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Best Strength Training App for Volleyball in 2026
Updated
Volleyball is hundreds of jumps a week and a hitting shoulder that works overhead at full speed. Practice already supplies much of the jumping, so the lifting has to add what practice does not. Here is what a volleyball strength program needs, and how Ægir Iron (also written Aegir Iron) builds one for every part of the season.
What a volleyball strength program needs
- Jumps counted, and kept small in season. Setters make about 121 jumps in a practice session (Skazalski, Whiteley & Bahr 2018), so the in-season and pre-season jump rows are short. In the off-season the jump blocks run longer, close to what worked best in training studies (de Villarreal et al. 2009).
- Landing work. A single-leg hop and hold in every program that jumps (Petushek et al. 2019).
- Rotator cuff and shoulder blade work. External rotation and shoulder blade exercises three times a week in the off-season and pre-season programs and in both in-season sessions, from a handball trial used as an analogy for another overhead sport (Andersson et al. 2017).
- Balance. Balance-board work with take-off and landing technique halved ankle sprains in players with recurrent sprains (Bahr, Lian & Bahr 1997). It helped only players with a prior sprain in another trial (Verhagen et al. 2004), and the program notes say so.
- Plain main lifts. Front squats, Romanian deadlifts, trap bar deadlifts, presses, pulls, and hang power cleans and power cleans, the Olympic lifts volleyball strength coaches prescribe (Weldon et al. 2022).
Most workout apps offer a gym template with the sport's name on it, or nothing. The rest of this page is what Ægir Iron does instead. It is written by Ægir Labs, the maker of Ægir Iron.
5 free volleyball programs, by season
Each one loads in a couple of taps, and you can change any session after it is loaded.
| Program | Season phase | Length | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volleyball Vertical Jump Development | Off-season | 10 weeks, 3 days/week | Intermediate |
| Volleyball Off-Season Strength & Jump | Off-season | 12 weeks, 3 days/week | Intermediate |
| Volleyball Pre-Season | Pre-season | 6 weeks, 3 days/week | Intermediate |
| Volleyball In-Season Strength | In-season | 8 weeks, 2 days/week | Intermediate |
| Volleyball Post-Season Restore | Post-season | 4 weeks, 3 days/week | Beginner |
Or build one with the Program Wizard
Pick Volleyball in the Program Wizard, then the season phase: off-season, pre-season, in-season or post-season. On a volleyball day the wizard protects three things: a jump row at the front of the day, rotator cuff and shoulder blade work, and single-leg balance. They come first among the accessories and keep a steady dose, so a short session cannot drop them.
- In season, a session keeps to four lifts around practice, with no more than two jump rows.
- Post-season is a short restorative block of up to four weeks, with no sprints or jumps.
- Olympic lifts stay at 2 or 3 reps, and a beginner gets none: jumps and medicine-ball throws take their place.
- Each protected exercise steps down to a version your equipment allows, down to bodyweight.
The research behind the doses
Where a dose comes from a study, the program page names the study and what the program takes from it. The volleyball programs draw on these, among others:
- Skazalski, Whiteley & Bahr 2018: High jump demands in professional volleyball-large variability exists between players and player positions
- Visnes & Bahr 2013: Training volume and body composition as risk factors for developing jumper's knee among young elite volleyball players
- de Villarreal et al. 2009: Determining variables of plyometric training for improving vertical jump height performance: a meta-analysis
- Ramirez-Campillo et al. 2020 (volleyball): Effects of Plyometric Jump Training on Vertical Jump Height of Volleyball Players: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Randomized-Controlled Trial
- Petushek et al. 2019: Evidence-Based Best-Practice Guidelines for Preventing Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Young Female Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
- Andersson et al. 2017: Preventing overuse shoulder injuries among throwing athletes: a cluster-randomised controlled trial in 660 elite handball players
- Reeser et al. 2010: Risk factors for volleyball-related shoulder pain and dysfunction
- Bahr, Lian & Bahr 1997: A twofold reduction in the incidence of acute ankle sprains in volleyball after the introduction of an injury prevention program: a prospective cohort study
- Verhagen et al. 2004: The effect of a proprioceptive balance board training program for the prevention of ankle sprains: a prospective controlled trial
- Weldon et al. 2022: Practices of Strength and Conditioning Coaches: A Snapshot From Different Sports, Countries, and Expertise Levels
Every source the app uses is on the research page. How to build a strength program for your sport explains the method across all five sports.
Price
Individual lifters and athletes on a coach's roster use the full app free on iOS, Android and the web, every volleyball program included. Coaches pay only for the roster tools.
Frequently asked
What should a volleyball strength program include?
Jumps counted in ground contacts before the main lifts, landing work, front squats and trap bar deadlifts, hang power cleans in low reps, rotator cuff and shoulder blade work, and balance holds, with fewer jumps as practice ramps up. Ægir Iron has free volleyball programs for the off-season, pre-season, in-season and post-season, and a Program Wizard that builds one around your schedule and equipment.
How many jumps should a volleyball player do in the weight room?
Fewer than you might think in season, because practice supplies most of them. Ægir Iron keeps the in-season jump rows to a small number of landings and pogo hops, and saves the longer jump blocks for the off-season.