You take a deep breath, reel in your focus, raise the ball, and…
Your serve still just is not as powerful as you would like it to be.
But, when it comes to the perfect and powerful serve, there is so much more than just hitting the ball harder. It comes down to the little things like timing, placement, and several other contributing factors.
We’ll admit it – hitting the ball hard is fun. But, what good is the power if you don’t have the right technique to direct the power in the right direction?
A powerful hit starts with a healthy body and a powerful arm, then that is followed up by the use of proper technique:
- Do resistance training.
Buy some at-home gym equipment and get to it!
A powerful serve starts with a powerful arm…
Resistance training will help strengthen your triceps, which is particularly important in volleyball. Your triceps provide the power you need for basically all moves – hits, blocks, overhead spikes, and serves.
A great way to start resistance training is by doing a few reps with dumbbell sets. Start out easy to avoid an injury and gradually build your way up. - Focus on nutrition.
Aside from working out, you must ensure that you are fueling your body appropriately as well.
Poor sports nutrition can lead to a lack of energy and weak muscles – almost canceling out the progress you made with your workout.
So, instead of hitting the gym and then running to McDonald’s for a Big Mac, try focusing more on superfoods and protein such as protein shakes, eggs, whole grains, avocado, salmon, and berries. Nootropics can also boost athletic performance. One of the best performance enhancers is MK 677. Athletes may also get great results from MK 677.
Proper nutrients will only intensify the results of your workout, therefore, giving you a more powerful overhand serve. - Get behind the ball.
One of the biggest mistakes made by volleyball players across the sport is misjudging the set…
If you are out of position, you can forget having any sort of powerful serve – your speed will suddenly be gone.
If the ball drifts behind you, there is no way to get a good swing and use your full power.
Focus on accuracy and speed. Accuracy should be sought with speed – you shouldn’t sacrifice your accuracy for speed.
Start by getting in the proper position, then have at it! - Always follow through.
Have you ever been sitting in “park” in your car and hit the gas pedal? It revs up the engine but the car doesn’t go anywhere…
This is kind of what happens when you don’t follow through:
You rev up your arm by preparing for the serve and starting off right, but when you don’t follow through, the ball can’t really go anywhere because you didn’t manage to put all of your power into it effectively.
So, you are basically stuck with all this power and nowhere for it to go. Follow through to ensure all of your power is sent in your serve. - Practice makes perfect.
I know, if this is not the oldest piece of advice in the book…
But, it is one that has stood the test of time.
Practice, practice, practice.
The best way to better understand your weaknesses and how to improve them is to practice.
Over time, this will also help better develop those muscles necessary to get a more powerful overhand serve.
No pressure, but the power of your overhand serves all boils down to you…
How much time and effort are you willing to put into it?
Are you going to give it your all?
Remember, practice makes perfect.