Volleyball athletes use their glutes for almost every movement whether on the hard court or in the sand. Every skill incorporates the glute muscles to perform the volleyball movements correctly. It’s no wonder, because the glutes are the biggest muscle group in our body. Here are 3 reasons why volleyball athletes need strong glutes for injury prevention and peak performance.

Prevent Back Pain

Strong glutes are essential for lower back health since they assist with pelvic control and thoracic (mid back) movement. Thoracic movement is crucial for volleyball athletes, since “ready position” has our shoulders forward and our spine in a constant state of rounding. Low back pain sets in all too often, due to being in this position throughout practice.  Also, our glutes help support the lower back during lifting movements. Plus, tall athletes tend to slouch down a lot. Having strong glutes equates to a good posture and more support for our lower back.

Prevent Knee Pain

Glutes are necessary for proper pelvic alignment. Having strong glutes that stabilize the pelvis/hips can prevent excessive medial rotation of the femur, which can create lateral patellar tracking, a common cause of knee pain. That’s right, it’s not just healthy quads that build pain free knees, but also the glutes.

Increase athletic performance

The glute max is one of the largest and strongest muscles in the body. It has a lot of influence on the explosive nature of athletic performance including acceleration, jumping, and balance.  It also critical for single leg stance support ideal for running a slide approach or lunging for a hard driven ball.  If we are not training our glutes properly, we will certainly find ourselves less efficient than our competitors.

SONY DSC

Now that we know the glutes are important for us as volleyball players, what should we do about it?

First, test your glute strength: Use this quick assessment. Start standing in an upright position with the feet together. Lift one leg straight out in front of you a couple inches off the ground. If the pelvis of the moving leg cannot stay level with the standing leg, this can be an indication of weak abductors, or a weak glute medius.

Second, strengthen your glutes: There are many fun and engaging glute exercises. In honor of Halloween this month, we created a “Boo-ty” Program with all the glute exercises you could dream of! Sign up for the online “Boo-ty” program for just $29/one time fee here

Ready to sign up for the booty program + get access to the YAX online portal of all yoga, HIIT, breathwork and meditation videos? Get your FREE 7 day trial then stay with us for monthly access to YAX ONLINE for only $39/mo auto-renew here.

View JVA’s fitness library for volleyball athletes

About the Author

Kalynn Evans (B.S., NASM-CPT, E-RYT 200, FMSC, XPT Coach) is the Owner of Yoga Athletex, LLC alongside her sister Patricia Bomar. She grew up playing volleyball; her mom and coach was a former college volleyball player at University of Houston and then a member of the US national team, so volleyball was instilled in her from a young age. Kalynn played club volleyball for 7 years at Club Texas in Houston. She played D1 college volleyball at SE Louisiana where she graduated with an accounting degree. Having some back and hip injuries throughout her volleyball career led Kalynn to practice yoga, and want to offer yoga to youth and adult athletes to prevent and rehabilitate injury. She completed her 200 RYT in 2013, completed Yin and Restorative Trainings in 2015 and 2016, FMS Cert 2016, and NASM-CPT in 2017 and XPT coaching certificate in 2018.

Kalynn’s Instagram: _restorewithme_
Yoga Athletex: @yogaathletex