Tip Topic:  Flexibility and Volleyball-Stretch Your Imagination

First, let’s get on the same page.  We talk about Flexibility all the time-usually in the same sentence with the words, “I have really bad flexibility”.   What are we saying by that?  Flexibility is commonly defined as a range of motion around a joint.  Each joint has an optimal range of motion compatible with safe and effective movement.  A limited range of motion can compromise your volleyball playing skills or affect your ability to speed up or slow down when making plays on the court.

Stretching is the method used to increase flexibility.  There is great debate as to the benefits of stretching for many athletes of many sports.  So, what is the deal with volleyball?  Should flexibility training be a part of your workout and if so when and what do you do?  This fit tip will try to answer some of those questions.

Flexibility training for volleyball should involve both dynamic and static stretching exercises, but at different times to do different things for the body.

Performing stretches which work on dynamic flexibility teaches your body to move more safely, efficiently, and powerfully. Athletes often develop tightness and inflexibility because of the repetitive movements that make up their sport. Sport specific stretching can be done to help balance out the strength and flexibility issues they've developed from these repetitive movements.

If static stretches are performed prior to a workout requiring explosive movements; like that of a volleyball practice or match the act of stretching may be counterproductive.  Here is why? Muscles are less responsive during the time immediately after static stretching. Static (lengthen and hold) stretches confuse muscle and tendon reflexes which may throw off an athlete’s coordination.

Static volleyball stretching basically relaxes and turns off your muscles capacity to speak to the body. Performing a dynamic (actively moving thru a range of motion) stretching routine, allows you to “turn on” your muscles and increase the communication between mind and muscle-meaning, you move better.

A volleyball warm up should contain volleyball dynamic flexibility exercises. Dynamic means the stretching is active. Stretching while you’re moving warms up your body, preparing for movement while also activating your nervous system.

Static stretching after a workout may be the best time because your muscles are warmed up. The increased muscle temperature increases the elastic properties of the muscle and therefore allows for a greater stretch. Stretching can be used as part of a cool-down which will help restore the muscle back to resting length, reduce soreness, and enhance recovery for the next volleyball workout.

You will get a great return on your time invested in dynamic flexibility exercises.

Taking just 5 to 10 minutes a day to perform dynamic exercises before you workout for volleyball will increase your sport specific strength along with volleyball specific flexibility.

Proper Hydration and Nutrition-Before, During and After Competition

Preparing the body to play the sport of volleyball is complex.  Practices will include drills to improve your skills and conditioning.  Competitive volleyball requires a combination of agility, strength, accuracy, and explosive power. However, skill alone will not make a player successful.  To allow your body to perform optimally, you must be optimally hydrated and fueled to sustain 2 and 3 hr long practices, and multi-match tournament sessions.   This month’s fit tip gives your body some advice to use before, during and after practice and competition to maximize your performance. This article provides nutrition and hydration tips to help you stay at the top of your volleyball game. 

Ensure Adequate Pre-Game Nutrition

The evening before a volleyball competition is critical for loading the body with adequate carbohydrates. The choice: lots of carbohydrates (like bread, pasta and rice) with moderate protein (like lean chicken, fish, or beans) and moderate fat (like frozen yogurt or oatmeal cookies). Also, don’t forget an evening snack. Snack suggestions include cold cereal with low-fat milk or a turkey sandwich is great.

Hoosierland Volleyball Club athletes should plan and pack pre-game high-carbohydrate foods to fuel before playing a match. Try these portable high carbohydrate snacks:

• Graham crackers or low-fat crackers
• Trail Mix
• Applesauce or fruit cups
• Low-fat granola bars
• Fruit snacks
• Fresh fruit
• Gatorade or like fluid
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

• Dried fruit

Have A Hydration Plan

1.       Monitor fluid losses by weighing in and out of practices. Volleyball athletes should aim to drink enough during practice so that they don’t lose or gain weight. Sugary water drinks contain large amounts of carbohydrates—it is best only to drink those if you are engaging in activity for over 90-120 minutes. 

2.       During recovery and for every pound of weight lost through sweat, drink 20 to 24 ounces of fluid.

3.       Volleyball athletes should also check the color of their urine. If it is pale like lemonade, that’s a sign of good hydration. If it’s dark like apple juice, they need more fluids.

4.       Sports drink over water are not a bad choice, just consume in moderation and it is best to do this after a match, not during.   The advantage of sports drinks are that they contain electrolytes needing replaced from longer duration, higher intensity activity:   sodium lost in sweat, carbohydrates that fuel working muscles.  In addition, the flavor of sports drinks encourages drinking.  In some cases, it may be best to dilute the sport drink with half water. 

Maintaining Energy Reserves During Volleyball Tournaments

Note of Advise:  All athletes should refrain from drinking sugary soda pop directly before (12 hours) and during tournament play.  Drink all you want (in moderation), after the tournament, but not before or during.  Soda pop contains what is known as “empty” calories.  They are useless calories and do not contain nutrient density, energy based foodstuffs that the body can readily use.  Please refrain from drinking soda on tournament days or 12 hours before playing. 

• Keeping fueled during daylong matches is often a challenge. With anywhere from minutes to hours between matches, volleyball athletes can forget or be too nervous to eat or drink. Be prepared. Pack a cooler full of high-energy snacks, like those listed before.

• Good choices during longer breaks when you can go out for food include:  Submarine sandwiches, vegetable or cheese pizza, milk shakes, nutrition shakes, and smoothies. Keep the fluids flowing so that athletes start each match with a well-hydrated body full of energy.
• Peanut butter, lean lunchmeats, nuts, dried fruits all are easy to pack and can be useful to replacing needed energy to the body.  Do not eat foods that are not easily digestible. 

Developing A Long Term Nutrition Plan

Following a few simple guidelines and planning ahead gives volleyball athletes the nutrition they need to perform for each and every match while keeping their bodies strong for the next practice and competition. Foods after practice and competition are important, as they replace nutrients the body has burned and are critical for season-long success. Reload the muscles 30 minutes after exercise by consuming 0.75 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight.  And don’t forget to stay hydrated. 

All HVC athletes should bring a water bottle to practice with them to consume their water.  The water fountains are “germ hosts”.  Staying healthy will be important to your individual and teams success.  Let’s all work together to hydrate and fuel using these tips.   Got more questions-ask Michelle.

HVC December Fit Tip by Michelle Miller

This month’s fit tip serves two purposes.  (1) To begin to explain why we need to condition the way we will ask you to over the next few months and (2) to actually give you a workout you can do at home as you wait for practices to resume after the holiday break. 

Volleyball Conditioning Done Right

One of the biggest mistakes made in preparing a volleyball player is not training the correct energy system that is applied to the body as it plays the sport. 

How is thirty minutes of low intensity jogging going to prepare you for the 5 to 15 seconds of high intense action that occurs in volleyball? It isn't.

If exercising at a low intensity for a long period of time isn’t the answer, then what is? To answer that question let's briefly look at what occurs in a volleyball match.

A volleyball match usually consists of match play, best of 3 or 5 games, with all games played to 25 points except the last which is to 15.

To be successful in volleyball, you need to be able to perform quick, explosive movements such as short sprints, quick lunges to the side, quick approaches to jump and hit, and jumps to block. Rally’s last, on average, for 6 seconds.

A player’s intensity of effort should be much greater during the rally than between rallies. The time between rallies is when the player recovers. This is the difference between using your body's anaerobic energy systems and aerobic energy systems.

Anaerobic exercises that should be considered for your volleyball conditioning...

• Weight training
  Free weights and medicine balls are common tools for weight training for volleyball to increase strength and power. It's important to understand that free weights are a form of anaerobic training. Volleyball weight training should mainly consist of performing exercises with low repetitions at high intensities with rest periods between sets.

• Jump Training
  A big part of volleyball is the volleyball approach and the volleyball block. It only makes since to train your body to jump higher, faster, and more explosively.

·         Speed Training
While long slow running is effective for preparing the aerobic system (endurance to last in the sport), sprinting (anaerobic short bursts of high power and intensity) is effective for getting volleyball players into volleyball match play shape. Common types of sprinting are court suicides, hill sprints, and sprints up stairs. Developing speed through volleyball conditioning is often combined with plyometric (power jumping) and agility movements.

·         Work to Rest Ratio

1.    It's important to note the difference between aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.

2.    During aerobic exercise, the athlete is recovering during the exercise.

3.    During anaerobic exercise, the athlete recovers between the bouts of exercise.

4.    Remember, volleyball is a game of high intensity effort with rest periods between efforts.

5.    Anaerobic training should be the focus of volleyball conditioning, with the goal to increase power endurance.

6.    Volleyball conditioning should be designed with the work to rest ratios that closely mimic the work to rest ratios of your volleyball match.

HVC November Fit TIP of the Month
- By Michelle Miller

It’s almost here—time for HVC tryouts for the 2009/2010 club season. We realize that most of your school seasons are still going or have just recently finished and while we want you to rest and recover from a long season, you must still work to maintain your fitness level and volleyball conditioning. Tryouts will be strenuous and stressful to the body. It is important that you are continuing your fitness over the down time before tryouts and after until the season practices begin in December. This is a good time to get to a weight training room or you can do some of this work right in your own home. Below are some training tools to help you maintain your fitness over the next few weeks for tryouts and the three weeks between tryouts and the beginning of club season. Good luck and work hard.

1) Basic pushups—3 sets of 10 to 15—this is to continue to strengthen your upper body

2) Lunges with overhead press ups using a weight(milk jugs, medicine balls a dumbbell)-this drill is to condition your lower body

3) Light Jogging/running or fast walk—1 to 1.5 miles (2-3 days/week to keep cardiovascular system at a maintenance level)

4) 3 cones or objects that require you to go over (minimum of 12 inches tall): lateral high stepping—right , left—right , left—right, left and repeat going the other direction 5 sets of 10 repeats with 1:30 recovery between sets—this drill us used more for quickness and reaction

As with any drill, warm up appropriately, listen to your body and stay consistent. The above drills could be completed 2-3 days a week to help you maintain a fitness level achieved during your season. Maintaining your overall health is important as well. You can do this by eating healthy, staying hydrated, getting appropriate sleep and washing your hands as much as possible. You will need to be at your best for tryouts-this will help you get you started.

Best of Luck To You All!

-Michelle