Physical Fitness Qualities of Professional Volleyball Players: Determination of Positional Differences

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the anthropometric and strength characteristics of elite male volleyball athletes and to determine if differences exist in these characteristics according to playing position. A group of 35 professional male team volleyball players (mean +/- SD age: 26.6 +/- 3.1 years) participated in the study. Players were categorized according to playing position and role: middle blockers (n = 9), opposite hitters (n = 6), outside hitters (n = 10), setters (n = 6), and liberos (n = 4). Height, body mass, muscular strength (4 repetition maximum bench press and 4 repetition maximum parallel squat tests), and muscular power (overhead medicine ball throw, countermovement jump) were assessed. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found among the 5 positional categories. The results indicated that the middle blockers and opposite hitters were the tallest and heaviest players, whereas the libero players were the lightest. Differences were also found in bench press maximal strength, with the middle blockers and opposite players significantly stronger (p < 0.05) than the setters and liberos. The setter positional group had significantly poorer (p < 0.05) parallel squat performances than the outside hitter and opposite hitter groups. No other significant differences (p > 0.05) were found among groups for the strength and power parameters. These results demonstrate that significant anthropometric and strength differences exist among playing positions in elite male volleyball players. In addition, these findings provide normative data for elite male volleyball players competing in specific individual playing positions. From a practical perspective, sport scientists and conditioning professionals should take the strength and anthropometric characteristics of volleyball players into account when designing individualized position-specific training programs.

Effect of a Volleyball Course on Health-Related Fitness Components of University Students

“…Moreover, there are no studies that determine the eff ect of volleyball training on non-athletic university students. Th is is of interest as volleyball is a competitive sport that relies mainly on explosive strength and endurance to perform techniques such as blocking and smashing (Marques, van den Tillaar, Gabbett, Reis, & González-Badillo, 2009). Th us, the aim of this study was to determine the eff ect of a volleyball course on the health-related fi tness of male university students.…”

Effect of training on anthropometric, physiological and biochemical variables of U-19 volleyball players

“…There is a need of high level of physical and physiological fitness to participate at the elite level (Marques et al, 2009). Training can improve the performance of the players (Bompa, 1997).…”

Efeito discriminante da morfologia e alcance de ataque no nível de desempenho em voleibolistas. DOI: 10.5007/1980-0037.2011v13n3p223

“…Specific characteristics such as height are considered to be essential to achieve high performance in volleyball 4 . In addition to knowledge about the specific profile of each sport modality, the rapid advances in elite sports require professionals to understand the specific physical characteristics in different playing positions or functions within the same modality in an attempt to increase training efficiency and to provide better specific training guidance 5 . Within this context, somatotype analysis adds information to common anthropometric measures (height, body weight, skinfolds, etc.)…”

“…Some studies have used somatotype analysis to establish the ideal physical profile of volleyball players in each playing position in order to facilitate training programs 3,6,11,12 . Studies regarding somatotype in volleyball conducted in different countries concluded that teams of the same category and qualification level tend to present a similar somatotype profile, whereas other studies found in the same category homogeneity of the somatotype profile in different playing positions for both male and female athletes 5,11,[13][14][15] . Studies on Brazilian volleyball have classified the somatotype of female athletes into levels of trainings 16 , as well as of the Brazilian under-17 male team 15, .…”

“…Vertical jump is of the utmost importance in volleyball and is mainly used during serving, setting, attacks and blocks, which are essential for scoring a point. Studies investigating the morphofunctional characteristics of volleyball players have focused on vertical jump height 5,11,[17][18][19][20][21][22] , although today the maximum range of attack of the player during jumping and not his vertical jump height has become more important. Marques et al 5 demonstrated the existence of different types of physical fitness and anthropometric profiles in male volleyball as a function of the specific position of the players.…”