Volleyball Performance

The application of specificity and overload is required to best improve sport performance. Specificity refers to the training regimen, namely, does it mimic the movements that are most important to performance. Overload refers to the manipulation of the training stimulus (weight, speed, and duration), so as to enable a greater than normal effort. Although some would contend that exercises cannot replicate sport movements, it is commonly accepted that exercises selected based on their similarity to sport movements, particularly in the strength/power training program of athletes, are beneficial.

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Looking closer, specificity might not refer to a particular exercise but instead to the outcome of the exercise. Put another way, specificity refers to the objective of the exercise and its potential benefit to sport performance, that is, the exercise produces an outcome that likely enhances performance in a given sport, task, or context. Under this perspective, exercises that facilitate increases in power output, which in turn develop the abilities to jump, accelerate, dive, and change direction quickly, might be most critical to a high-level performance in volleyball