Introduction

An extremely important physical characteristic of volleyball is the braking rate of force development (RFD), which is the ability to generate a large amount of downward force as quickly as possible.  The ability to improve a players braking RFD can translate to improvements in many key volleyball movements such as change of direction (COD), deceleration, and jumping ability as a player will be able to produce more force or produce the same amount of force in a quicker period of time (1,2).

Flywheel resistance training effect on braking RFD

Flywheel resistance training (FRT) can be a great tool to use to increase an individual’s braking RFD due to the additional eccentric forces that are inherently applied during this type of training (3).    

Ryan Patrick - Owner of Peak Fitness and Sports Training, decided to put this to the test with two of his high school volleyball players prior to their season. 

During this 12 week training program, the primary FRT exercise that they utilized was the squat due to the bilateral jumping nature of volleyball. The flywheel squat was programmed alongside the athletes normal resistance training program and on court practices.

Program

Program notes:

Phase 1: The reps were at a higher range to help familiarize the athletes with FRT as they did not have previous flywheel experience.  

Phase 2: The rep ranges were reduced and the FRT squat was utilized as the primary bilateral movement.

Phase 3: Both reps and inertial load were reduced to create a taper effect and to drive more power-based adaptations.  In addition, the flywheel squat was performed in combination with heavy squats (2 -5 reps) to create a contrast training effect.  

Following this 12 wk program braking RFD and other jump metrics were quantified via Hawkin Dynamics Force Plates.

Results 

Athlete 1

Athlete 2

There was 60 – 70% improvement in absolute braking RFD, as well as a 10 – 18% improvement in relative RFD.  In addition, there were also improvements in other jumping metrics such as CMJ height, modified reactive strength index, and time to take off.  Lastly, on an individual level, there were large improvements in lean body mass and RFD asymmetry.

Conclusion

Following this 12-week program, both volleyball players showed improvements in multiple jumping metrics such as CMJ height, modified reactive strength index, time to take off, and most prominently  absolute and relative braking RFD.  

It would seem that the implementation of flywheel squats into a preseason program can have a profound impact on braking RFD, which may have a high transfer effect to multiple volleyball specific tasks such as COD, on court jumps, and deceleration ability.  

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References

1. Harper, D, Cervantes, C, Van Dyke, M, et al. The Braking Performance Framework: Practical Recommendations and Guidelines to Enhance Horizontal Deceleration Ability in Multi-Directional Sports. Int J Strength Cond 4, 2024.

2. Laffaye, G and Wagner, P. Eccentric rate of force development determines jumping performance. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin 16: 82–83, 2013.

3. Weng, Y, Liu, H, Ruan, T, et al. Effects of flywheel resistance training on the running economy of young male well-trained distance runners. Front Physiol 13: 1060640, 2022.