Leg Strength Training for a Volleyball Player

It’s fair to say that the performance of a volleyball player significantly depends a lot on his/her legs. Obviously, an athlete must be able to move quickly and make explosive movements during a volleyball game. You also need to jump as high as you can. That’s why every volleyball player must have powerful legs. That means that leg strengthening exercises have to be a key part of a volleyball player’s training program.

The question is – how to strengthen legs and perform better on the court? In this blog, we are going to give you some insight into leg strength training. First of all, we’ll talk about the importance of leg strength training for a volleyball player. Moreover, we’ll share some volleyball leg exercises that you need to do regularly and dig deeply into every aspect of leg strength training for volleyball. Above all, we’ll provide you with tips to help you make your leg training more effective! Read on to learn more about leg training for volleyball.

Importance of Leg Training for Volleyball

It’s worth noting that leg training offers a number of important advantages to volleyball players. Generally speaking, leg training has a big positive impact on volleyball player’s strength, explosive power as well as speed. There are many other benefits of leg strength training for volleyball. Below, we’ll explain how a volleyball player can benefit from leg training.

– Doing leg strengthening exercises on a regular basis will help you build explosive power that is incredibly important for every volleyball player. So, it’s a good idea to focus on doing explosive leg exercises for volleyball.

– There is a direct link between length strength and endurance. So, if you would like to boost your endurance for volleyball then you obviously need to get focused on leg strength training.

– With strong legs you’ll be able to move quickly on the volleyball court. And of course, this will positively affect your performance and results.

– Strong legs positively affect a volleyball player’s ability to carry out a successful attack hit.

– Leg training is very important for defensive volleyball players as well. Keep in mind that if you improve your leg strength you’ll be able to jump higher. This will undoubtedly help you block the attacks of the opposite team successfully.

– Another big advantage is that leg training contains the exercises which have a profound positive impact on overall strength of a volleyball player. That means that doing volleyball leg exercises can greatly contribute to athlete’s power and performance.

– You need to know that leg strength training also plays a big role in injury prevention. It’s no surprise that volleyball players often get different types of leg injuries during volleyball games and practices. However, if you keep a focus on leg training you’ll be able to strengthen your legs and reduce the risk of getting injured dramatically.

As you can see, there are many ways a volleyball player can take advantage of leg strength training. Now, it’s time to figure out how to do leg training in the right way. Below, we would like to share exercises that you need to do for strengthening your legs.

Leg Strengthening Exercises for a Volleyball Player

Squats. Squats are known as one of the best exercises for strengthening legs. Keep in mind that this type of exercise has a positive impact on muscles in the front of thighs, buttocks and quadriceps. It’s important to note that squats are an easy to do exercise. You can do it anywhere and anytime.

First of all, you need to take the starting position by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Your shoulder shouldn’t come forward. Knees shouldn’t go beyond your toes and your hands must be forward. Now, it’s time to squat. Begin to bend your knees and lower your body. Do the exercise until thighs are parallel to the floor. Return to the initial position. It’s recommended to do the exercise 3 – 4 sets of 12 – 15 repetitions.

Once you get used to squats, you can try to do the exercise with dumbbells. However, when you do squats with dumbbells you need to extend your arms at sides.

Knee tuck jumps. This plyometric exercise is tremendous for building strength in your legs.  Moreover, doing knee tuck jumps will positively affect your explosiveness and ability to jump vertically. It’s worth noting knees tuck jumps are included in training programs of different sports including basketball, football, baseball and of course volleyball.

Initially, you need to stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Now, begin to bend your knees and lower your body. Now, use the power of your legs to push off the ground and jump as high as possible. While jumping you need to bend your knees and pull them toward your chest. You also need to do your best to land with extended legs. You should do the exercise 2 – 3 sets of 10 – 15 repetitions.           

Calf raises. Calf raises are another good exercise for strengthening your legs. Doing this exercise also improves body stability. If you do this exercise regularly you’ll be able to strengthen your legs over time.

You need to take an initial position before to start doing this exercise. Now, you need to lift your heels up as high as possible. Do your best to keep your shoulders back while doing the exercise. Your core has to be tight as well. Hold your body in this position for a few seconds and then come down. As a result, you’ll return to the starting position. Volleyball players need to do the exercise 3 – 4 sets of 12 – 15 repetitions.

Box jumps. It’s important to know that doing this exercise greatly contributes to volleyball player’s explosive power and leg strength. You’ll need a 24 or 36-inch box for doing this exercise. First of all, you need to stand in front of the box. Now, take advantage of explosive movement and jump on the box. Do your best to land on the box softly. Afterwards, you need to jump down and land on the ground. You need to do the exercise 3 sets of 6 repetitions. You can also take a 2-minute break between sets.

Jumping lunges. Doing jumping lunges is also a great way to strengthen legs and build explosive power. First of all, you need to take a standard lunge position. From this position, you need to jump up explosively and do your best to switch your legs in the air. Do jumping lunges 3 sets of 6 repetitions. You can also take a 2-minute break between sets.

Tips to Help a Volleyball Player Get the Most Out of Leg Training

We have just provided several effective exercises to help volleyball players strengthen their legs. Obviously, each of these exercises has to be a part of a volleyball player’s leg strength training program. There are also many other exercises that you can perform to increase your leg strength. On the other hand, it’s very important for volleyball players to do the above leg strength training exercises in the right way. Below, you’ll find a few tips to help you get the most out of your leg training program.

– It’s important to point out that leg training is all about consistency. In other words, you need to do leg strengthening exercises regularly in order to succeed in leg training. It’s a good idea to perform leg strengthening exercises 2 times per week.

– Don’t overload your legs! It’s not recommended to do leg strengthening exercises if you feel that your legs are too tired after practice.

– You obviously shouldn’t perform leg strengthening exercises before important volleyball competitions and matches.

– It’s important to keep in mind that you may get injured while doing leg strengthening exercises for volleyball. It goes without saying that you need to do everything you can to prevent this from happening. The best way to avoid different types of injuries during leg training is to warm-up your body properly before to start doing leg strengthening exercises. That means that it makes sense for you to spend 10 – 15 minutes to warm up before leg training. By doing this, you’ll be able to prepare your muscles for leg training. In addition, if you warm up properly you’ll be able to get better results in leg strength training. There are many different ways you can prepare your body for volleyball training. It’s a great idea to do such activities as jumping rope, jumping jacks, jogging, skipping as well as leg swings, straight leg kicks, mountain climbers and high knee jogs to warm-up properly prior to leg strength training.

Thank you so much for reading our article about leg strength training for a volleyball player. Now, you know everything what you need to do to strengthen your legs. Use the power of your legs to perform well on the court and get better results in the sport of volleyball. Good luck!