Volleyball is a great sport that you can enjoy, regardless of your age, fitness, or skill levels. And the best thing about it is that if you really get into it, you can enjoy it all year round. While it may seem like a seasonal sport that you can play with your friends at the beach, you can actually play volleyball indoors as well. Plus, it's a great way to get a good workout while having fun.
You can burn plenty of calories while having fun during your volleyball game. Just 45 minutes of playing volleyball can help you burn up to 585 calories! Additionally, you will benefit from improved muscle strength and toning. The movements required to effectively play the game strengthen your upper body, arms, shoulders, abs, thighs, and lower legs. So you get a full body workout. But there's more you will benefit from, so keep on reading to learn the awesome benefits you get from playing volleyball.
Volleyball Health Benefits
1. Calorie Burning
If you want to reduce your body-fat percentage, volleyball is the perfect sport to help you burn up to 585 calories in just 45 minutes. This can help your weight loss significantly, which will lower your risks of heart disease, diabetes, and hyperextension.
2. Muscular Development
Your upper body, arms, shoulders, abs, thighs, and lower legs will get a good workout thanks to the movements necessary to perform in a volleyball game. Your muscles will develop thanks to these movement patterns and your muscles will benefit from the lean lengthening effect thanks to all the jumping and ball reaching you have to do to score.
3. Hand-Eye Coordination
Volleyball will help you improve your hand-eye coordination and enhance your reflexes, thanks to the sport-specific patterns, such as following the ball with your eyes and then striking it at the right point, at the right time. Your defense movements also help, because you must react to where the ball is heading and quickly get in the position to reach it at the right time. The same goes for making a good set. Your hand-eye coordination helps you identify where the hitters are and strike the ball to your advantage.
4. Agility and Balance
To be successful at the game, you need to make quick changes of pace and direction, to develop your technique and physical skills that enable you to win. Serving, passing, setting, attacking, blocking and digging the ball requires balance, flexibility, speed, and upper and lower body strength to play effectively. If you play volleyball frequently, you most certainly develop these abilities to aid you with the game, as well as with your daily functions.
5. Heart Health
Volleyball improves your cardiovascular health, respiratory systems, and it gets your heart rate up so that your body can circulate more blood. This is vital because the blood and nutrients that circulate your body improve your overall health. The better the blood flow, the healthier your heart is.
6. Muscular Strength
Your chest and core muscles get a good workout with each volleyball game. When you pass the ball, you mimic a squat, which means that your legs are required to generate more power. Each movement specific to volleyball works a part of your body, such as a set works your arms, hands, legs, and thighs. You need to focus on strengthening these major muscle groups to perform at a high level and prevent injury.
7. Interpersonal Skills
Volleyball is a great way to socialize, meet new people, and engage with your friends. It teaches you teamwork and cooperative work at a fast pace. A study from 2008 conducted by the Center for Economic Policy Research found that adults who were involved in team sports such as volleyball, developed better networking skills, than those who were less involved. These leadership and cooperative skills not only help you handle and win a volleyball match, but they also transfer in real life situation and people management.
8. Enhanced Well-Being
Volleyball can improve your mood, reduce stress, and encourage you to be more success driven. Thanks to the short-term goals involved when playing a volleyball game, you will feel the rewarding benefits of improved self-esteem and self-confidence. These are further reinforced by your positive body image. Your motivation and ability to succeed will be significantly improved. Additionally, because this is a team sport, the constant mutual empowerment, and encouragement during team members give one another, you will get a confidence boost that will help you master and perfect your volleyball skills.
Injury Prevention
All sports have a risk of injury, so volleyball is no different. The common injuries in volleyball are either overuse injuries, such as rotator cuff tendonitis and elbow tendinitis, or traumatic injuries, such as shoulder dislocation, herniated discs, torn cartilages, or muscle sprains and strains. There's a lot that could go wrong if you are unprepared, just as with any sport. So, here are some things you can do prevent potential volleyball injuries:
- warm-up before entering the game with a series of stretches and light aerobic activities
- train for your matches to increase your flexibility, strength, jumping ability, speed, agility, and endurance.
- play with proper form and technique
- make sure the court is free of slippery spots or other debris before you play
- allow for adequate recovery before you play again
- stay hydrated and sip water during your break
- wear proper equipment, like knee sleeves, calf sleeves, and elbow sleeves to protect your joints and keep them warm during the game
A comprehensive training program to help you with your volleyball goals is another thing you should consider if you want to prevent injury and increase your chances of winning the game. This type of training helps you increase your explosive power, stamina, jump height, and speed and agility during your game. Consider implementing the following aspects into your training routine:
- Stretching - especially for your lower back, shoulders, and lower extremities.
- Strengthening exercises - for your abs, legs, shoulders, and especially for your rotator cuff.
- Jump training - such as box jumps, block jumps, and lateral jumping.
- Speed and agility drills - such as ladder drills, court circuits, sprints, and lateral shuffles.
- Endurance training - for improved stamina with longer matches, such as running or swimming.
Conclusion
Grab your pals and go play a fun and intense volleyball game. Playing volleyball is a great social activity that improves your teamwork skills and communication abilities while giving you an intense full body workout. Make sure that you warm-up before you hit the court and clean up the court before you start playing, in order to get rid of external factors that can cause a potential for accidents and injuries.
If you want to enhance your reflexes, burn extra calories, develop your muscles and have fun while doing it, volleyball is the perfect sport for you and your friends. You will love the rewarding qualities of this game and benefit from enhanced well-being and a boost of self-confidence. You will reap all these health benefits while becoming very good at playing the game, which is the greatest satisfaction you'll get!