Upper Workout for Hitters/Serving
Upper Body Exercises for Hitters/Serving
To be a great hitter, on top of having good form, you need a combination of strength and speed. When you have both, you have explosive power: massive force over a short period of time.
To achieve this, we will focus on exercises that target the main and supporting muscle groups, as well as exercises that incorporate explosiveness. The main exercises will be:
- Overhead medicine ball slams
- Kneeling single-arm medicine ball push
- Overhead press*
- Pushups
- Straight arm pulldown
- Bow and Arrow
*This is an exercise that needs to be performed with utmost care. With good form and a gradual increase in weight over subsequent sessions, injury can be avoided. However, if performed improperly, the risk of injury drastically increases. As with all guidance for health and exercise, consult a physician or personal trainer before engaging - especially if there are pre-existing issues that may require rehabilitation.
Overhead Medicine Ball Slams
Version 1: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart with the medicine ball held above your head in both hands. Throw the ball down, 1 to 2 feet from the front of your feet, at 50% strength to gauge the result. Continue increasing power until you're at, or near, 100%. If at any time the ball is out of control, back off on power before ramping back up.
Version 2: stand with feet shoulder width apart, with the medicine ball held above with your dominant hand supporting the weight of the ball, with your non-dominant hand supporting the side (for control when slamming). Perform the same steps as in version 1.
In practice: perform either variation 1 or 2 for 3 sets of 8 reps with minimal rest (1 to 2 minutes) between sets. If this is not enough, either use a heavier ball, increase the sets, increase the reps for each set, or perform as many reps as possible (AMRAP) for the last set.
Kneeling Single-arm Medicine Ball Push
Kneel on the ground with the knee of your dominant arm (if right-handed, this is your right knee). Place the foot of your other leg in front so you have a stable platform with the shin/thigh forming roughly a 90-degree angle. Make sure both of your hips are square with the wall in front and that you are far enough away from the wall that you will not be injured on rebound. Ensure this is not a wall that will be damaged by throwing a medicine ball at it and will not upset your parents with the loud banging. Place the medicine ball in your dominant hand. Rotate your shoulders as you bring the ball behind your head, then rotate forward and try to drive the ball through the wall.
In practice: 3 sets of 8 with minimal rest (1 to 2 minutes) between sets
Overhead Press
Do not perform without first consulting with a physician and/or personal trainer. Do not perform without someone present to spot you during the lift and to correct your form.
Start with just the bar, either the straight bar or, if it is too heavy (45 lbs), with the preacher curl bar (25 lbs). As you get a sense of how much weight you can safely lift, increase the weight equally on each side until you attain that weight.
In practice: perform 3 sets of 8 reps with moderate rest (3 to 5 minutes) between sets. Stop and re-evaluate/eliminate the exercise/weight if there are any twinges in your back/neck. Only re-engage with supervision by a professional.
Pushups
There are about as many ways to perform pushups as there are ways to make coffee. Here's a video of a standard pushup:
If you cannot perform a standard pushup, instead of having your legs straight behind you, place your knees on the ground. Alternatively, you can also stand, with the same form as described in the video, but at an angle with your hands on a bench or plyo box. As the angle increases (closer to standing height), the weight will decrease.
In practice: Perform 3 to 5 sets with a short rest (1 to 2 minutes) between each. Stop your set when you think you can only get 1 more good rep. This number should increase, if not by the next workout, at least by the third workout.
Finisher: If you're finding that your progress is slower than described above, try the following: after you finish the last set, get back in the up position and, as slowly as you can, lower yourself to the ground. When you reach the bottom, get back in the up position and do the same again. Caution: think about placing a towel on the ground under your face as you may collapse to the ground if your triceps/shoulders give out.
Straight Arm Pulldown
For this, you will need a cable machine or an exercise band. If using bands, place them over a pull-up bar/secure horizontal bar and then place one end through the loop of the other. Next, place your hands inside the free loop, spread your hands until they're at least shoulder width apart, and then kneel on the ground to apply tension to the band.
This exercise starts with you a couple/few steps back from the pulley/horizontal bar with your hands raised in the air and tension on the cable/band. Next, lower the bar/your hands until it/they either touch your thights or are only a few inches away.
In practice: perform 3 sets of 8 reps with minimal rest (1 - 2 minutes) between sets. Use enough wait for each set to be challenging. This should require less weight on subsequent sets if enough were used on the prior one.
Bow and Arrow
For this exercise, you will need either a cable machine or an exercise band. If using a band, tie it off to a horizontal bar using the same method as in the above exercise. With your arm extended in front of you, back up until there is tension in the band. If using a cable machine, select the desired weight and step back, with your arm straight, until the weights are a few inches from the rest of the stack.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with your hand at elbow height. Next, pull the elbow of your extended hand back behind your head. Experiment with your fist gripping the handle or the band being either parallel with the ground (thumb to the left and pinky to the right) or perpendicular to it (thumb up and pinky down).
In practice: perform 3 sets of 8 reps with minimum rest (1 to 2 minutes) between sets. Perform the same variations as above in the Overhead Medicine Ball section.
Final Thoughts
- Try splitting up the exercises into two groups, performing one on Monday (or whichever day you start) with the other taking place 3 to 4 days later.
- The goal is to have the muscle fatigued at the end of the first or second set, and modify the exercise and/or weight so as to make the 3rd set hard to complete but able to be completed with good form.
- Discomfort is desired, but pain is not. If there is pain, immediately discontinue and consult a physician and/or expert. The goal is to make you a better volleyball player.. this cannot happen if you're sitting the bench with an injury.
- Is it safe for my daughter to lift at her age?
- This is not medical advice, nor is it required to play in our club. The above exercises are merely provided as a tool to help your athlete excel at hitting and serving. Engaging in these activities is done at your own risk after following the steps you think are necessary to remove unnecessary risk. FC Firecrackers VBC and their staff have placed ZERO requirements for these exercises to be performed to join/participate/play with/in our travel volleyball club.
