Strength Drills and conditioning workout programs play a vital role in the development of athletes in various sports. A structured Strength Drills and conditioning workout is designed to develop muscular endurance, Strength Drills, power, speed and aerobic and anaerobic conditioning for the specific demands of the sport. By improving these physical skills through a sport-specific workout program, the athlete increases sports performance while reducing the potential for injuries.
Strength Drills are designed to help build Strength Drills, endurance, and discipline in athletes. These drills mimic the movements made during volleyball practice and competitions, and can be included in any regular practice session.
What is Strength Drills?
Strength Drills is a series of drills that work to build the Strength Drills and endurance of athletes. These drills are often similar to weight training, and many involve cardiovascular work as well. Strength Drills are usually included at the beginning of a practice before the coach teaches new skills.
When to Condition?
Strength Drills should come at the beginning or end of practice, depending on the coach’s preference. These drills should take 10-15 minutes and should force athletes to work hard. These drills are meant to push athletes, not coddle them, so coaches should always evaluate the exertion required to complete the drills. When Strength Drills become too easy, coaches should switch things up (be sure to look at our volleyball team drills for more ideas).
Walking Lunges
This simple conditioning drill strengthens the entire lower half of a volleyball player. It is useful because of the running and jumping required in volleyball. Athletes should stand on one end of the court, hands on hips. They take a step forward with the right foot, landing in a lunge position. Coaches should watch to ensure that the athlete’s knee lines up with their ankle; if the knee pushes too far forward, the athlete needs to take a larger step forward.
Athletes then push off their back leg and walk the left leg forward, keeping the right leg in place. Athletes again land in a lunge and continue this walking pattern until they reach the center court line.
Jump Wall
Coaches can help athletes jump higher by using the jump wall drill. Coaches can do several things to measure the athletes’ height, such as hold a piece of paper against the wall that they try to touch, paint lines on the wall that they try to touch, or use a jump device with several colored plastic markers that the athlete tries to grab.
This drill practices the vertical jump from a standing position. Athletes should stand with their feet hip-width apart and knees bent, keeping the knees in line with the ankles. The athlete then pushes off from the center of the foot and extends the arms overhead, attempting to get as high as possible. Coaches should make the drill progressively more difficult by increasing the target height they must reach.
This drill can also be completed from a running position, similar to a lay-up motion in basketball that mimics the front line movement in volleyball.
Strength Drills
Strength Drills are meant to push athletes to become better, stronger, and more developed. Drills are similar to weight lifting or cardiovascular work in their results—building stronger athletes with more muscle. These drills can be completed at the beginning or end of practice, but they should happen regularly. Two sample drills include walking lunges and the jump wall.
Isometric Movements
Isometric movements are used as a training technique in volleyball because these movements are designed to help you jump higher and stronger. It is necessary for volleyball players to Strength Drills smaller muscles in isolation, because they are often repeating the same motion during the sport. Choose wall sits, calf raises, planks and brigade poses to train specific parts of your legs.
To do wall sits, lean back against a wall and sit as if you were sitting into a chair, keeping your back pressed into the wall. Hold this position for 30 seconds and repeat five times. Do calf raises with you hands placed on a wall, and do bridges and planks on the floor of your home.
Sweat
Breaking a sweat increases your cardiovascular endurance, which can help you feel stronger during your volleyball game. Train aerobically at home with your shoes on and on flat ground. Complete a circuit of fast feet, squat jumps, side hops and high knees.
Fast feet drills help you gain speed and agility. Run fast with your feet in place, keeping your feet apart and staying low to the ground for one minute. Complete 10 squat jumps. Side jump for one minute, leading with your right side, hoping up and over an imaginary line, side to side, for one minute. Then repeat, leading with your left side instead. Run inn place with your knees high for one minute. Repeat this circuit three times.
Explosive Movements
Volleyball uses many explosive movements to spike the ball down on opponents or to get low, preventing the ball from dropping. Train explosively at home with squat jumps, knee tucks and shooting star jumps.
Complete three sets of 12 repetitions of each exercise. Squat jump by sitting low in a squat then jumping straight up. To correctly do a knee tuck, stand straight and jump, drawing your knees into your chest while keeping your back straight. Shooting star jumps are similar to a jumping jack. Start in a low squat, and jump high, shooting your legs and arms out as in a jumping jack.
Stretching
Stretching is crucial to your at-home training. It helps to prevent soreness, lengthen your muscles and prevent injury. Sports coach Brian Mac explains that static stretching should be done at the end of your workout, and you should aim to hold your stretch for at least 30 seconds to increase flexibility.
Complete a seated hamstring stretch, standing quadriceps stretch, runners lunge, adductor stretch and a groin stretch to stretch your lower body. Chest stretches and shoulder stretches should also be performed.
Periodization
Periodized workouts are designed to improve overall Strength Drills and conditioning throughout the year for athletes playing one or two sports, such as football or basketball. Each phase of the periodized workouts–lasting two weeks to three months–focuses on a specific set of physical skills, with a variation of training volume, intensity, exercise type and the overall speed of the workouts.
For example, a football Strength Drills and conditioning workout will consist of a preparation phase from January to June focusing on the fundamental physical skills of increasing maximal Strength Drills. The second phase takes place from June to August and builds maximal force and velocity of contraction through a high-volume, low-intensity workout schedule. During the season, a competition phase is used to maintain Strength Drills and conditioning.
Off-Season Workouts
Off-season Strength Drills and conditioning workouts are some of the most important workouts for athletes because they prepare the athlete for the upcoming season. Football off-season Strength Drills and conditioning workouts, for example, take place during the summer and typically rotate through a series of four workouts per week for a total of six weeks. Workouts on Day 1 and Day 3 focus on lower body Strength Drills and power, with a series of squats including bodyweight squats, front squats, leg curls and calf raises, along with functional upper-body exercises such as push-ups and an incline bench press. The second and fourth workouts of the week focuses on upper-body Strength Drills with pull-ups, barbell curls and cleans and pulls.
CrossFit
CrossFit is a core Strength Drills and conditioning workout that incorporates weightlifting, bodyweight exercises and running for a total-body workout. Weightlifting exercises focus on multijoint movements such as the deadlift, squat and lunge, with common bodyweight exercises consisting of push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups and bodyweight squats. Running exercises are commonly performed through intervals–alternating between work and rest cycles. The combination of these exercises is designed to improve endurance, Strength Drills and conditioning while improving overall athleticism by improving balance, coordination and agility.