General Workout + Volleyball

[volley_newbie]

I would like to get some opinion from the forum regarding if I am over training or over straining myself. I am an active 37 year old recreational volleyball player. I don't want to get hurt by over doing it. Does this routine slow my jumping ability. Please advice. I appreciate all the valuable input. Thank you in advance.

Here is my routine:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday - I do weight training.
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - I do Cardio + some jumping exercise for volleyball.

I play recreational volleyball on Monday and Friday night.

[BHitterDPasser]

It's really not information to tell. What are you doing with your weight training? What are you doing for cardio? What are your overall goals? What is your current fitness status?

[OmniSpiker]

In general, I don't train on game day, competition or recreational.

[kvb]

I would echo both of the above posts. Also, what kind of jump training are you doing?

[volley_newbie]

Thank you all for the quick response. Here is a short summary of my volleyball journey. I am excited that I got a new sport to learn.

I started to play sand volleyball in the summer of 2007. I have always been active in sports(soccer). BTW i am 38 years old. Initially I felt winded and exhausted so in November 2007 I started an overall fitness program to improve conditioning and overall tone. Meanwhile I switched from sand volleyball to indoors to keep improving my overall game of serving, digging and setting. I think I am improving but I don't feel I am not doing enough. As everyone may already notice on recreational play there are many coaches telling you what to do. LOL.

I have been reading and researching the internet including many post on this forum on how to improve my game. In most of the articles they mentioned about different exercises to improve verticals, agility and quickness. So I was curious if what I am doing is overtraining and going about the wrong way to improve my game. That lead me to the post in this forum.

Mon & Friday - Upper Body.
Wed - Lower Body
Alternate every week the lower body and upper body.
Tue, Thur and Saturday - Running on Treadmill for 35 minutes.
Play indoor volleyball on Monday and Friday night. I play 6's and sometimes 4's.

I also do standing jump onto the depth jump boxes(18 inches and 24 inches) maybe once a week.

Here is my workout summary:
Upper Body
Chest, back, bicep, tricep and shoulders.
Bench Press, Dumbell flyes, seated rows, lat pulldowns, EZ Curl, hammer curl, tricep pushdowns, seated tricep pushdown, shoulder press and standing front raises

Wednesday - alternate every week
Lower Body
Quads, Hamstring, Abs, calves
Squats on smith machine, leg press, hamstring curls, deadlifts, machine crunch, incline V crunch, seated calf raises and standing calve raises

[kvb]

I'm not a trainer, there are many people on here more knowledgeable in that department, but will give you my 2 cents because I train and play at least 5 times a week and just love it.

It sounds like you are giving your body only one day's rest a week. If this is a new program, you may need one other day to rest. You can combine cardio plus weights on some days to be more efficient. I also prefer to do both upper and lower body in same day, just different parts of each on different days - that way you get a better overall workout. Do cardio first to get your heart rate up, then weights. Maybe on those days cut the cardio time down from 35 minutes to only 14 to 20. If you transition right to the weights after cardio, your heart rate will stay up. It sounds like you need more core - you can do abs every day if you wanted to and there are zillions of exercises for them like reverse crunches, pikes, planks, bicycles, also do some of these on an incline bench, etc. How about more jump training stuff plus things to improve your balance than just the box jumps - like lunges, and squat jumps, squatting and/or jumping on a bosu ball, single leg squats with dumbell weights, etc. There's lots of these kind of exercises!! Also how about some dips, pushups, pullups and other stuff for your shoulders and more focus on the triceps, which are used a ton in volleyball. I also don't train on the same day as I play competitive volleyball, but have been known to attend pickup volleyball after a training night. Just watch out for overuse and injuries especially in the beginning and also when you advance to the next level/push yourself in training. Also remember you are weight training for an athlete - not to get huge!! How many huge, super muscular volleyball players do you know??? Not too many right!!

I think you can cut back on the multitude of weight lifting exercises you are doing and go for quality as it relates to volleyball. Remember you are going for improvement in your power. So you need to work on both strength AND speed!!

Finally, the impact of diet and nutrition and sleep cannot be underestimated and can greatly multiply the benefits of your training, or can also slow your progress if you neglect these areas. Also have the right shoes - Make sure you have a good pair of sneakers - don't skimp!

Happy training

[OmniSpiker]

Understand that most training regiments are designed with the younger athlete in mind, teens and early twenties. When you get a little older, you require more of a rest and recovery period. I use to train three times a day 1 hour period, five days out of the week. Now I'm 34 and should be only training once a day 45 min period, three days out of the week.

Every person's body is different. My best rule of thumb is if your'e tired and can't perform a movement with control, don't do it for risk of injury is very high. It's much better to feel energetic after an exercise routine rather than feeling depleted and worked out. That's my basis.

[BHitterDPasser]

A few comments about the below posts:

One of the best < 5'6" middles I know is super muscular. Ask RevJim & NERT about Chuck. He's definitely an exception though.

I train for overall fitness and not just volleyball. Although I am a volleyball player, it is not the only thing I do. That said, I am certain to work in exercise to ensure good shoulder health into my workouts and I am now adding more leg work to prevent knee pain as well as hopefully help my vert.

Like Omni & KVB I do not weight train on game days. I hit the gym on Mondays and Fridays I also make certain that if I am playing in a tournament on Saturday that I complete my friday workout in the early morning. I have not experienced any problems performing ab work on game days.

[nmsvbteam]

I take my personal trainer certification test on Monday, but have been training and competing at a high level in the sport for a long time (18 years this year...jeez...)

There is always lots of advice out there, good and bad. Doing plyo's, namely depth jumps and drop jumps, is a bad idea unless you can pass the test of squatting 1.5 times your body weight at a minimum. That is because if you can't handle that weight, your tendons and ligaments are likely not strong enough to handle the impact from those jumps,you could injure yourself, and you are more likely to make gains by increasing leg strength rather than focusing on neuromuscular response.

In a brief, and insufficient nut shell: build your core strength, stabilize your joints first and then focus on improving muscle strength and endurance. The king exercises for volleyball are squats (free weight only) and deadlifts. Everything else is window dressing really. Gradually build your threshold for those exercises. You can build explosiveness using heavy weights once you are ready for them. That is, you can exert maximum force against a heavy resistance. Even though you may not move the weight quickly, your musclular response is such that you will recruit more fibers more quickly. Also, make sure you have a good flexibility component included in everything. THe last thing you want to do is injure yourself training or playing. On cardio, try interval training. You will build your capacity much more quickly and effectively using this method than jogging at a steady pace for 1,2, 3 hours, etc. 3 days a week of split routine is fine, probably close to an ideal if you can majage it and you can do cardio every day if you wanted. If you are playing one day a week, don't do more than one more day a week of anything that involves jumping because you can wind up wearing your joints down. Focus more on technique and do very limited numbers of sets of things like tuck jumps, squat jumps, even approaches. Again, I don't think that will bring you the most benefit. Oddly enough, power lifters are some of the best jumpers in the world. I wrote an article a while back on training that is somewhere in the article section, maybe it could help...

[volley_newbie]

Thank you everyone for the valuable feedback.

kvb - I have to try some of the exercises you mentioned.

OmniSpiker - I hear what you are saying. Injury is my biggest fear and that is what lead me to this questions.

nmsvbteam - Good luck on your test. I have a few followup questions to your post. I really appreciate you initial feedback.

I currently squat using the smith-machine since I don't have a spotter. At the moment I do 5 sets. I don't know how much the smith-machine bar weighs but I start with 45lbs on each side and gradually increase to 45+15 lbs, 45+25 lbs and 45+35lbs and finish with 45lbs. You recommended free weights, is using the smith-machine ok?

Right now i am doing HIIT cardio for 30 minutes with 5 minutes cool down on a treadmill. I jog for 3 minutes and sprint for 45 secs. Jog 6.3 and sprint 9.0.

What do you mean by split routine? I am trying to do weights 3 days a week with cardio in between those days.

The main reason I am working out this way is to tone up my physique and lose some midsection fat.

Last question - With all the above working out days should I do one day of jumping exercises with my 3 step approach. My spiking technique stinks. I am always thinking too much and loose the footwork. When I jump I can get higher than the net but need to improve my approach. Trying to find a place to practice the approach is whole another issue.

Thank you again for the valuable input.