Volleyball is not only about your skills or your experience levels; it is also about your shape. Indeed, you need to be in a very good shape to be able to perform at the best of your abilities …
This article will be a little bit different because I am going to address some tips and techniques that you can implement to get in volleyball shape as fast as possible.
I do this breakdown depending on your experience!
Fast ways to get in volleyball shape for Beginners
How much time does it can take to get in full shape?
Beginners will need time to get in shape (at least several months). The challenge here is that this could not be the priority, since he is mostly focused on building the necessary skills.
The good thing is that beginners could put themselves in situations where they can learn those new skills faster and by doing so they will automatically get in shape quite faster.
Important Muscles
For volleyball the most important muscles are of:
- The upper legs
- Lower leg
- Muscles of the shoulders
- Muscles of the upper arm and forearm
However for a beginner it is most important to focus on your upper and lower leg muscles, because volleyball requires a lot of jumping, sidestepping, and agility. That agility can be achieved when you have strong legs.
Conditioning
When we talk about conditioning we need to mention a few things that are crucial. It does not matter if you are a beginner or a professional player.
Every sport and every player, whether it is table tennis or judo, requires good stamina and conditioning!
Below are two of the most basic exercises:
First on the list is running, whether it is running in a circle on pitch or running in a straight line through the city, running is crucial, for both cardio and stamina.
Second on the list is the jumping rope (Check my favorite rope Here at Amazon). It helps as does running with cardio and stamina. It is beginner friendly with possibilities for improvements along the way.
You can learn more on how to build endurance for volleyball!
Strength
When practicing conditioning you are also practicing your strength. When running you are helping your legs strengthen the muscles …
When jumping rope you are helping you strengthen certain parts of your shoulders as well your calf.
However there are always exercises that can help you strengthen certain muscles that you are aiming for in order to get better in volleyball…
- Plank –The plank can help you strengthen nearly every muscle in your body. 30 seconds of plank each day should be enough for a beginner.
- Squats – Now squats do not need an introduction. Do at least 20 reps a day and that should be enough for the start, of course add in numbers gradually.
Rest & Recovery
After every exercise be it a cardio drill, strength exercise etc. the most important part is the aftermath.
Unless you are using some sort of gear that can help you to start recovering your muscles during and exercise or game, like arm sleeves, knee sleeves or something similar, you will need to stretch after the exercise.
Stretching is the most important part. If you do not stretch after the exercise and do not have gear that helps in the recovery, you might get your muscles in a state where they start contracting and cramping.
After every exercise or physical activity try to stretch your muscles, that will help your blood flow and it will help you relax your muscles.
Fast ways to get in volleyball shape for Amateurs
How much time it can take for full shape?
To reach the full shape for an amateur volleyball you need at least 3 to 6 months depending on how much time you are doing and willing to spend.
Important Muscles
An amateur needs to focus on nearly all the muscles that are required to play volleyball.
With that it is worth noting that that is a variety of muscles ranging from the lower legs, across the upper legs, the abdomen, forearms, upper arms and shoulders. The most crucial being the legs and arms.
When building arm muscles, the shoulder muscles cannot be left on the side, since they are an essential part of the arm.
Conditioning
We have already mentioned in the amateur section that running and jumping rope are crucial to a beginners conditioning.
When it comes to amateur players it is worth mentioning that running is mandatory, jumping rope is not, but it is still recommended.
Besides those two exercises, it is also recommended to add in some cardio practices, like running on a treadmill or a stair climber. You can also utilize the step to step practice.
Step to step means that you get yourself in a stance lowering your knees and jumping from one side to the other, but it also requires that you put your weight on one foot and transfer it to the other when you land.
This exercise helps your agility and stamina, and is besides those we have already listed recommended for amateur players.
Strength
These exercises are different from the exercises that beginner volleyball players need to focus on. For all those 3 exercises you will need dumbbells (Check this Example Here at Amazon) …
- Good mornings – You need dumbbells to do it. Straighten your back, and lean forward, keeping your back straight, then go up again, with your back still straight.
- Single leg RDL to overhead press – One dumbbell is required. So put your balance weight on one leg, and swing the other behind you, while simultaneously lowering your upper body to pick up the dumbbell.
After you have picked the dumbbell up, go up, with your leg in the air, and get that dumbbell over your head. After that go down again, leaving the dumbbell down, and repeating all the moves again.
- Dumbbell snatch – This is the easiest one. Take one dumbbell and hold it in the height of your hips. Lean forward a little bit, and propel the dumbbell over your head from your shoulder. Repeat a few times.
Rest & Recovery
Rest and recovery are the same as for the beginners, stretching. Stretching is an essential part of any players life. You help the muscles relax by stretching, also you lower the risk of cramps and muscle contraction.
The used gear can help your muscles recover faster and it can also be good for the blood flow and sweat absorption. Knee sleeves being a very good example.
Fast ways to get in volleyball shape for Professionals
How much time it can take for full shape?
It is required from a professional volleyball player to always be in shape. The real question is what shape a professional volleyball player needs to be in?
A professional volleyball player needs to be in the fittest and the most prepared physical and mental state.
It is expected of him to be in the best shape 24/7, and to reach professional heights a person needs to dedicate his life to the sport, not just to volleyball, but any other sport.
Important Muscles
When we talk about professionals and the muscles that are important to them, we need to talk about the whole body, since we have already seen that they need to be in the best shape possible.
For volleyball the most important muscles which are utilized are these muscles
- The upper legs (gluteals, hamstrings, quadriceps).
- The muscles of the lower leg (gastrocnemius, soleus, anterior tibialis).
- The muscles of the shoulders (deltoids and the rotator cuff).
- The muscles of the upper arm (biceps, triceps, wrist flexors and extensors) and forearm.
- The core muscles (rectus abdominus, obliques and spinal erectors).
Conditioning
A professional is always in shape as we have concluded earlier. The goal a professional when it comes to conditioning is to maintain his level of readiness.
He just needs to keep practicing in the same amount as before in order to maintain his level of readiness, of course if he wants to he can add more time to the conditioning in order to get fitter and better.
However we have already mentioned running, jumping rope, running on a treadmill, stair climber, and step to step. These all apply also to professionals, but they also utilize a variety of practices.
These include cone drills (a wide range of drills), short sprints and agility practices, compined with conditioning.
Strength
As I have said earlier all the strength exercises that I have mentioned so far are also applied to professional volleyball players.
However there are exercises that professional volleyball players need to utilize in order to maintain great shape and strength.
- Biceps with overhead press – This exercise requires two dumbbells. You need to hold them in the height of your waist and start lifting them up with your biceps.
After that you lift them over your head, and lower them back down, repeating as much as you want and can.
- Lateral lunge with a press – This exercise helps in strengthening your side to side moves and arms for better digging and passing platforms.
You need a press plate. Doing big lunge steps form one side to another, pretending that you are skipping over an object while doing it.
Ideas to get in shape Fast for Beach Volleyball.
Beach volleyball is a sister sport to volleyball. They have the same principles but different rules and play styles.
First thing that needs to be pointed out is that it is harder to run and move on sand that on an indoor court. You have stability on the sand, but it requires a lot of stamina to be able to overcome the resistance of the sand.
Here are a few examples how to get in shape for beach volleyball.
- Do the drills on the sand – Try doing all the drills you would usually do on a harder surface on the sand. The goal is to feel the sand and to get used to it.
- Run in the sand – Be it a beach or a sand volleyball court, you can try running on the sand as much as possible. On a beach run like you would usually run, with a destination, on a court, run in circles. You could also run sprints in short bursts.
- Practice in the gym – The practices that we have already mentioned can be practiced by all sports man, even by beach volleyball players.
- Work with the ball on the sand – Try practicing the passing drills that we have already mentioned, and combine them with a few more practices for best results.
Final Thoughts …
Of course the goal of this article was to help you get in volleyball shape quite fast regardless of how experienced you are in the sport …
However, unless you’ve got a specific urgency to get in shape that fast, I highly recommend that you don’t try to rush and force things. Indeed, this could cause some kind of unnecessary injuries.
Slow and steady wins the race!