Do you understand volleyball conditioning? Well don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Volleyball conditioning is much more complex than most people think.

In order to develop an effective conditioning routine players must focus on:

• Increasing anaerobic endurance
• Strengthening fast twitch muscle fibers
• Improving non-linear speed

Volleyball is a completely anaerobic sport because it requires quick, explosive movements. Players must be able to explode vertical and horizontally from a near standstill.

There really is no aerobic component involved within the sport because there is no continuous movement.

So how do players increase anaerobic endurance and explosiveness? Fortunately, the two go hand-in-hand.

Most anaerobic exercises are designed to increase explosiveness, and will strengthen the fast twitch muscle fibers. Strengthening these fibers is essential to a players ability to be explosive on the court.

Volleyball players should focus on high-intensity exercises such as sprints, hill sprints, bodyweight circuits, plyometrics, and agility’s.

Plyometrics should already be included within any volleyball strength and conditioning regime because these exercises are absolutely critical to your success.

When it comes to increasing explosiveness and conditioning, plyometrics should be a volleyball players number one option. These exercises will significantly strengthen fast twitch fibers, and will also increase conditioning levels because of the high-intensity level necessary to complete these exercises.

Players should also implement some type of sprint training in their routine.

Sprints have stood the test of time as a conditioning exercises because of the exercises’ undeniable effectiveness. The great exercises will not only increase your conditioning, but it will also incinerate fat while building lean muscle. To increase the difficulty level, simply advance onto hill sprints, which are significantly more difficult.

Another excellent conditioning technique is agility training. Agility’s are designed to increase foot speed, non-linear quickness, and overall explosiveness. And because of the high-intensity necessary for each exercise, agility’s will also increase anaerobic endurance.

To see maximum gains in your volleyball conditioning, you can also implement bodyweight circuits. These circuits will increase full body strength, but are also a great source for increase anaerobic and muscular endurance. Some popular bodyweight exercises include squat variations, push-up variations, burpees, and planks.

Obtaining great volleyball conditioning isn’t easy, but it is necessary in order to complete at the highest level possible out on the court. Players who are constantly pushing themselves to new levels of conditioning will see the greatest results.

But you must remember to stay focused on techniques that are specific to the sport. Whenever you’re structuring a conditioning regime for volleyball, just remember the sport is purely anaerobic, and stay away from aerobic training!