, the powerful hip strength crucial for jumping in volleyball. 

Kettlebell Exercises for Volleyball are Great for Training in Multiple Planes

The position of the handle allows you to pass or juggle the kettlebell from hand to hand for a large variety of exercise routines. Kettlebell workouts can be used to develop dynamic strength in many planes of movement unlike conventional linear strength training. When thinking from a functional training perspective, kettlebells are to traditional free weights as barbells and dumbells are to machines.