Training for Explosiveness in the Sand

Beach volleyball is a sport dominated by quick, explosive movements. You can have great volleyball fundamentals, but if you aren’t fast enough to get to the ball, you won’t be able to make that perfect pass. The quicker we are in the sand the better we can get into proper position to pass that perfect pass to our partner who in turn can give us that buttery set we all love. In this issue we’ll discuss how to increase our explosiveness in the sand.

Before performing these movements be sure to warm-up thoroughly using the exercises presented in the last two issues (http://fasttwitchfitness.blogspot.com/). Starting with high knees, perform each movement for the desired time (see below), rest, and then move onto the next movement. You will be performing a circuit of four movements. The goal is to perform these movements as quickly as you can for the allotted time. Maintain your speed as best you can throughout the allotted time.

If you have pre-existing injuries skip any movements that do not seem appropriate for you.

Recommended Work:Rest intervals

Beginners – 20:40 (20 seconds on, 40 seconds rest)

Intermediate – 30:30 (30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest)

HIGH KNEES: Stand tall with feet hip width apart. Drive alternating knees upwards toward your chest , simultaneously pumping your arms. Land on the balls of your feet and immediately drive the knee back up. Remember the name of this movement is High Knees so get ‘em up! Again, Beginners do – 20:40 (20 seconds on, 40 seconds rest)

And Intermediates do – 30:30 (30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest)

By the way, it helps if you can be in a good mood while doing these exercises, like this cheery guy!

SKATERS: This is a great exercise for the glutes. Stand tall with feet at least shoulder width apart. Shift weight to left leg while bending your left knee. Swing arms to the left as you bring your right leg behind your left. Quickly switch sides by pushing off from your left leg and hopping towards your right. Land on your right leg and allow your left leg to swing behind and your arms to swing naturally to the right. Repeat back and forth for the allotted time: Beginners – 20:40 (20 seconds on, 40 seconds rest)

Intermediate – 30:30 (30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest)

IN AND OUTS: Stand tall with feet wider than shoulder width apart. Step your right foot in and then step your left foot in. Next step your right foot out wide and follow it by stepping the left foot wide. Repeat for the desired time. If your dance moves are more Elaine Benes than Britney Spears, it may help to say “in-in-out-out” while performing this movement. Concentrate on moving your feet as fast as possible. Beginners, do this move for – 20:40 (20 seconds on, 40 seconds rest) and Intermediates, do – 30:30 (30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest)

DIAMOND JUMPS: Draw four small Xs, 11/2 to 2 feet apart from each other in a shape of diamond. Start by standing at the top of the diamond. Keeping ankles together, jump clockwise in a diamond pattern. Land on the balls of your feet and use a double arm swing to stabilize your body. Switch directions at the halfway point (10 seconds for beginners, 15 seconds for intermediate) and jump counterclockwise for the remainder of the time. Remember, the point of this is to increase speed, so concentrate on getting as many hops as you can in the allotted time (Beginners – 20:40 (20 seconds on, 40 seconds rest) Intermediate – 30:30 (30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest)

He Sticks the Landing! Judges Score: a Perfect 10!

Whew! Rest 1-2 minutes and then repeat the circuit. Yes, repeat it!

If you perform these exercises regularly (2-3 times a week), you will notice your speed increasing and it will become easier to go for longer durations for each exercise. These simple and effective exercises will prepare your muscles for the high demands of the beach game and your opponents won’t know what hit them!

See you on the beach!

Eric Hand, MA , CMT

Clinical Exercise Physiologist

Fast Twitch Fitness

“We’re all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training.”

Volleyball Conditioning Warm Up #2

In this edition we’ll continue developing an efficient and effective warm-up for the beach game. A quick observation of beach volleyball clearly indicates that power is a key component to our success. As the power needs of the sport increase so does the importance of the warm-up. If we are expecting our body to react and sprint, dive and jump in that first play it would be wise of us to do a little prep work first.

A simple, focused lower body warm-up can increase muscle temperature and blood flow to our leg muscles allowing for faster muscle contraction, force development and reaction time. An effective warm-up can be completed in as little as 8-12 minutes. Think of this time as an investment to both reduce your risk of injury and prepare your body for the explosive demands that will be placed on it as soon as the first ball is served.

High knee walk
This movement is designed to wake up those hamstrings and hip flexors. Start on the right side line and face the left side line. Lift your right knee high (to approximately 90 degrees of hip and knee flexion) while bringing your left hand near your left ear. Step down with your right leg and immediately bring your left knee and right hand up. Continue walking across the court like this until you’ve reached the left side line, turnaround and repeat to the right side line.

High knee run
This movement is very similar to the high knee walk, however this time we’ll add a quick hop as we step down. Start on the right side line and face the left side line. Lift your right leg high (to approximately 90 degrees of hip and knee flexion) while bringing your left hand near your left ear. Step down with your right leg bringing your left knee and right hand up and immediately taking a small hop on your right leg. Switch legs, this time taking a small hop with your left leg. Continue until you’ve reached the left side line, turnaround and repeat to the right side line.


















Shuffle
Start by facing the net on the right side line and lower into an athletic stance with a slight bend at the hips and knees. Leading with the left foot, sidestep pushing off with the right foot. Shuffle toward the left side line making sure you do not cross your feet. Keep your shoulders square and your gaze towards the net in front of you. Gradually work to lower your stance while you shuffle.





























Carioca or Grapevine (advanced)
A great movement to warm-up those hips and improve range of motion in the trunk. Start by facing the net on the right side line and hold your arms out to the side in a T position. Run laterally (toward the left side line) by crossing your right foot in front of your left and then quickly stepping your right foot behind your left (side step, crossover step, side step, crossover behind). Allow your hips to rotate and your arms to follow. Be sure to keep the knee high as it crosses the body and hold your upper body relatively stationary.


























































These simple and effective warm-up exercises will prepare your muscles for the high demands of the beach game and your opponents won’t know what hit them. Straight down!

See you on the beach!

Eric Hand, MA , CMT
Clinical Exercise Physiologist
Fast Twitch Fitness

“We’re all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training.”

Rainy Day Workouts

Remember when you were a kid and you would play for hours and hours? We’d play not because it lowered our cholesterol, or blood pressure or because our doctor told us to. We simply did it because it was FUN!!!! I wonder what the magic age is when play becomes “exercise”?

I would venture to say I’m not the only one who plays volleyball because it’s fun and gives me the opportunity to “play” for hours.

Well, how can we keep that fun feeling on those rainy days when we can’t play at the beach and don’t feel like hitting the gym?

Here’s a quick 30 minute workout you can do at home that will keep the fun factor high (and oh yes, it will improve your conditioning too).

Equipment you’ll need

Jump rope
Volleyball or medicine ball for extra resistance
Mix of your favorite songs to keep you movin'

Rainy Day Workout (Circuit #1)

• Knees to Elbows for 30 seconds

• 12 Squats (see proper squatting technique in the Volleyball Conditioning posting)
  
• 20 Jumping jacks
• 10 Pushups
• 25 Crunches
• Jump rope for one minute
• 15 Skaters to each side
  

• 15 Medicine Ball Pops

• 50 Bicycle crunches (similar to crunches but alternating knee to elbow)
  
• Jump rope for one minute
• 8 Lateral lunges in both directions (see proper lunge technique in the Volleyball Conditioning posting)
• 12 Triceps extension with medicine/volleyball (pacefit.com med ball)

• Foot to foot crunches (15 to each side)

• Jump rope for one minute
• 15 Medicine Ball Pops (see above)
  
• 8 Burpees

Phew! Nice job, Now take some well deserved water and a few minutes to stretch.

Hope you enjoyed this workout and I'll see you on the beach when the sun returns!

Eric Hand, MA , CMT
Exercise Physiologist
Fast Twitch Fitness

“We’re all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training.”

All the information presented on the FastTwitchFitness Blog is for educational and resource purposes only. It is there to help you make informed decisions about health related fitness issues. It is NOT a substitute for any advice given to you by your physician. Always consult your physician or health care provider before beginning any exercise program. Use of the programs, advice, and information contained in this website is at the sole choice and risk of the reader.
In no way will FastTwitchFitness or any persons associated with FastTwitchFitness be held responsible for any injuries or problems that may occur due to the use of this blog or the advice contained within. FastTwitchFitness will not be held responsible for the conduct of any companies and/or websites recommended within this blog.

Kick, stretch and kick!

When to stretch? Before? During? After?

One of my clients said it best, “stretching is the flossing of the exercise world.” We know we probably should, but rarely take the time. How important is stretching and when is the best time to stretch?

A warm-up for beach volleyball should prepare us for training or competition. This preparation time ideally improves our performance and reduces our risk of injury. Stretching used to be considered a vital part of this warm-up. However, there is little to no evidence that stretching before training or competition prevents injury or muscle soreness. In fact, recent research suggests that stretching can actually hinder our performance by impeding force, power, speed and reaction time. I don’t know about you but I don’t need anything else to slow me down or reduce my ability to jump.

While the ideal warm-up does not include stretching, don’t throw out the floss quite yet. Stretching does play a role in our conditioning program, because inflexibility and imbalances in flexibility can increase our risk for injury. So when is the best time to stretch? For optimal benefits we should stretch 5-10 minutes post-training and competition. At this point our muscles are warm and more able to stretch. We may also want to include a separate session for stretching each week if we’re inflexible. The day after a competition is a great time for this. For some examples on stretches to include visit: http://volleyballpr.tripod.com/id2.html

In summary, here a three things to keep in mind about stretching:

- Ideally, stretching should not be included in our pre-training or competition warm-up
- The best time to stretch is 5-10 minutes after training or competition
- Inflexibility and imbalances in flexibility can increase our risk for injury

Until next time…See you on the beach Stretch!

Eric Hand, MA , CMT
Exercise Physiologist
Fast Twitch Fitness

“We’re all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training.”

Volleyball Conditioning

Beach volleyball is a very dynamic game that requires strength, agility, flexibility and power. If you want your body to be ready to respond for that first dive onto the sand or that first joust at the net, it is crucial that you are properly conditioned.

When you arrive at the beach, before you even touch a ball, I recommend you include a few dynamic warm-up exercises. A dynamic warm-up involves sport specific exercises that involve moving the body through slow and controlled ranges of motion. I know that it can be tempting to just “dive” in and start playing, however, a good warm-up can be completed in as little as five minutes. Think of this time as an investment to both reduce your risk of injury and prepare your body for the explosive demands that will be placed on it as soon as the first ball is served. A dynamic warm-up will also awaken your nervous system and help you focus on the upcoming game.

You should perform these movements to your own ability and do not attempt to match someone else’s strength or range of motion. Find your own edge and gradually work to improve it. This month we’ll focus on developing lower body strength and flexibility. Be sure to start at the appropriate level. If you perform these warm-ups regularly you should see improvement and be able to advance to the next level within a month.

Squat with arm extension (Beginner)

Stand with feet slightly turned out, shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. Reach arms out to form a flat platform as if you were going to pass or dig a ball. Inhale deeply and slowly bend your knees to squat down. Think about sitting back and placing your weight on your heels. As you squat be sure to keep your chest high, upper and lower back arched and tight, gaze forward, and weight on your heels. Allow your knees to spread outward toward the toes. Be sure your knees do not move past your toes, however, and do not attempt to go deeper than a thighs parallel to the ground position. Complete the movement by exhaling slowly and pressing through your heels to return to a standing position. Repeat 8-12 times.

You should feel this movement in your quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings, not in your knees or lower back. If flexibility is a problem try using a wider stance. When done properly the squat is a safe exercise and critical to developing speed and vertical jump. Injuries occur when athletes are rushed or not focused and forget to adhere to proper form and technique.

Net Duck (Intermediate)

Stand perpendicular to the net, feet 6-12 inches apart, right shoulder next to the net. Reach arms out as if you were going to pass or dig a ball. Inhale deeply and step your right foot to the right as you slowly bend your knees to squat down underneath the net. Think about sitting back and placing your weight on your heels as you squat down. As you squat be sure to keep your chest high, upper and lower back arched and tight, gaze forward, and weight on your heels. As you squat be sure to keep your arms extended, chest high, gaze forward, , upper and lower back arched and weight on your heels. Complete the movement by exhaling and standing up on the other side of the net. Repeat, this time squatting under the net toward your left. As you squat underneath the net visualize getting low to dig a hard driven ball.

Lateral Squat with arm extension (Advanced)


















Stand on the left side line facing the net, feet shoulder width apart. Reach arms out as if you were going to pass or dig a ball. Inhale deeply and step your right foot several feet to the right as you slowly bend your knees and squat down and to your right. As you squat think about sitting back and placing your weight on your heels as you squat down. Be sure to keep your chest high, upper and lower back arched and tight, gaze forward, and weight on your heels. Visualize getting low and digging a hard driven ball as you squat. Complete the movement by exhaling and returning to a standing position. Repeat until you reach the right side line. Repeat by leading with your left foot and squatting to the left side line.

These exercises will help improve your lower body strength as well as the flexibility in your hips, knees, ankles and inner thigh.

Have a blast with these exercises this month and I welcome your questions and comments.

See you on the beach!

Eric Hand, MA , CMT
Exercise Physiologist
Fast Twitch Fitness

“We’re all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training.”