Summer Sports Series- Sand Volleyball
As the weather gets warmer and recreational sport leagues begin, it’s important to make sure you are taking care of your body and working to prevent injury. An easy way to prepare for the specific demands of your sport is to incorporate the components of each activity into your training program at the gym or through at-home workouts before you start playing. Over the next several weeks, we will be highlighting common summer sports and giving you exercise tips to build a solid foundation, improve your performance, and help you stay in the game!
First on the roster is sand volleyball. Many of these exercises can also apply to indoor volleyball, however, playing this sport in the sand adds another level of complexity to jumping, landing, swinging, and running in various directions.
Upper Body Exercises to Prepare for Sand Volleyball
Overhead reaching- Being able to reach overhead is an important part of serving, hitting/spiking, setting, and blocking in volleyball. In this video, we demonstrate exercises for improving motion through the middle of the spine to assist with reaching overhead.
Rotator cuff strengthening- Strong shoulder rotation is a key component of hitting and serving a volleyball. This video shows a great example of an exercise progression for shoulder internal and external rotation to challenge the muscles of the rotator cuff.
Lower Body Exercises to Prepare for Sand Volleyball
Triple extension- This term is used to describe a position where the joints of the lower body are in an extended position. This is very important for jumping, especially through the resistance of the sand. This video shows an exercise progression for the triple extension position.
Balance- The sand provides an unstable, unpredictable surface to move through. This video contains balance exercises that challenge the body in several directions with and without resistance.
Agility- Performing agility exercises will improve how quickly you can move around the court. This video shows simple agility drills you can try without equipment. For an added challenge, try these drills in the sand!
