Programme Justification

Volleyball is typically a sport involving, rapid forceful contractions producing powerful movements e.g. spike. These movements are not solely unilateral but occur in all planes, resulting in an increase in injuries (Verhagen et al, 2004). Injuries can be sub-sectioned to either acute (instantaneous  i.e. ankle sprain) or overuse ( repetitiveness of movements causes stress to the joints and muscles can resulting in long-term injury), injuries include; torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and acromioclavicular (AC) joint sprain that occur due to overuse (Khan, et al., 2001; Verhagen, et al., 2004).

Exercise selection

The exercise selection focused on the athlete’s primary aim of strength training for the upper body, and secondly in improving speed and agility performance. With the programme within the competitive season, it was necessary to reduce the volume of training and eliminate main power exercises, but maintain the level achieved in the pre-season. 

According to Drinkwater (2000), where athletes have developed multidirectional instability within the shoulder, it is advised to undertake an exercise programme which focuses on strengthening the shoulder musculature i.e. deltoids and rotator cuff.  With our athlete having a recent history of AC sprain, the main focus for resistance training was to strengthen the shoulder musculature in an attempt to prevent the risk of further injury when performing motions such as spiking and serving.

Despite the main focus being to retrain the athlete’s upper body due to injury and sport requirements, lower body exercises were also incorporated as part of the routine due to the equally high occurrence of lower body acute and overuse injuries such as the ankle sprain.  Lower body exercises were also significant in strengthening the core and lower body muscles to improve core stability, which would further assist in the increase in acceleration and deceleration.

In addition, the athlete’s second weakness identified during the movement assessment was her inability to perform agility drills to a high standard, and to maintain a high speed as well as decelerate efficiently. Therefore, as part of the athlete’s prehabilitation, agility drills and plyometric exercises were implemented to improve skill aptitude.  According to Khan et al., (2001), plyometrics successfully incorporate speed and strength, and are suitable for those who have inflammation or shoulder instability.  An advantages of plyometric training is that it can allow the athlete to train themselves to exceed their normal jump height, undergoing repetitive eccentric and concentric contractions (Drinkwater, 2000).  However, in playing a role in the retraining of the neuromuscular system, it is essential to apply the routine specifically to the sport (Khan et al., 2001).  As part of the exercise programme, speed and agility drills such as the ‘Tango drill’ ladder exercise and supported scissor split were implemented.  As recommended by Khan et al., (2001), these were all volleyball specific by including ball throwing movements to replicate the explosive nature of passes, where upper extremity plyometric training can help to reduce the rate of injury caused by rapid deceleration following a spike or serve.

Training Frequency

Training frequency is dependent on many factors including; the player’s training history, individual level of fitness, aims of the programme, and what season it will occur (Kraemer & Hakkinen, 2002). According to Earle & Baechle, (2004), the typical training frequency of an in-season athlete should include 1-2 sessions per week, due to the reduction in volume of training during the competitive season.  Feigenbaum & Pollock (1999) also recommend two days of resistance training a week allow for recovery and regeneration of muscle fibers.  Therefore the training programme was devised so that two training sessions per week would take place to simulate the typical in-season of a National volleyball player.

Exercise Order

Although it is not recommended to implement power as the main focus for resistance training within the in-season, it was still necessary to incorporate some power exercises due to the nature of volleyball and to maintain goal requirements.

We implemented core exercises in order to increase stability and balance for the powerful movements which occur i.e. landing, also to maintain the core and upper body strength built up in pre-season.  It is widely suggested that power exercises should precede any assistance, flexibility or core exercises for greatest benefits (Earle & Baechle, 2004; Spreuwenberg et al., 2006). The phenomenon many be explained by the greater force output (Hakkinen & Kraemer, 2002) metabolic energy (Zateriosky & Kramer, 2006) and specialist technique required from the large muscle group exercises.  It is known that greater force output can induce fatigue at a quicker rate due to the above aspects as well as post activation potentiation (Spreuwenberg et al., 2006).

Training Load and Repetitions

Muscular strength of any intensity increases the physiological and metabolic demand of the body. In order to increase strength and power output, high loading is necessary, however this depends on the training phase you are in. Training load can be determined by either Maximum Repetition (1RM), the greatest load lifted with correct technique or Multiple Repetition Maximum (MRM), percentage of the 1RM. The MRM was used as the athlete is in the competitive season, as well as having basic strength ability needing to be improved technique therefore may lack, along with the difficulty to maintain the 1RM. (Bachele, 2008; Bompa, 1999)

Volume

Volume of training is quantified by the sets and repetitions undertaken during the training sessions (Reeser et al., 2006; Bompa, 1999). There is an opposite relationship between the volume and intensity of training. In relation to the athlete’s primary goal of increasing upper body strength, high training volumes are needed in pre season, to ensure physiological adaptations in the athlete occur, which is why the volume of training leading up to the competitive phase is much greater. However once in the ‘in-season’ where the training programme takes place, the athlete is required to maintain this by undertaking sport specific sessions at a reduced volume to avoid overtraining.(Kraemer & Hakkinen, 2002).

Rest and unloading weeks

As shown in the annual periodization programme, based on Reeser et al, (2008) it highlights transitions/rest periods are undertaken after competitive phases. During the volleyball year, there are two competitive phases; starting with the friendly and National competitions, working towards the World Championships/Olympics at the end of the season. Rest is an important component in a training programme and should be sufficient enough to ensure muscle resynthesis and recuperation, as well as reduce the risk of over-training, in-particular during the competitive season to avoid injury (Bird, 2005).  With regards to rest during training sessions, Robinson et al., (1995) suggested 3 minutes of rest between sets was more efficient than 30 seconds. The transition phase allows for reduction in volume and intensity as well as recovery.  It has been stated that during a volleyball game, the player undertakes periods of play lasting around 8 seconds followed by period of rest for 14 seconds. Therefore this is reflected in the training programme and plan whereby after each exercise around 10 seconds of rest is allocated (Smith et al., 2008).

Periodisation and peaking

Periodization is, structuring a training programme for peak performance gains and achievements to be attained, ready for main competitions. The fluctuating variables i.e volume allow for a challenging stimulus enabling effective performance (ACSM). Several recent studies postulated that periodised strength training programmes can improve sport specific performance, which incorporate relevant exercises to the game (Kraemer et al., 2002).  Having two competitive periods during the macrocycle required the athlete to train for two major events ensuring the correct level of training was carried out at varying points in the year. Tests undertaken before and after the training programme indicated beneficial results; in particular the overhead medicine ball throw, a measure of upper body strength. Studies have shown the correlation between ball-throwing and strength performance in the upper body. Therefore by periodising the programme effectively, maximal gains and improvements can be achieved, and measured using this test.(Marques et al., 2007)