Volleyball is a demanding sport which requires speed, agility, and explosive power all at the same time!
Players are really perceived as being strong because of all the moves they can do with strength and personality! But how strong they are actually?
Most volleyball moves, regardless of the gender, require strong quadriceps, flexible and supple hamstrings, and powerful glutes. They also need to have very capable lower body parts to be able to handle the high jumping and the landings they consistently perform during games.
In this article, I go quite deep in what makes volleyball players so strong, as well as some really helpful tips to help you develop enough strength to be able to compete at this sport even at a high level.
What makes volleyball players so strong?
One of the key strengths of volley players are the muscles that govern the hips! These include the biceps femoris and the gluteus maximus, and they play a major role in the athletic movement which volleyball requires, such as the quick approaches, the ability to jump high and to spike the ball hard and fast.
These muscles need to be trained and conditioned, so that they are able to provide the spring and power needed when jumping, and the ability to change direction quickly when on the court.
Quick Recommendation: If you don’t have enough time to go to the gym and train those muscles, then you can definitely have a look at this lower body and hip trainer for volleyball. They will help you strengthen those parts from the comfort of your home.
Another reason why volleyball players are quite powerful is that they are dealing with a high impact sport, and the jumping, landing, planting, and frequent changes of direction involved can take a toll on the body.
While the muscles, tendons and ligaments which surround the joints can help protect against injury, constant strain can cause these joints to weaken.
To withstand these pressures on the body, athletes need to have a core of fitness and strength. This helps the muscles work together to minimise the stress on the joints and the ligaments.
These are one of the main reasons why volleyball is considered a lifetime sport!
Do volleyball players have strong arms?
Elite volleyball players have a powerful arm swing, enabling them to hit the ball with more force. The arms during a game will be used in all sorts of contacts – serving, setting, digging, spiking, and blocking – so it is advisable to strengthen the arms so that they can withstand the rigours of a game.
And because volleyball requires a strong grip, it is important not only to build-up the biceps and triceps, but the forearms as well.
Meanwhile, developing wrist strength helps a volleyball player generate power for hitting and setting-up the ball.
Volleyball though is not just about power but control as well. Because the rules of the sport only allow three contacts on the side of the net before the ball has to be played back to the opposition, a premium is placed on accuracy when it comes to the service retrieval, the dig, the pass, and the set.
Helpful Tip: There are several ways to help train arms strengths and control for volleyball. One way to do so on a daily basis is this Tandem Sport Pass Rite. After couple of weeks of training you will notice a tremendous difference and progress.
How much should a volleyball player lift?
Expert coaches all say that lifting weights is a critical part of volleyball training, as it helps competitors develop the skills they need to develop on the court.
Lifting weights helps develop strength and power, and minimises the risk of injury – strong muscles are better able to withstand the shocks associated with landings than weaker ones.
The first principle though with any weightlifting programme is that nobody should attempt to lift more than they feel comfortable attempting, so it is always best to have expert supervision on hand.
Lifting too much weight can be detrimental to speed and power, and would, therefore, be counterproductive.
And the amount lifted may also be position specific. For example, a libero may not need to lift as much as a middle blocker. And even players who occupy the same position on the court may have different training regimes.
Professional volleyball players, on average, lift about 1.5 times their body weight when it comes to a back squat, and around 110 kg when it comes to clean and jerk. Of course, if you are a beginner, just don’t go straight to these numbers, instead please start from very low weights and go up from there. Always be supervised by strength and conditioning coach to make sure you are doing things safely and properly.
How important is upper body strength for volley players?
Having a strong upper body helps create the force necessary to increase speed and jumping ability. At the same time, the arms and shoulders get through a lot of work during the average volleyball game.
Not only do they need to be flexible and supple, but, when considering the action in delivering a strong serve or powerful hit, a lot of the energy required must be generated above the waist.
At the same time, it needs to be recognised that just concentrating on lower body strength would lead to physical imbalance.
Power and strength would be created but without the ability to convert that into energy when striking, passing, or blocking, the ball would be a waste and sub-optimal.
How do you strengthen your body for volleyball?
It is recommended those serious about improving their overall performance following some work-out exercises, a number of which require a dumbbell (For Example those here at Amazon).
There is the routine known as “Good Mornings”. This involves somebody standing with their feet a shoulder length apart.
Place the dumbbell on the shoulders, inhale, and flex the abdomen. Then exhale and lunge forward at the hips, before standing up again, ensuring that the lower back is erect and not curving.
Then there is the dumbbell squat to press, which involves taking a pair of dumbbells, holding them above the shoulder, and then squatting down whilst holding them. It is then necessary to stand up again, pressing the dumbbells above the head.
Another exercise is the lateral lunge with a press. An athlete should grab a weight that they feel comfortable with, like a dumbbell and hold it out in front of them.
Taking a large lateral step, one leg should be kept straight whilst sitting back down on the other leg. Using the sitting leg, they then need to press themselves back upright again, whilst bringing the weight back to the chest.
How strong are women volleyball players?
There is a fear among some female volleyball players that they cannot benefit from strength training, particularly using weights, because it will make them more muscular for their gender.
That is actually a myth because most women have a much lower level of testosterone – only about 10% normally – than men…
And since testosterone helps increase muscle size and synthesis, it is much more difficult for women to build-up huge muscles through intense strength training.
Studies have shown that for women who are less trained, neural factors have a big influence when it comes to gaining volleyball strength when they first learn to lift weights. That means that any increase in strength is more directly the result of their body learning the movement pattern of the lifts.
However, at the same time, any strength and weight lifting routines need to be done in moderation.
This is because female bodies are more susceptible to injury. They have wider hips than their male counterparts, meaning the angle between the hips and knees is greater, which can cause knees to buckle when they land.
Women also tend to have weaker hamstrings. Strength and conditioning helps build them up, but this should not be overdone, or there is a risk that they could snap, meaning weeks of recuperation out of the sport.
How dieting helps building players strength?
Volleyball players looking to gain strength need to ensure that they are consuming enough healthy calories daily, and are absorbing adequate protein, minerals as well as vitamins to rebuild muscle tissue and regain energy for the next game or training session.
Getting the balance right between the two is important. Eating a lot of protein but not enough overall vitamins and minerals means that the body could gain muscle mass but the overall energy won’t be up there.
There are several kinds of meals, experts recommend rich in all what body would need for such an intense sport. I give below just one example:
One egg contains about six grams of protein, as well as healthy fats and vitamins. Fish meat is a great source of healthy protein and fat as well as Omega 3 fatty acids, which contribute to muscle growth.
Brown rice should be chosen over white varieties, because it has not been refined, so it contains more protein and nutrients, whilst nuts and seeds – such as peanuts, almonds, cashews, and pumpkin seeds are packed full of micronutrients, carbohydrates, and protein.
Final Thoughts …
It was going to be too bad if I’ve only talked about volleyball players strength in general! Indeed, I really wanted to make this article helpful for you as well in case you are a pro or even a recreational player by giving you useful resources that would help you build strength for this sport …
Hopefully, you will take advantage of some of the tips and you will feel the difference in couple of weeks.
One last thing, because of all what it was said in this article, many people think that this sport involve some degree of contact … Indeed, volleyball is definitely not a contact sport! Which makes its beatuy!