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Exercises

Exercises for volleyball: jump higher, land softer, hit harder

Published October 24, 2026

The best exercises for volleyball are box jumps and jump squats for your vertical, the goblet squat and reverse lunge for leg strength, the Romanian deadlift and single-leg hip thrust for the hips that drive your approach, chest-supported rows, Y raises and external rotations to keep the hitting shoulder strong, the landmine press for overhead pushing, and the medicine ball rotational throw for a faster arm swing. A volleyball workout starts with a few full-effort jumps, then one leg exercise, one hip exercise and two or three shoulder exercises, with every set ending 1 to 3 reps short of failure so practice doesn't suffer.

  1. Box Jump Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings
  2. Goblet Squat Quads, Glutes
  3. Dumbbell Reverse Lunge Quads, Glutes
  4. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift Hamstrings, Glutes
  5. Single-Leg Hip Thrust Glutes
  6. Incline Dumbbell Row Upper Back, Lats
  7. Dumbbell External Rotation Shoulders
  8. Med Ball Rotational Throw Abs

Jumping power for attacking and blocking

Jump training goes first in the session, when you are fresh. Keep reps low and rest long: the aim is the highest possible jump every rep, not breathlessness.

Vertical jump, two-foot takeoff

Box Jump

Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings

Blocking and most approach jumps leave the floor off two feet. A box jump trains that takeoff at full effort, and landing on top of the box spares your knees the impact of coming back down to the floor every rep.

How to do it

  1. Face a box at a height you can land on with your knees only slightly bent.
  2. Swing your arms back as you drop into a quick quarter squat.
  3. Throw your arms up and jump up, both feet landing flat on top.
  4. Stand up tall on the box, then step down rather than jumping off.

Cues

  • Arms swing, hips snap
  • Land soft and tall

Common mistakes

  • Picking a box so high you land in a deep squat: the box measures how high you jump, not how far you can tuck.

Swap for: Jump Squat, Lateral Box Jump, Single-Leg Box Jump

Build a session with Box Jump

Repeated jumping power

Jump Squat

Quads, Glutes

Volleyball asks you to jump again and again in a rally. Bodyweight jump squats train a fast, springy rebound off the floor and need nothing but space.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet at shoulder width, hands at your chest or swinging at your sides.
  2. Sink into a half squat and explode upward as high as you can.
  3. Land on the balls of your feet, let your knees bend to soak it up, and go straight into the next rep.

Cues

  • Quiet landing
  • Every rep max height

Common mistakes

  • Knees caving in on the landing: push them out over your toes, and cut the set when you can't.

Swap for: Box Jump, Lateral Box Jump, Jumping Lunge

Build a session with Jump Squat

Leg strength and landing control

Stronger legs raise your jump and make the thousands of landings in a season easier to absorb. One squat and one single-leg exercise per session is plenty next to practice.

Two-leg strength base

Goblet Squat

Quads, Glutes

Jump height grows with leg strength. The goblet squat lets you squat deep with an upright torso, which suits a sport where the shoulders already take plenty of load and a bar on the back is one more thing to manage.

How to do it

  1. Cup the top end of one dumbbell in both hands and hold it upright at your chest.
  2. Set your feet a bit wider than your hips, toes turned slightly out.
  3. Sit down between your heels until your elbows brush the insides of your knees.
  4. Stand up by pushing the floor away, chest staying tall.

Cues

  • Elbows inside the knees
  • Chest proud the whole way

Common mistakes

  • Letting the heels lift at the bottom: widen your stance or squat to a depth your ankles allow.

Swap for: Dumbbell Front Squat, Front Squat, Leg Press

Build a session with Goblet Squat

Single-leg strength and deceleration

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

Quads, Glutes

Stepping backward puts the load on your front leg while you control the drop, the same work your legs do when you stop under a ball. It is kinder to the knees than forward lunges.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with two dumbbells.
  2. Step one foot back and lower until your back knee nearly touches the floor.
  3. Drive through your front foot to return to standing, then repeat on the same side or alternate.

Cues

  • Front shin stays near vertical
  • Push through the front heel

Common mistakes

  • Taking a tiny step so the front knee shoots far past the toes: step back far enough that both knees reach about 90 degrees.

Swap for: Bulgarian Split Squat, Step-Up, Dumbbell Split Squat

Build a session with Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

Calves for quick, repeated jumps

Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise

Calves

Your calves and Achilles do much of the work in the fast, short jumps of blocking and transition. Strong calves keep those jumps quick deep into a fifth set.

How to do it

  1. Stand on the edge of a step with one dumbbell, holding a support with the other.
  2. Let your heels drop below the step for a full stretch.
  3. Rise as high as you can onto your toes, pause, then lower slowly.

Cues

  • Pause at the top
  • Full stretch at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Bobbing through half reps: slow down and use the whole range.

Swap for: Single-Leg Calf Raise, Standing Calf Raise, Seated Calf Raise

Build a session with Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise

Hips and hamstrings for the approach

Your approach is driven from the hips. A hinge and a glute bridge variation build the back of the legs that front squats and jumps underwork.

Hamstrings and glutes for the approach

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

The last steps of your approach load the back of your hips and thighs before you leave the floor. The Romanian deadlift strengthens them through a long range with simple equipment.

How to do it

  1. Stand holding two dumbbells in front of your thighs, knees soft.
  2. Send your hips back and slide the dumbbells down your legs, keeping your back flat.
  3. Stop when your hamstrings are fully stretched, usually around mid-shin, then drive your hips forward to stand.

Cues

  • Hips back, not down
  • Dumbbells close to your legs

Common mistakes

  • Rounding the back to reach lower: the range ends where your hamstrings stop you, not at the floor.

Swap for: Romanian Deadlift, Single-Leg RDL, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Glute drive, one side at a time

Single-Leg Hip Thrust

Glutes

Hip extension powers both the approach and the block. Working one leg at a time on a bench shows and fixes a weaker side, which is common in players who always take off the same way.

How to do it

  1. Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench and one foot planted, the other leg lifted.
  2. Drive through the planted heel to raise your hips until your body is flat from shoulders to knee.
  3. Hold the top for a second and lower under control.

Cues

  • Chin tucked, ribs down
  • Squeeze at the top

Common mistakes

  • Arching the lower back to get the hips higher: stop when your thigh and torso form a straight line.

Swap for: Hip Thrust, Single-Leg Glute Bridge, Dumbbell Hip Thrust

Build a session with Single-Leg Hip Thrust

Shoulders for hitting, serving and blocking

Volleyball shoulders need upper-back and rotator cuff strength more than more pressing. These exercises balance the hitting arm and take little recovery.

Overhead-angle pressing that spares the shoulder

Landmine Press

Shoulders

Hitters swing overhead hundreds of times a week, so heavy overhead pressing on top of that is a lot. The landmine press trains pushing up and forward at an angle most shoulders handle well.

How to do it

  1. Wedge one end of a barbell in a corner or landmine and stand square to the free end, feet about shoulder width.
  2. Hold the end of the bar at your upper chest with both hands.
  3. Press the bar up and forward until your arms are straight, letting the shoulder blades move with it, then lower to your chest.

Cues

  • Reach up and through
  • Ribs stay down

Common mistakes

  • Leaning way back to make it a flat press: stay tall and let the bar's angle do the work.

Swap for: Single-Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Push-Up

Build a session with Landmine Press

Upper-back strength for posture and arm swing

Incline Dumbbell Row

Upper Back, Lats

Lying chest-down on an angled bench removes your lower back from the row, so all the effort goes into the upper back that holds your shoulders in place when you swing and block.

How to do it

  1. Set a bench to a low incline and lie chest-down on it, two dumbbells hanging straight down.
  2. Row both dumbbells back until your elbows pass your torso, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  3. Lower slowly until your arms are straight.

Cues

  • Chest stays on the pad
  • Squeeze the shoulder blades

Common mistakes

  • Lifting your chest off the bench to finish the rep: lighten the dumbbells instead.

Swap for: Chest-Supported Row, One-Arm Dumbbell Row, Seated Cable Row

Build a session with Incline Dumbbell Row

Lower traps for overhead shoulders

Dumbbell Chest-Supported Y Raise

Shoulders

Raising your arms in a Y works the lower traps that tilt your shoulder blade up when you reach high to hit or block. They are small, so light weights and slow reps are plenty.

How to do it

  1. Set up chest-down on the incline pad, light dumbbells hanging, thumbs up.
  2. Raise your arms forward and outward into a Y until they are in line with your body.
  3. Hold a second and lower slowly.

Cues

  • Thumbs to the ceiling
  • Shoulders away from ears

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging to get the arms up: use lighter weights until your neck stays relaxed.

Swap for: Cable Y Raise, Face Pull, Band Pull-Apart

Build a session with Dumbbell Chest-Supported Y Raise

Rotator cuff strength

Dumbbell External Rotation

Shoulders

Your rotator cuff decelerates the arm after every swing and serve. Standing external rotations build that strength directly, and they take five minutes.

How to do it

  1. Stand with a light dumbbell in one hand, elbow bent to 90 degrees and tucked against your ribs.
  2. Rotate your forearm outward, away from your stomach, without letting the elbow leave your side.
  3. Return slowly to the start.

Cues

  • Elbow pinned to your side
  • Slow on the way back

Common mistakes

  • Going heavy and swinging the weight: this muscle is small, so pick a weight you can move for 15 smooth reps.

Swap for: Dumbbell Lying External Rotation, Face Pull, Band Face Pull

Build a session with Dumbbell External Rotation

Trunk power and control

A rotational throw trains the fast turn behind a hard swing, and the dead bug trains the stillness you need in the air.

Rotational power for hitting and serving

Med Ball Rotational Throw

Abs

Your arm swing starts with a turn of the hips and trunk. Throwing a medicine ball sideways trains that fast rotation without loading the shoulder the way extra hitting does.

How to do it

  1. Stand side-on to a wall with a medicine ball held at your hip.
  2. Load by rotating away from the wall, weight on your back leg.
  3. Rotate hard through your hips and trunk and throw the ball into the wall, then catch it and reset.

Cues

  • Hips start the throw
  • Throw through the wall

Common mistakes

  • Throwing with your arms only: the hips should turn before the ball leaves your hands.

Swap for: Cable Woodchop, Landmine Twist, Med Ball Woodchop

Build a session with Med Ball Rotational Throw

Trunk control for jumping and landing

Dead Bug

Abs

A dead bug teaches you to hold your trunk still while your arms and legs move, which is what keeps your body tight in the air and on the landing.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back with arms pointing at the ceiling and knees bent over your hips.
  2. Press your lower back into the floor.
  3. Slowly reach one arm overhead and straighten the opposite leg toward the floor, then return and switch sides.

Cues

  • Lower back glued down
  • Move slowly

Common mistakes

  • Letting the lower back arch as the leg goes down: only lower the leg as far as you can keep the back flat.

Swap for: Plank, Pallof Press, Side Plank

Build a session with Dead Bug

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Off-season, 2 gym days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets38 a week
  • Per workout~45 min
  • EquipmentPlyo Box, Dumbbells, Incline Bench, Medicine Ball +1

You are between club or school seasons, still touching a ball a few times a week, and want a higher jump and a sturdier hitting shoulder when you return.

Two sessions a week build strength well when practice volume is low, and each one stays under 20 working sets. Jumps come first with long rests, legs work at 2 reps in reserve so the jumps on your court days stay fresh, and the shoulder work stops at 1 to 2 reps short because it costs little recovery.

Day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Box JumpStep down every rep. 4 × 3 3 90 s
Goblet Squat1 warm-up set first 4 × 6–10 2 2 min
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 3 × 8–10 2 90 s
Incline Dumbbell Row 3 × 8–12 1 1 min
Dumbbell External RotationPer arm. 2 × 12–15 2 45 s
Med Ball Rotational ThrowPer side. 3 × 5 3 1 min

Open Day A in the session builder

Day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jump Squat 3 × 4–5 3 90 s
Dumbbell Reverse LungePer leg. 3 × 8–10 2 90 s
Single-Leg Hip ThrustPer leg. 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
Landmine Press 3 × 8–10 2 1 min
Dumbbell Chest-Supported Y Raise 2 × 10–15 2 45 s
Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise 3 × 10–15 1 45 s
Dead BugPer side. 2 × 8–10 2 45 s

Open Day B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Day A and Day B once each per week with at least two days between them, for example Monday and Thursday.
How to progress
Add weight once every set reaches the top of its range at the target reps in reserve. Raise the box only when every landing is quiet and you stand up without a stutter.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

In-season, 1 short session

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets12 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Incline Bench

You practice three or more times a week and play on weekends or tournaments, and you want to keep your jump and shoulders from fading late in the season.

During the season, your legs already do hundreds of jumps a week, so this session drops extra jumping and keeps one strength lift for each area at 2 to 3 reps in reserve. That holds strength without adding soreness. It totals 12 working sets.

Maintenance
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Goblet Squat1 warm-up set first 3 × 5–8 3 2 min
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 2 × 6–8 3 90 s
Incline Dumbbell Row 2 × 8–10 2 1 min
Dumbbell External RotationPer arm. 2 × 12–15 2 45 s
Dumbbell Chest-Supported Y Raise 2 × 10–12 2 45 s
Dead BugPer side. 1 × 8–10 2 45 s
How to run it
Once a week, ideally two or more days before your next match. If you have a midweek game, move it to the day after.
How to progress
Hold the weights you finished the off-season with. Add a little only when a set at the target reps in reserve clearly feels lighter; after a heavy tournament week, drop to one set per exercise.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Hitters who want sturdier shoulders

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets40 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Incline Bench, Landmine, Plyo Box

You are an outside or opposite hitter who swings a lot, and your hitting shoulder feels worked by the end of the week. You want more upper-back and cuff strength without dropping leg work.

This version moves the shoulder work to the front of the session, while you are fresh, and pairs each upper-body exercise with a lower-body one so the total time stays the same. The pressing is only the landmine angle, the cuff and lower traps get three sets each, and everything stops 2 reps short so the arm is ready to swing at practice the next day.

Shoulders First
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
A1 Dumbbell External RotationPer arm. 3 × 12–15 2 30 s
A2 Dumbbell Chest-Supported Y Raise 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
B1 Incline Dumbbell Row 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
B2 Goblet Squat 3 × 6–10 2 90 s
Landmine Press 2 × 8–10 2 1 min
Single-Leg Hip ThrustPer leg. 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
Box Jump 3 × 3 3 90 s
How to run it
Do this session twice a week in place of the off-season days, two or more days apart. Do supersets as one set of each exercise, then rest.
How to progress
Increase the row and press first. The cuff and Y raise progress by reps before weight: once all sets reach 15 clean reps, go up by the smallest jump you have.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How do volleyball athletes train?

Alongside practice they lift two to three days a week in the off-season and once or twice in-season, combining jump training, leg and hip strength, upper-back and rotator cuff work for the hitting shoulder, and trunk power.

What exercises help you jump higher for volleyball?

Box jumps and jump squats done fresh and at full effort, plus stronger legs and hips from squats, lunges, Romanian deadlifts and hip thrusts. Calf raises help the fast repeat jumps at the net.

Should volleyball players lift weights in season?

Yes. One short session a week that stops 2 to 3 reps short of failure keeps the strength and jump you built, and late-season legs and shoulders tend to hold up better for it.

Is volleyball a good cardio workout?

A long practice keeps your heart rate up with short bursts and brief rests, so it does train your conditioning. It doesn't replace strength work, which is what this page is for.

What volleyball exercises can I do at home?

Jump squats, goblet squats, reverse lunges, Romanian deadlifts, hip thrusts against a couch, calf raises on a step, rows, Y raises and external rotations all work with a pair of dumbbells.