Core Exercises Unique to Volleyball

By: Allen Hedrick

Originally Published in: Developing the Core

Provided by: Human Kinetics

Volleyball is a high-speed, explosive sport. Repeated maximal jumps, change-of-direction sprints, dives, and repeated overhead movements make up the game (Black 1995; Gadeken 1999). Athletes generate high levels of force when spiking or approach jumping and absorb high forces when diving, landing, or blocking. In terms of the energy demands for volleyball, the average interval of play lasts about 6 seconds, interspersed with rest periods of about 14 seconds (Gadeken 1999). This work-to-rest ratio means that athletes primarily utilize the adenosine triphosphate phosphocreatine (ATP-PCr) energy system.

Considering that there are 25 rallies per game, energy-system conditioning for volleyball should consist of 25 or more reps of 5 to 10 seconds duration. These efforts should consist of jumping, running, diving, and frequent changes of direction, with 10 to 15 seconds of rest between efforts (Black 1995). However, some conditioning drills should last 20 to 45 seconds to prepare players for the 10 percent of rallies that exceed 15 seconds. If the regimen is specific to the energy systems and movements involved in volleyball, it is possible to overload the neuromuscular system so that the athlete develops the capacity to jump higher, run faster, and change directions with greater quickness.

SPECIFICITY

To best improve physical performance in sport requires the application of specificity and overload. Specificity means that the conditioning program simulates game-playing characteristics as closely as possible. Overload means that training must provide a stimulus (weight, speed, jump height, duration) that exceeds normal (Black 1995).

The most effective way to accomplish specificity and overload is to perform exercises similar to the movements of the game. Training for volleyball should develop the ability to jump and run short distances, dive, rotate the trunk explosively, and change direction quickly, with minimal reduction in performance due to fatigue (Black 1995). As the athletes move from the off-season to the preseason and then in-season, exercise selection should become more and more specific to the movements that occur during competition (Hedrick 2002).

Because of the biomechanical similarity between vertical jump performance and weightlifting movements (e.g., snatch, clean and jerk, and variations), emphasis should be placed on performing these movements in a volleyball-specific program. An emphasis is also placed on selecting standing free-weight closed kinetic chain exercises, such as squats and lunges. These types of exercises should be selected based on their similarity in movement pattern to the movements that make up volleyball play. All of these exercises require excellent core muscle strength to perform correctly, which further justifies including them in a training program for volleyball.

The ability to spike the ball with high velocity is also of value to the volleyball athlete. This ability can be enhanced by increasing strength and power in the trunk and the shoulder girdle musculature using a variety of resistance training and upper body plyometric activities. Resistance training exercises such as bench press, standing bench press, shoulder press, and pullovers can be used to assist in this area. Plyometric activities using a medicine ball that address rotational strength and power in the core musculature while incorporating movements of the upper extremities as occur during a spike can also improve the transfer of training effect.

CORE DEVELOPMENT

Many people think of training the core musculature as working the abdominals. While abdominal training is an important aspect of developing the core musculature, the back musculature is also important (Hedrick 2000). Athletic movements such as twisting, jumping, and running can all place strenuous forces on the back musculature to maintain spinal stability. However, when programs for the core musculature are created, functional considerations are sometimes ignored. This is unfortunate because closed kinetic chain exercises require more balance and coordination and are more sport specific (and thus more functional) than typical isolated abdominal exercises (e.g., machine- or floor-based crunches). Because of this, it is important to perform some trunk exercises from a standing position.

As with training other areas of the body, exercises for the core musculature should be periodized, evolving from general strength training movements to exercises that simulate the trunk movements common to the sport (see table 15.1). Finally, adequate overload must be provided to bring about meaningful increases in strength and power. Performing low-intensity, high-volume training is not effective at increasing strength, especially in previously resistance-trained athletes. Therefore, where practical, the exercises recommended in the table should be performed with external resistance (e.g., dumbbell, medicine ball, weight plate).

CORE EXERCISES UNIQUE TO VOLLEYBALL

Volleyball athletes gain a lot of sport-specific core muscle training from traditional ground-based lifts, especially the Olympic weightlifting movements and variations. Supporting weight overhead while initiating triple extension through the hips, knees, and ankles is especially relevant to volleyball athletes; for example, the snatch, overhead split squat, split jerk, and overhead lunge are particularly useful in this regard. Lateral flexion of the core should also be trained with the arms overhead (versus at the side); and the cable side bend can be modified, with a single handle performed overhead. The sumo-style deadlift with a wide-foot stance can also be specific to the ready position of volleyball and can be modified with a medicine ball into an explosive upward throw to simulate the demands of playing a serve.