Volleyball Shoulder Exercises
Top 5 Movements for Healthy Shoulders

Volleyball shoulder exercises that improve strength, stability, and performance. 

Overhead Press

The overhead press works the shoulders along with the triceps and upper back. It can be performed with dumbbells, barbells, or resistance bands, and involves pressing a weight overhead from a starting position at shoulder height. It helps to improve shoulder stability, strength, and mobility.

Here are 5 reasons volleyball players need to do the overhead press.

Shoulder Strength: The overhead press works shoulder muscles including the deltoids. These muscles are used during the shoulder movement of spiking a volleyball. This movement will improve strength that's important for generating power during spiking and serving.

Shoulder Stability: The overhead press requires the volleyball player to stabilize the weight overhead. This movement will improve shoulder stability which helps maintain proper shoulder alignment and prevent excessive motion. Instability during the spiking motion can lead to injury.

Scapular Control: The overhead press also engages the muscles of the upper back. These muscles including the rhomboids, trapezius, and serratus anterior. This movement is essential for maintaining shoulder stability and optimizing shoulder mechanics during serving and spiking in volleyball.

Core Activation: Strengthening the core muscles will provide a solid foundation for generating power. 

Functional Movement Pattern: The movement pattern of the overhead press closely resembles the movement of spiking. This will help you play volleyball more efficiently and effectively.

Shoulder External Rotation

Strengthening the external rotators of the shoulders is important for shoulder stability. This involves rotating the arm outward against resistance. It's particularly beneficial for athletes involved in sports that require repetitive throwing motions, such as serving and spiking.

Here are 5 reasons to strengthen the shoulder external rotators for volleyball.

Rotator Cuff Strengthening: The rotator cuff are a group of muscles that support the shoulder joint. These small muscles help with shoulder stability and function. These muscles include the infraspinatus and teres minor which are primarily targeted in shoulder external rotation exercise. Strengthen these muscles to help reduce the risk of shoulder injury.

Shoulder Imbalance Correction: Repetitive spiking can result in certain muscles becoming overactive or tight while others become weak or inactive. The shoulder external rotation exercise can help correct these imbalances by strengthening the external rotators.

Enhanced Proprioception: Proprioception, which refers to the body's awareness of its position in space, is crucial for accurate and coordinated movements. The shoulder external rotation exercise requires precise control of the arm movement against resistance. This exercise can help improve proprioception and awareness in the shoulder joint.

Injury Prevention: Volleyball players that perform repetitive shoulder movements such as spiking a volleyball are at risk of various shoulder injuries, such as rotator cuff tears, labral tears, and impingements. Strengthening the rotator cuff muscles through exercises like shoulder external rotation can help improve shoulder stability, reduce excessive stress on the shoulder joint, and lower the risk of these types of injuries.

Performance Enhancement: Strong and stable shoulders are essential for generating power for serving and spiking in volleyball.

Bent-Over Rows - Volleyball Shoulder Exercises

Bent-over rows help to improve upper body strength, posture, and shoulder stability. This a compound exercise targets multiple muscles, including the shoulders, upper back, and arms. This exercise involves pulling a weight towards the chest while maintaining a bent-over position. They can be performed with dumbbells, barbells, or resistance bands.

Here are 5 reasons to do bent-over rows for volleyball.

Upper Back Strength: The bent-over row primarily targets the muscles of the upper back, including the rhomboids, trapezius, and latissimus dorsi. This strength exercises will help you maintain proper posture and scapular control during serves and spikes. 

Scapular Retraction: This movement creates scapular retraction which means you are pulling the shoulder blades towards the spine. By strengthening the muscles responsible for scapular retraction, the bent-over row can help athletes develop better scapular control and stability. This will help you improve shoulder mechanics for spiking a volleyball.

Core Activation: Strengthening the core muscles, including the abdominals, obliques, and lower back muscles, through the bent-over row can help athletes develop a solid foundation.

Bilateral and Unilateral Training: The bent-over row can be performed with both bilateral (using both arms at the same time) and unilateral (using one arm at a time) variations. This helps correct muscular imbalances and promote balanced muscle development.

Posture Improvement: Proper posture is essential for optimal shoulder mechanics during overhead throwing motions. Maintain a neutral spine position as you retract the shoulder blades. Improved posture can lead to better shoulder alignment and mechanics during serving and spiking.

Lateral Raises - Volleyball Shoulder Exercises

Lateral raises are isolation exercises that target the lateral deltoids. This movement is done by lifting the arms out to the sides to shoulder height. Lateral raises help to improve shoulder strength and stability.

Here are 5 reasons to do lateral raises for volleyball.

Shoulder Deltoid Strength: The lateral raise primarily works abduction. This is done by lifting the arm away from the body to the side. This improved shoulder strength will help you maintain proper shoulder mechanics during volleyball overhead motions.

Scapular Stabilization: Muscles work together to control the movement of the scapulae (shoulder blades) and maintain proper scapular positioning during volleyball overhead motions such as serving and spiking. Strengthening these muscles through lateral raises can help athletes develop better scapular control and stability.

Rotator Cuff Activation: The rotator cuff muscles, including the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis. The lateral raise exercise can help activate and strengthen the rotator cuff muscles. The supraspinatus is activated as the arm is raised to the side against resistance. This helps prevent shoulder injuries and maintaining optimal shoulder function.

Range of Motion: The lateral raise exercise involves lifting the arm to the side, which can help improve shoulder range of motion in the frontal plane, or side-to-side movement.

Core Activation: The lateral raise exercise helps you maintain proper posture and balance during the exercise. A strong and stable core is essential for generating power in volleyball.

Push Ups - Volleyball Shoulder Exercises

Push-ups are a versatile bodyweight exercise that can be modified to target the shoulders. They engage the chest, triceps, and shoulders, and can be performed with varying hand positions to emphasize different parts of the shoulders.

Here are 5 reasons to do push ups for volleyball.

Upper Body Strength: The push-up is a compound exercise that targets multiple muscle groups, including the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core. Strengthening these muscle groups can help improve overall upper body strength, which is important for generating power during overhead throwing motions and maintaining optimal shoulder mechanics.

Scapular Stability: The push-up requires scapular stability and control, as the athlete needs to protract and retract the shoulder blades while performing the exercise. This mimics the scapular movement that occurs during overhead throwing motions, particularly during the follow-through phase. Strengthening the muscles responsible for scapular stability, including the serratus anterior and lower trapezius, through push-up exercises can help athletes develop better scapular control, stability, and coordination, which can enhance shoulder mechanics and reduce the risk of injury.

Core Activation: The push-up exercise requires activation of the core muscles, including the abdominals, obliques, and lower back muscles, for stabilization and balance. A strong and stable core is essential for generating power and transferring force from the lower body to the upper body during overhead throwing motions. Strengthening the core through push-up exercises can help athletes develop a solid foundation for generating power and optimizing their throwing performance.

Range of Motion: The push-up requires a full range of motion of the shoulder joint, which can help improve shoulder mobility and flexibility. This can be beneficial for overhead throwing athletes as it can help maintain proper shoulder mechanics and reduce the risk of shoulder injuries.

Functional Movement Pattern: The push-up exercise involves a horizontal pressing motion, which is a functional movement pattern that simulates pushing or throwing actions. This can help athletes develop strength and stability in a movement pattern that is similar to the actions performed during overhead throwing motions, making it a sport-specific exercise for throwing athletes.

The push-up is a bodyweight exercise that can be performed anywhere without the need for equipment. This makes them a convenient and accessible option for volleyball players that want to do strength training on their own. 

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