Whether you identify as a weekend warrior or you’re a member of an elite juniors, high school, college, or professional volleyball team, this period of quarantine and social distancing poses a very specific challenge for you — how do you stay in top volleyball shape with at-home workouts? 

Doing a two-week YouTube yoga challenge or taking once-a-day fresh air walks around the block just isn’t going to cut it (although those are great supplements to your workout plan!). To really maintain your volleyball fitness, try strength-based bodyweight movements and interval training catered to your living room gym space.

Below you’ll find a one-week workout plan featuring two strength days and two power days. Most movements should be familiar to athletes and regular exercisers, but just in case, we’ve linked most to YouTube videos showing proper form and technique. 

Before you get started, download an interval timer — my favorite is the Interval Timer ++ by developer Sunny Studio. And don’t forget to start each workout with a thorough dynamic warmup. Pro beach volleyball player Mark Burik has a good one on his YouTube channel.

Monday - Strength #1

For this workout, you’ll alternate back and forth between the two exercises in each superset until you’ve completed three sets of each movement and then move on to the next superset.

Superset #1

Single-leg glute bridge with a 3-second hold at the top — 3x8 per side

Lateral plank walk (4 steps) with push-up at each end — 3x10 total

*Modify the pushups if you need to! 

Superset #2

Pause squats with a 3-second hold at the bottom — 3x8

Table with a 5-second hold at the top — 3x8

Superset #3

Lateral lunges with 3-second hold at the bottom — 3x8 per side

Elevated bird dog — 3x8 per side

Tuesday - Power #1

Both power workouts will be interval based and will feature two circuits — a plyo circuit and a footwork circuit — with three movements in each circuit.

For Power #1, set your interval timer to 15 seconds of work, 15 seconds of rest, repeating six times. Hit “start” and do the first movement — vertical leaps — for all six efforts until the timer runs out. Then take a 1 minute break and then do the same for skater jumps. Another 1 minute break, then donkey kicks. Take a 2 minute break after you’ve done all three exercises, then do it all again twice for a total of three sets. The footwork circuit works the exact same way.

Plyo Circuit

Vertical leap with a reset between each jump

Skater jumps with a hold on the landing (think about sticking it)

Donkey kicks

Footwork Circuit

Single-foot lateral hop

Two-foot hops, two forward/two back (for speed!)

Two-foot lateral hops

Wednesday - Mobility

There are a TON of mobility and stretch workouts on YouTube. My personal favorite is Yoga with Adriene, but Reid Hall also has some great volleyball-specific stuff, and in researching for this article, I just discovered Australian trainer Tom Merrick and his Bodyweight Warrior video series. Here’s a great hip mobility sequence from him you should check out.

So there’s an abundance of mobility resources for you out there — the biggest thing is DON’T SKIP MOBILITY DAY. Especially if you’re quarantined in your house and sitting for more hours a day than you typically might. Stretch it out, stay loose and limber.

Thursday - Strength #2

For the second strength workout of the week, the format is the same as Monday’s workout, just with different exercises.

Superset #1

Glute bridge with a 3-second hold at the top — 3x8

Inch worm with a push-up — 3x10

Superset #2

Kickstand squats — 3x8

Side plank hold — 3x30 seconds per side 

Superset #3

Lateral lunge to lateral slide, 3x8 per side

Bear crawl (4 steps forward, 4 steps back = 1 rep) — 3x6 

Friday - Power #2

The interval for the second power workout of the week is slightly different. You’ll be working for 20 seconds at a time, with 20 seconds of rest, repeating 4 times. The rest between movements and between sets stays the same, but you’ll only be doing two times through each circuit, instead of three.

Plyo circuit

Approach jumps

Squat jumps 

Jumping lunges

Footwork circuit

Single-foot triangle hops

Two up, two down stairmaster (use a stair, step stool, block, etc.)

Two-foot triangle hops

Saturday - Mobility/Yoga/Rest!

Do another mobility video or yoga workout. 

Sunday - Get outside!

Make a point to do an outdoor activity, like a long walk around your neighborhood or an hour-long bike ride. The sun and fresh air will do you good — no official workout needed.