OMG! My Favorite USA Volleyball Conditioning Drill

Practicing. Working out. Training. Lifting Weights.

These are all phrases that I’ve learned to love over my years playing volleyball. However, the one word I’m still learning to love is – Conditioning. I love being active. I love challenging my body to do things it’s uncomfortable with, making it learn and rewire itself. But one thing I haven’t ever used the word “LOVE” for is Conditioning.

I’d prefer for someone to hit thousands of down balls at me, make me set, or practice receiving bullet serves for hours at a time. Sign me up. I’ll be there – just give me a time and a place. But when someone tells me to hop on an assault bike, and go all out 100% for six minutes to the point of having noodle legs and throwing up… well, that lovely four-letter word quickly morphs into a different kind of four-letter word. The one my mom used to ground me for.

The Conditioning Mindset

If I could roll out of bed and crank out a “death” conditioning workout at the crack of dawn, I would. My mentality is – “Put in the work early, get it done, then proceed with the rest of my day.” I’ve had this conversation many times with my USA trainer, Christian Hartford. I’ll ask him, “Can I just hop on the assault bike and get my conditioning done before getting to my favorite part… the actual workout?” (Checkout my article about my USA Volleyball Workout program). I know the answer is going to be “No…conditioning comes last.” I mean, it makes sense. You shouldn’t start your workout with noodle legs from the assault bike or a broken back from the rower (I’m probably doing it wrong)! Plus, conditioning after you’re dead from your workout will make it that much harder, but I ask hoping for the off- chance that he’d approve.

But as much as I dislike volleyball conditioning, I know it is one of the most important factors in achieving peak performance in beach volleyball. In most sports, actually.

Volleyball Conditioning Drills Are The Key To Success

The average person shows signs of increased heart rate just by walking on the sand, by walking up a set of stairs, or, for me, when I see how much I’ve spent at Mendocino farms on my credit card statement. But in beach volleyball, you’re not walking. I mean maybe to get a drink of water during a timeout or something, but the other 45 minutes to an hour of the game players are running, jumping, diving, and sometimes cussing to keep the ball off of the sand. And just when they get the most perfect save, they not only have to lift themselves off the ground but they have to do it in a way that allows them to take an aggressive swing to claim the point….and that’s just one point…they need a total of 21!

After a crazy long point, my heart’s jumping out of my chest like it’s attending a Rave! And between points, I might just have a total of 30 seconds before the whistle blows and another rally starts all over again! Beach players, as well as indoor players, are constantly increasing their heart rates. And we both need to lower them within seconds for the next point. The only way to train our bodies for long rallies, long games and 100-degree heat is to

“CONDITION, CONDITION, CONDITION!!“

I find it so crazy how much our minds try to convince us not to do the EXACT thing we actually need to do. I’ve had many times when I’m dying in a workout, and my mind is telling me – “Dang you worked hard today. There’s no need to do conditioning. Just be done for the day, and we’ll do the conditioning tomorrow.” But that is the very moment you have to make a CHOICE. It’s all about choices. Put your nose down and grind the conditioning out. Thinking about how much it’ll pay off when you step on the court for competition is the best motivation to get it done.

Not only are there positives on the court, but also in life. Going through something hard feels awesome. And I sleep better, ha! I’ve also become master of my mind, knowing when it says, “Oh you’ll just do your conditioning tomorrow,” nine times out of ten that next day, my mind will be convincing me to push it to the next day yet again. It’s a vicious cycle that I intend to stop.

My Daily Volleyball Conditioning Workouts

I try to implement conditioning 3-4 times a week on top of my strength workouts. Below I have attached one of my USA Beach Volleyball Conditioning Workouts that my USA trainer has recently given me. I will either complete this after my USA beach workouts or on my off days during the week. Feel free to download the PDF of the full workout down below. And then grind it out and get ’er done.

*** Download the full conditioning workout by clicking the button below…***

HOPE YOU ENJOY MY WORKOUT PLAN & LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE A FAVORITE DRILL 🙂 – SS