Volleyball Plyometric Drills

Stadium Hops

Visit a high school football stadium or another location that has a long series of stairs. Starting at the bottom, hop up the stairway with both feet until you've gone 50 steps. Come back down and repeat twice more. When you begin this exercise, you might be able only to jump up one stair at a time, but your goal is to jump two or even three at a time. But don't jump ahead: Even if you could occasionally jump two steps instead of one, don't. Wait until you've progressed to the point that you can do the entire flight of stairs in two-step hops, then three-step hops. Hop two-footed up all stairs, one, two or three stairs at a time. Repeat up to three times.

You can also perform single-leg stair hops. Hop off one foot, and complete 10 to 20 hops with each foot.

Stand on a platform at roughly calf height. Step off the box and land on both feet, then jump quickly back up with your arms up and reaching to the ceiling. Don't jump off the box --- just jump back onto it. Perform three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Adjust the platform height as you progress so that you are pushed to the max to execute three sets of 12 reps.

Stand in a lunge position with your hands on your hips, then bend your knees and lower your hips to the point that your back knee is near the floor, but not touching. Jump straight up from this position and scissor, or cross, your legs, so that you land in the reverse position. Don't worry at first about landing perfectly back in place. Your goal is to get as high as you can in your jump. As you progress, you can place your hands on your head when you jump, then swing your arms up in the air to boost your jump. Perform three sets of 15 to 20 jumps.

Talk with your doctor before beginning any exercise regimen. Plyometrics are meant to build muscle through rapid and repeated movements, and can be particularly hard and even dangerous if you have been relatively inactive. For each workout, it's a good idea to limit your foot contacts --- the number of times you come back to the ground after a jump --- to between 150 and 180 per session. You also should not do muscle-building routines more often than once every two days to give your muscles time to recover.