Good Stretches for Volleyball Players

A volleyball player should focus on strengthening his/her muscles to be able to do great job on the court. When you play the game of volleyball, your whole body is usually used. It’s no surprise that the success of a volleyball player depends a lot on his/her legs. That’s why it’s incredibly important for an athlete to have strong legs and hips. If a volleyball player has explosive power, then he/she will be able to approach to the ball quickly, jump high in the air and carry out an attack hit when it’s necessary. Strong shoulders as well as strong back allow a volleyball player to hit the ball with power. Additionally, an athlete should aim to strengthen the muscles of forearm and upper arm. But most importantly, strengthening muscles help volleyball players avoid different types of injuries during games and practices. That means that volleyball players should go to the gym and do strength exercises on a regular basis.

Doing stretches makes volleyball player’s body flexible and, most importantly, helps him/her prevent various injuries on the court. It’s worth noting that doing stretches reduces the risk of the most common volleyball injuries such as ankle sprain, fractured fingers, lower back strain, knee injuries, rotator cuff tendinitis as well as wrist sprain.

It goes without saying that stretches need to be a key part of a volleyball player’s warm up program. Your upper body and lower body will need to be stretched. When you do stretches before volleyball practices, you’ll be able to greatly improve your performance on the court during practices and games. Also, it makes a lot of sense for athletes to do stretches after volleyball practices. In this case, volleyball players will be able to relax their muscles. If the worst happens and a volleyball player gets an injury, he/she can do stretching exercises as well. By doing so, an athlete will be able to recover from an injury faster.

The big question is – what types of stretches are good for the sport of volleyball? Let’s dig deeper into this question and try to find the answer to it right now. Luckily, there are many good stretching exercises for volleyball athletes. Each of these exercises can be done before and after volleyball practices to minimize the risk of injuries on the court. In this blog, we’ll describe some of the best stretches for volleyball players.

Arm and Shoulder Stretch

You have to prepare a broom stick for this type of stretch. First of all, you need to stand with your arm out and take a broom stick. Make sure that your forearm points upwards. The angle between your forearm and elbow has to be about 90 degrees. Now, it’s time to take the bottom of a broom stick with other hand. After that, you should try to pull the bottom of the broom stick forward. Keep in mind that this stretch is very good for arms and shoulders.

Anterior Deltoid

It’s recommended to do this stretch before a match, practice or workout. Doing this stretch will make it possible for you to cool down your muscles and improve your flexibility. In order to do this stretch you need to stand in front of the door first. Next, you have to extend your arm and put it on the door jamb. After that, you should flex your elbow. Then, you need to turn your torso away from your hand. You should feel the stretch in your shoulder.

Deltoids and Rotator Cuff

It all begins with preparation. Initially, you need to stand straight. Your right arm needs to be extended. Make sure that forearm is parallel to the floor. Your left hand needs to be pressed outside your right elbow. Finally, you’ll feel a stretch in your shoulder. Stay at this position for about 30 seconds. In fact, you can do the same with posterior deltoid. However, it’s important for you to raise your horizontal arm when stretching posterior deltoid. Finally, you’ll have an elbow in front of your neck.

Dynamic Stretch

It’s a great idea to do this stretch before volleyball matches, practices or strength workouts. Initially, you need to extend your arms in front of you. So, your hands will be parallel to the floor. Keep your elbows straight. Plus, you need to ensure that your palms face the floor. First, your job is to do small circles with your arms. Second, you need to do 10 circles in reverse. After that, you should try to do large circles with your arms in both directions.

Hamstring Stretch

Doing this stretch helps athletes get ready for defensive play. When doing this stretch you need to incline your body and make an attempt to touch your toes. However, you should aim to keep your legs straight when doing this type of stretch exercise.

Inch Worms

This stretch is good for calves, core, hamstrings and shoulders. Initially, you need to take a high plank position. Now, you need to try to walk by using your feet only. As a result, your body will take the position that’s very similar to the so called dog pose in yoga. When this happens it’s incredibly important for you to put your heels on the ground. Now, your task is to slowly walk forward by moving your hands only. Finally, your body will take the starting position again. Do this stretching exercise as soon as you walk between 10 – 15 yards. It will take you about 30 – 40 seconds to complete this stretch. Doing this stretch exercise during a warm up period you will be able to prepare your whole body for the game.

Wrist and Forearm Stretch

It’s another good stretch for volleyball payers. Doing this stretch positively affects athlete’s wrists and forearms. Initially, you need to extend your hands straight in front of you. Make sure that your arms are parallel to the ground. Then, you should form the lock with your wrists. When the lock is formed, next you need to rotate your wrists down and outwards. Plus, you need to rotate your hands upwards.

Kneeling Hip and Quad Stretch

Actually, this type of stretch is easy to do. So, you are likely to find it easy to take an initial position and do the stretch. All that you need to do is to place one leg forward and put one knee on the floor. As a result, you will have one knee on the floor and the other leg bent 90 degrees. By doing this, you’ll be able to get a kneeling lunge position. Spend some time in this position and after that change your legs and do the same.

Side Lunge Stretch

Oftentimes, volleyball players need to get their body low in order to take a squatting position during the game. Side lunge stretch is the exercise that helps athletes prepare for this position in the best possible way. If you do this stretch before the game or practise, you’ll be able to get ready your legs for a defence play. Volleyball players need to do side lunge on the right first and then they need to switch sides and do side lunge on the left.

Triceps Stretch

Straight your right hand in front of you and move your left arm across the chest. Your task is to touch triceps with the left arm. Then, you need to change your hands and do the same. After that, you should push elbows over the top of shoulders. Stay in this position for about 10 – 12 seconds and switch your arms right and left.

Quad Stretch, Side Lunge and Overhead Reach

This stretching exercise consists of three stages: quad stretch, side lunge and overhead reach. First of all, you need to do quad stretch. When taking this position you should push your hip forward. Then, you have to do side lunge on the right. This will help you create a good platform for receiving the ball. From this position, you’ll need to reach overhead. After that, you’ll have to repeat everything once again. The only difference is that you have to do side lunge on the left.

Thank you so much for reading this article. We’ve just provided you with unique stretches for all muscle groups that you need to do in order to take your flexibility to the next level. If you do these volleyball stretches regularly, you’ll be able to improve your performance significantly and avoid various injuries that negatively affect athlete’s career. Do these volleyball stretching exercises in order change your game! Best of luck!