Volleyball Workouts: Six Exercises for Beginner Strength Training

Start with two full-body strength workouts per week, rather than a daily circuit of maximum jumps. Use the same six exercises until you can repeat them with control, then increase the challenge one step at a time.

This plan is for healthy players new to strength training. Allow about 30–40 minutes once you are doing two sets. You need a stable bench, a light dumbbell and clear floor space; a fixed counter can serve as the push-up support. Use equipment that will not tip or slide. Younger players should train with qualified instruction and supervision—not simply copy a teammate’s weights. The NSCA’s 2009 youth resistance-training position statement emphasizes supervision, light starting loads and correct technique.

Strength work supports volleyball practice; it does not replace serving and passing. Keep those skills in your week before expanding setting and hitting work.

Place the workouts around volleyball

A starting schedule is Monday and Thursday, adjusted around practices and matches. The NSCA recommends two or three nonconsecutive resistance-training days for beginners and stresses that endurance, agility and other training must count toward the player’s overall workload. See its training-frequency guidance.

• On a light volleyball week: complete both sessions as written.
• On a heavy practice or tournament week: reduce the strength volume with your coach instead of adding this plan on top of everything else.
• If combining skills and strength: practice the skill you are trying to learn while fresh, then lift. Do not make accurate serving the reward for finishing an exhausting circuit.

USA Volleyball describes the sport as requiring repeated bursts of power, with aerobic recovery between efforts. Its strength and conditioning guidance also separates offseason development from in-season maintenance. That is a reason to plan workouts—not to make every session equally hard.

Warm up for 6–8 minutes

Use comfortable, gradually increasing movement:

1. Brisk walk or easy jog for two minutes.
2. Side-step across a short, clear space for one minute; change direction under control.
3. Perform six shallow squats and six supported reverse lunges per side.
4. Finish with gentle arm circles and a few easy practice repetitions of the first exercise.

Cue: “Move smoothly before moving harder.”

Checkpoint: You can perform the practice repetitions without pain, stumbling or holding your breath. If balance or control is difficult, shorten the movement or choose an easier version. Stop any painful movement. This warm-up fits the NSCA’s recommendation to begin youth strength sessions with 5–10 minutes of dynamic movement.

The six-exercise volleyball workout

For the first session, do one set of each exercise. Build to two sets when the movements are familiar. Complete both sets of one exercise before moving on; this is not a race around stations.

Rest roughly 60–90 seconds between sets, longer if you need it to repeat the movement cleanly. Choose an effort that leaves you able to perform another two or three controlled repetitions—not a weight that forces you to struggle through the last one.

The doses below are a conservative starting template, not a tested volleyball performance standard. For youth, the NSCA’s general strength guidance allows 1–3 sets of 6–15 repetitions, with gradual progression based on ability.

Exercise	Starting dose	Action and one cue
Squat to a bench	8–10 repetitions	Stand in front of a stable bench, lower until you lightly touch it, then stand. Choose a height you can reach without dropping onto it. Cue: “Keep your whole foot planted.”
Glute bridge	10–12 repetitions	Lie on your back with knees bent and feet planted hip-width apart. Gently tighten your abdomen, lift your hips, then lower slowly. Cue: “Lift with your hips, not an arched back.”
Incline push-up	6–10 repetitions	Put your hands on a sturdy counter or fixed bench. Step your feet back, lower your chest toward the support and push away. Cue: “Move your body as one piece.”
Supported dumbbell row	8–12 per side	Support one hand and the same-side knee on a bench, keeping your back flat. Pull a light dumbbell up beside your ribs, elbow close to your body, then lower under control. Cue: “Pull without twisting.”
Dead bug	6 per side	Lie on your back, arms toward the ceiling, knees bent about 90 degrees and feet lifted. Slowly extend one arm and the opposite leg toward the floor, then return. Cue: “Only reach as far as your back stays still.”
Supported calf raise	10–15 repetitions	Hold a stable support lightly, rise onto the balls of both feet and lower slowly. Cue: “Rise straight up without rolling your ankles.”

Have an instructor check your row setup before adding load. A light water bottle can be enough to learn the movement. For an easier push-up, start against a wall. If an exercise causes pain, stop it rather than trying to finish the prescribed number; seek medical advice if pain persists or recurs.

Pass the checkpoint before progressing

Use this practical checkpoint for each exercise: complete both sets at the top of its repetition range in two sessions, with the same controlled movement from first repetition to last. For the dead bug, use the prescribed six repetitions per side.

That means no collapsing onto the bench, twisting during rows, sagging during push-ups or shortening repetitions just to reach the number. This is a coaching checkpoint, not a medical clearance test.

Once you pass, change one variable:

• Add a small amount of weight to the squat or row, with instruction on how to hold it.
• Lower the push-up support slightly.
• Extend the dead-bug arm or leg farther without losing trunk control.
• Progress calf raises toward one leg, keeping hand support.

Return to the lower end of the repetition range after making an exercise harder; keep dead bugs at six per side. If control disappears, undo the change. You can keep the bridge unchanged while progressing other exercises. A coach can later teach loaded hip hinges and split squats; you do not need to add every variation immediately.

Add jumping separately—not as a fatigue finisher

This starter workout deliberately has no repeated maximum jumps. Court practice may already contain substantial jumping, and extra jump work should fit the total training load.

For a dedicated jump progression, use the landing checkpoints in plyometric exercises for volleyball. Completing this strength plan is not itself a jump-readiness test. Place technically demanding power work early in a session, after warming up, rather than after exhausting your legs; the NSCA youth guidance recommends learning these movements without undue fatigue.

For court work, keep a separate record of serve-in percentage and controlled passes. The beginner volleyball drill progression gives you a serve-to-rally sequence. Your strength log should track exercise, load, repetitions and movement quality—not stand in for those ball-control checkpoints.