OT sort of for you non-volleyball players! LOL Functional Exercise for the Volleyball Player

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Sam Visnic Provides Functional Exercise for the Volleyball Player Volleyball is becoming a more competitive sport every year. Strength training in the off-season is now not only optional but required. Players have found that the secret to increasing explosiveness and strength can be found in the gym. Volleyball requires a combination of many biomotor abilities such as strength, power, speed, agility, and coordination. This means that the volleyball player must have an integrated program to meet the needs of his/her demanding sport. As with many other sports, volleyball produces sport specific muscle imbalances that, if not addressed, can lead to decreased performance and eventually injury. Common injuries amongst volleyball players include rotator cuff strain, shoulder impingement, low back pain, patellarfemoral pain and ankle sprains. Many of these injuries could be avoided by following an integrated training program that involves proper flexibility, neuromuscular training, and addresses muscle imbalances. Common weak muscles in volleyball

players include: External shoulder rotators Vastus Medialis Obliquus Gluteus medius Tibealis anterior Lumbar erectors Hamstrings Lower Abdominals Commonly tight muscles in volleyball players can include: IT Band Adductors Calves Pectoralis minor Rectus abdominus Latissmus Dorsi Subscapularis Quadriceps Upper traps Volleyball players must perform their sport using a variety of movements in all planes of motion; therefore their exercise program must prepare them to produce, reduce and dynamically stabilize

their bodies in each plane. Eccentric strength should be adequately developed for volleyball players as well to properly dissipate forces throughout the kinetic chain during repetitive jumping. Five Sport Specific Exercises Here are five sport specific exercises that volleyball players can use in the gym to enhance their performance. These exercises stress the weaknesses, are multi-planar, proprioceptively enriched, sport specific, and last but not least, fun! Dumbbell Squat Push Press Reverse Cable Woodchop Lateral Lunge One Arm Cable Pull Kneeling Cable Pullover Crunch Dumbbell Squat Push Press: This exercise will strengthen the legs, glutes, back, and shoulders. This movement is similar to blocking. Keep your back straight and use your legs to drive the dumbbells overhead. Description of Movement Stand up straight with your feet just a bit wider than shoulder width apart and your toes pointing slightly

outward. If you are used to doing back squats, your back squat stance is ideal. Select a pair of dumbbells that you can press overhead for 12 reps. Holding the dumbbells at your shoulders, as shown, and keeping your torso muscles tight, squat down to parallel or below (just like you would sit down on a chair), then reverse directions and stand up straight, raising the dumbbells over your head as you do so. Lower the dumbbells to your shoulders and repeat for reps. Reverse Cable Woodchop: This exercise will strengthen the lower traps, external shoulder rotator cuff, scapular retractors, and the lower back. This movement trains

the muscles involved in diving for a dig. Remember to extend the upper back on this exercise, or else the shoulders will perform all the work. Description of Movement Attach a two handled V-shaped bar or a rope to a low pulley. This move does not require a lot of weight so you may need to experiment at first to make sure it's not too heavy. You do not want to unduly strain your shoulders and elbows. Standing with your feet wide apart for balance and with your toes pointing slightly outward, and with either the right or left side of your body facing the cable, grab the handle or rope with both hands and stand up straight. Keeping your abs tight and your arms straight, pull the cable from your hip, diagonally across your body, ending with your hands above your opposite shoulder, as shown.

When pulling the cable, your entire body should twist, rather than rotating only at the waist. Allow your leg to turn so that you don't injure your knee. Perform for reps, then reposition yourself so that your other shoulder faces pulley,and repeat for the same number of reps. Lateral Lunge: This exercise strengthens the lateral muscles in the hips such as the gluteus medius and hip adductors, as well as the ankle stabilizers. Lateral movement is especially important in blocking and digging. Keep your chest up and emphasize using your legs, not your torso to perform the movement. Description of

Movement Side lunges are problematic because to reach parallel requires a great deal of flexibility in the adductors, those muscles on the inside of your thighs. Not everyone has this ability and will not be able to reach parallel with the leg they step out with. Stand straight, with your hands on your hips or placed across your chest as shown, and your weight on both legs. Shift your weight to your left foot and step out to the side with your right. As your right foot comes in contact with the floor, shift your weight on to it, using the left leg for balance only. Bend your right leg so that your thigh is parallel to the floor, while

your shin remains vertical. Return to the starting position by pushing your right foot into the floor and using the muscles of your right leg and glute. Do not allow your body to bend forward or toward the side to which you are lunging. Keep your head up, your chest up and out and your back straight. You can either complete all reps with one leg, then switch to the other, or you can do one rep with the right leg, then one rep with the left and alternate in this fashion until all reps for each leg are completed. One Arm Cable Pull: The goal of this exercise is to integrate the scapular retractors with rotation of the spine in a standing position. This position is much like the preparation for the spike. Emphasize proper posture, ensuring that the movement is pure rotation, not flexion or extension. Description of Movement Set the cable arms at approximately waist height. Holding on to the attachments, step back far enough so that the weight stack rises slightly so that there will be constant tension on the cable during performance. For stability place one foot in front of you, as shown. Which foot will depend on your handedness; use the stance that is the most comfortable. Pull the cable straight back with one arm, keeping it at a 90-degree angle and parallel to the floor. Keep your arms

fairly close to your sides and contract your lattisimus muscle. Hold for a second or two and return to the starting position. As you return one arm, begin pulling with the other so you develop a continuous rowing-like motion. If you do not have a dual-arm cable machine, you can work for reps one arm at a time. Start with your weaker arm, then change position and work the other arm for the same number of reps. Kneeling Cable Pullover Crunch: This exercise strengthens the abdominal muscles as well as the lats. This exercise can be used to strengthen hitting power by integrating the abs and lats together. Make sure that the

movement is coming from the abs, not the hips. Coordinate your breathing with this exercise. You should inhale as you extend your back, and exhale as you crunch. Description of Exercise Attach a rope to high pulley. The rope should be about 6 inches above your grip when you are kneeling on the floor. Grab the rope and kneel down which will cause the weight stack to rise slightly keeping a constant tension on your abdominals. Lean backwards slightly and inhale. Crunch your abdominal muscles together as you exhale and hold the contracted position for a second or two. You only need to go a short distance (as shown) to derive the benefits because this is a pure isolation exercise. If you bend too far forward you will be working all sorts of other muscles besides your abdominals. Inhale once

again and return to the starting position. Repeat for reps. I recommend performing 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps on each exercise with 1-2 minutes rest between each set. You can also circuit the exercises to improve lactate tolerance and improve recovery between each lift. Sam Visnic is an ISSA Fitness Therapist, NMT, and C.H.E.K. Practitioner Level II located at A.T.E.C. Fitness in Redondo Beach, California. He provides corrective and high performance exercise programs for

rehabilitation and athletic performance. Sam can be contacted at Sam@... or his new website www.volleyballstrength.com for additional strength training articles, products and his free newsletter.