Muscles & Bones Used in Playing Volleyball

The game of volleyball is fast paced and it requires you to have speed, agility, jumping ability and quickness. Through the course of a game, you not only break a sweat, but you also recruit numerous bones and muscles. Every time you bend a joint, you activate at least one muscle and bone. By knowing this information, you can structure your workouts to strengthen the areas used most and improve your ability on the floor.

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Ankle Area

The tibia and fibula run from the knee to the top of the foot. They, along with the talus and calcaneus of the foot, make up the ankle joint which bends up and down numerous times while running and jumping in volleyball. When you point your foot downward, you perform a motion called plantar flexion. This causes you to work your calves which sit on the lower part of the leg on the back side. The gastrocnemius has a medial and lateral head, and it is right below the knee. The soleus is right in front of the gastroc and both parts taper down to the Achilles tendon which ends at the calcaneus. On the front of the shin, a small strip of muscle called the tibialis anterior runs down the length of the tibia. This muscle gets activated when you perform dorsiflexion which takes place when you point your foot back toward your shin.

Femur Muscles

The femur is the largest bone in the body and it runs from the hip to the knee joint. Two large muscles sit on the anterior and posterior side of the femur, and both get worked during volleyball. Anterior means front and posterior means back. The quadriceps are on the front side and they consist of the rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and vastus intermedius. You work your quads during knee extension and hip flexion. Hip flexion takes place when you move your thigh toward your stomach and knee extension takes place when you straighten your lower leg. The hamstrings sit on the back of the thighs and they get worked when you perform knee flexion. This takes place when you bend your knee and move your heel backward while running and jumping.

Glutes

The glutes sit on the posterior side of the body and they are often referred to as the buttocks. They consist of three parts: gluteus maximus, medius and minimus. Whenever you perform hip extension, you work the glutes. Hip extension takes place when you move your thigh backward during jumping and running in volleyball.

Core Muscles

The core muscles sit in the midsection of the body and wrap around to the posterior side. The rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominis and erector spinae are the main muscles of the core. Whenever you flex, extend, twist or laterally bend your torso, you work these muscles. You also forcefully contract your core musculature to produce force and keep your spine stable.

Deltoids

The deltoids have a posterior, medial and anterior segment. The medial portion is on the side of the shoulder, the anterior is in the front and the posterior is in the back. These muscles give your shoulders a round look and they get activated when you raise your arms in the air to block, spike, volley and serve. The bones in the shoulder joint consist of the clavicle, humerus and scapula. The scapula is also known as the shoulder blade and the humerus is the large bone of the upper arm.

Rotator Cuff

The rotator cuff is a small grouping of four muscles that run across the scapula. These consist of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. The main function of the rotator cuff is to stabilize the shoulder joint and allow for efficient rotation of the shoulder. Every time you swing your arm through the air to spike, you work your rotator cuff.

Upper Arm

The biceps and triceps sit on the front and back side of the upper arm across the humerus. When you reach your arm behind your head and bend your elbow before a spike, you perform flexion which recruits the biceps. As you follow through and forcefully straighten your arm, you perform extension which works the triceps.