10 Incredible Benefits of Playing Volleyball Regularly
There are countless benefits of playing volleyball regularly.
It’s a sport that can help achieve a goal that many people are seeking these days: Wellness.
The term wellness has become quite popular in recent years, as we search for a sense of well-being in all areas of life:
- Physical
- Mental
- Social
The sport of volleyball offers an opportunity to develop your physical fitness, test your mental strength, and extend your social network.
Volleyball is a game that can be played at the highest levels of competition and for simple entertainment value.
People set up a net and play volleyball for many reasons. There are 10 main ways that volleyball can benefit an individual.
Read on to learn which benefits of playing volleyball might be a reason for you to give the sport a try.
Physical Benefits of Playing Volleyball
There are several areas where volleyball helps us improve our physical health.
These four main physical benefits of playing volleyball are reason enough to make the game a part of your daily exercise.
1. A Healthy Heart
If you don’t consider volleyball a cardiovascular workout, you’re probably not playing hard enough.
The sport entails a variety of movements that get the heart working and your breathing up. The arms, legs, and core are all working synchronously to accomplish the various moves required of a volleyball player.
Cardiovascular health is improved by bouts of rigorous activity, which forces your body to circulate more blood (and with it oxygen and nutrients).
Volleyball certainly accomplishes the goal of increasing your heart rate.
A strong cardiovascular system encourages overall health and helps prevent heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.
2. A Healthy Musculoskeletal System
We all know that the leg bone is connected to the knee bone (a wildly simplified anatomic song, by the way).
But did you know that exercise helps strengthen your muscles, bones, and the other soft tissues that hold them all together?
Strength training is essential to myriad health processes.
It’s also an important part of high-level volleyball training programs. Even amateur or recreational players can benefit from regularly playing volleyball.
Volleyball requires a certain amount of explosive, dynamic movements regardless of competition level.
Serving demands the upper body and legs work together to provide the power to get the ball over the net. Hitting uses the core, shoulders, and arms while the legs propel the player into the air.
The natural motions of volleyball will help build muscle and strengthen connective tissue. Bones are strengthened as the exercise of playing a sport communicates the need for more cells to reinforce the structure of the skeleton.
Volleyball encourages a strong, healthy musculoskeletal system.
3. A Well-Rounded Exercise
The sport of volleyball encourages improved balance, endurance, flexibility, and speed.
The diverse nature of the game requires players to be able to perform the same skills regardless of their position. This creates a form of exercise that helps improve every aspect of athletic movement.
While volleyball courts are relatively small spaces (compared to a football field, for instance), the duration of rallies can be a strain on even the fittest players.
Players who endure these long bouts of physical pressure find themselves stronger for it.
4. A Piece of a Weight Loss Plan
Volleyball can be a vital part of an overall plan to lose weight.
It’s important to note that simply playing volleyball might not be enough but as a piece of a weight loss strategy, it can be a fun supplement to routine exercise.
Playing volleyball at any level results in a caloric burn, part of the process the body uses to shed bad weight and build healthy muscles. Like any exercise, the amount of burn depends on the individual, but everyone will see some benefits.
Volleyball players can expect to burn nearly 400 calories an hour and increase that by 50 percent (600 calories an hour) when they hit the sand for beach volleyball.
Adding volleyball to an exercise program is ideal because it encourages caloric burn, building muscle, strengthening bones, and promoting mental and social health.
Mental Health Benefits of Playing Volleyball
Volleyball is a highly strategic game.
A strong understanding of these strategies is vital to excelling in the sport. But there are areas where the mind can be strengthened even for casual players.
5. Develop Better Coordination
Young players benefit greatly from the hand-eye (more like hand-feet-legs-eyes-arms-body) coordination required of the sport of volleyball.
There is a unique necessity to use different forms of coordination depending on the aspect of the game you’re trying to accomplish (serving, blocking, or passing).
The development of the required coordination will help athletes in virtually every aspect of life.
Research has shown that volleyball increases hand-eye coordination. Even better, further research proves that the development of coordination is limitless.
The longer and more you play, the more coordinated you will be!
6. Develop Focus
Volleyball is a sport that requires focus from every player while the ball is in play.
Players must have their eyes on the ball and also pay attention to the defense or offense on the other side of the net.
The necessary focus is a boon to those looking to improve in this area.
For people who struggle with distractions or a wandering mind, volleyball is a great way to practice concentrating on one task.
Social and Emotional Health Benefits of Playing Volleyball
Volleyball is rarely played alone. It can be enjoyed with two to six players per side (even more in some casual, recreational settings).
This allows the sport to be a great way to improve your social and emotional well-being.
7. Development of Interpersonal Confidence
The nature of volleyball requires players to “talk” to each other.
Visit any practice or match and you will inevitably hear a coach imploring her squad to communicate. This forced communication can help those who struggle with shyness or social anxieties.
Non-verbal communication is also enhanced by playing volleyball.
While talking out-loud is important to team success, so is understanding your teammates’ body language. Learning to read other people is important to good communication on and off the court.
Being part of a team is a natural boost to interpersonal confidence. It allows players to develop a sense of respect for others while feeling appreciated by teammates.
The bonds created on the volleyball court are unique as the team relies on each player to succeed.
Teams of volleyball players that encourage and support each other typically find success. This provides confidence that can be hard to develop in other ways.
8. Development of Self-Confidence
Volleyball helps players develop confidence in themselves for multiple reasons.
- Physical well-being plays a vital role in emotional stability. Exercise is known to improve mood (see below regarding stress) and this helps players feel better about themselves.
- The feeling of belonging is wildly impactful on self-esteem. Having teammates, their support, and the understanding that you’re part of something is valuable to a player’s self-confidence. It’s important for coaches and team leaders to create a culture that supports all players.
9. Reduce Stress
Exercise releases chemicals in the body called endorphins. These natural chemicals inspire a feeling of happiness, confidence, and general good feelings.
Playing volleyball provides enough activity to encourage the brain to release plenty of these chemicals.
The effects of playing volleyball on stress levels are not necessarily restricted to the time you’re playing.
Over time, exercise helps the body manage stress and can help with moodiness and depression in some athletes.
Volleyball is a real stress buster!
10. Becoming a Good Sport
Volleyball is a team sport. Even beach volleyball requires good relations between the two players.
It’s necessary for teammates to develop the ability to let go of the faults and mistakes of each other to succeed. What a life lesson!
The game of volleyball requires a certain level of respect from its players. Respect for the rules, for those enforcing the rules, and for your opponent.
It’s not a sport that requires hand-to-hand combat or encourages aggressive encounters with opponents. It’s a sport that naturally encourages sportsmanship.
Conclusion
On top of the pure fun of the sport, there are a lot of benefits of playing volleyball.
Physical, mental, and social wellness are all improved over time while playing the game.