Lynn Vandyke asked:


th training dominates most athletes’ fitness and conditioning programs through out the year. In particular, volleyball players are well-known to have one of the highest levels of strength training dedication. These elite athletes realize the benefits of a proper periodized strength training program.

Volleyball pushes players to the extreme. Each athlete is expected to excel in explosive movements, vertical jumps, power hitting and intense serves. The position rotation in volleyball signifies the definite need for comprehensive players. Being a great blocker is a huge plus, but volleyball thrives off of all-around spectacular athletes. Strength training is a massive component to any elite athlete.

Strength training for volleyball requires the knowledge of periodization. Periodization means changing one or more variables within your strength training program on a regular and consistent basis. These variables can include the exercise, the frequency of lifting, the intensity of lifting, or the method of lifting.

Volleyball players, as well as most other athletes, work on a yearly periodization schedule. They break their year down into 4 distinct segments or cycles. Each new segment means they should change their strength training program to match that cycle’s goals.

The four segments can be broken down into the off-season, the pre-season, the in-season, and the post-season. Each season has unique goals and a unique strength training program. Athletes allow time for resting, building strength and building sport specific functions before the start of the official game season.

The off-season’s goal is to build power and strength. The off-season utilizes power exercises and higher weights to increase muscle size and strength. Typically, the strength training program is most intense during the off-season. Athletes invest a lot of time to their basic fitness foundation.

The pre-season focuses on actual sport specific functions. Squatting, jumping, lateral stepping, hitting and spiking are all common volleyball movements. The pre-season volleyball strength training routine is less intense than the off-season. The goal is to maintain that strength and power, but to perfect sport specific movements. Most of the routine is dedicated to mock volleyball games and drills.

The in-season purely focuses on maintaining the off and pre-season’s goals. The off-season built power and the pre-season put that power to use. Athletes enjoy the fruits of their labor during the in-season. The spike that flies past the opponent’s head and drills into the floor is proof that strength training for volleyball works.

The post-season’s goals are about relaxation and repair. This is a time of year that includes low intensity workouts. The goal is to allow the body to heal after grueling months of high intensity workouts. These few weeks of rest and low intensity strength training and cardio bring the entire training year to a close. The post-season delivers a skilled and healed athlete to begin the off-season strength and power building again.

Off-season ~ Pre-season ~ In-season ~ Post-season ~ Repeat

Regardless of the season, a few things remain constant. Volleyball players should always perform one or more exercises for each muscle group. Each exercise should be performed through a full ROM (range of motion), and each strength training routine should steer towards sport specific movements.

Strength training for volleyball players is an essential and organic component of their fitness and conditioning program. Strength training delivers the edge that all athletes need to succeed. Periodization is necessary in all strength training programs. Volleyball and other sports have taught us the importance of a proper fitness routine based on specific goals.

Build Muscle

Peter Noopy asked:


nt to be the popular gym buff or want to have a beautiful body like Angelina Jolie? Your reason does not matter at all. Do yourself a favor and build certain level of muscle mass in your body.

To help you, here are few tips to achieve your dream of building a pounds of lean muscle.

The law of progressive overwork simply states that you must increase the amount of reps or the amount of weight lifted every single workout in order to start muscle growth.

Now the point is, how are we benefited from it when the body gets adapted to the stimuli? Well the key is to place ever growing demand on the body, thus forcing it to repeatedly adapt. Training with weights is certainly the best method to accomplish this. By using this technique, you can easily recognize the weight of the equipment that you can hoist. Eventually, you can add more weight so that you may start building those muscles.

If you exercise with the exact same weight each session and carry out the same amount of repetitions, how can you be expecting your body to grow? So, if you want larger biceps, you must increase the load you are lifting each session or the amount of reps.

Perform 8-12 reps on any given work out. This will arouse most muscle growth. Lower rep ranges of say 3-6 work fine for building strength but not essentially muscle hypertrophy (growth). Higher reps e.g. 15 to 20 repetitions may also trigger your muscle to grow. Unfortunately, this is not enough if you want to have that pack of muscles in your body. What you should do is to lift heavy weights that would let you do at least eight repetitions but not more than 12 repetitions.

Do 6-9 sets for every body part. If you are working out with good form this is everything you’ll require fueling the muscle growth. You want to keep your workouts less than forty-five minutes to stay away from the release of hormones that actually break your muscle tissue down. Fortunately, you can accomplish this easily by doing a maximum of 9 sets for each body part.

When you lift weights your muscles actually tear & your body repairs them and grows. If you want your muscle fibers to grow, it must be given the essential supplements. It is as simple as eating a big so that you can also be big. A good bodybuilding diet will allow you to grow with minimal fat at the same time.

Muscle equals protein. Your muscle tissue needs to be repaired or at least replenished after you work out. Therefore, it is a must that you consume a high quantity. Protein intake can be very tricky. Several starters are not aware that they are actually getting inadequate protein. On the other hand, those who have been working out for so long take high amount of proteins which are no longer needed by the body.

Your lean weight is your whole body weight less the amount of fat you are carrying. You will want to know your body fat percentage for this. In case you are not yet sure, you can also use the Body Fat Calculator so that you can have a good approximation. Another rule is to eat at least 1 gram of protein for each and every pound of your body’s total weight. So a 160 lb man must take 160 grams of protein per day.



Muscle Gain