Here is something I sent in to Bustle Magazine for THIS ARTICLE and what they ended up using. Enjoy.
Volleyball Strength Exercises
Upper: 2 Kettlebell, Tall Kneeling, Alternating Kettlebell Press. This will work the glutes, core, shoulders, and arms.
- We are pressing from a tall-kneeling position, meaning both knees on the ground, glutes and core engaged.
- Hold a pair of kettlebells racked at shoulder level.
- Press one kettlebell overhead while rotating the thumb towards the face.
- Return to the start position and press with the opposite side.
- Perform 3 sets for between 5-8 repetitions per side.
This will help volleyball players by encouraging the use of their glutes and core to stabilize overhead movement and build shoulder strength and stability with the offset loading and rotation while pressing the weight overhead. Athletes can substitute dumbbells for kettlebells if needed.
Lower: Sumo Deadlift paired with box jumps. This will work the hips, hamstrings, lower back, grip and can improve jump performance.
- Stand an inch or closer to the barbell with the feet outside the hips and toes pointed towards the tips of the plates.
- Brace your core and hinge the hips back to lower yourself to the bar, bending the knees only as much as needed.
- Grip the bar on the knurled surface that is just outside the center, smooth surface.
- Keeping your core braced, pull your upper arms back to cover your armpits and spread the floor with your feet.
- As the bar passes the knees aggressively extend the hips and stand straight up without hyper-extending or shrugging the shoulders.
- Hinge at the hips to lower the bar, under control, back to the start position.
- Pair this with box jumps.
- Perform 3 sets of 3x deadlifts paired with 3-5x box jumps.
This will help volleyball players by building lower body power and strength and may improve jumping performance by post-activation potentiation.
