Indoor vs. beach men's volleyball athletes: a comparison of lower body strength and power attributes

Indoor and beach volleyball are performed under contrasting surface and game constraints, but direct comparisons of lower-limb neuromuscular performance in highly trained players are limited. Therefore, this study compared the lower-limb neuromuscular profiles of highly trained male indoor and beach volleyball athletes.

In this cross-sectional study, 46 highly trained, national-level male volleyball athletes (indoor, n = 26; beach, n = 20) completed a standardised battery of lower-limb neuromuscular assessments in a single indoor session, including the isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), drop jump (DJ), 10-30 m sprints, and the change-of-direction (COD) T-test. From the force and jump data, the rate of force development over the first 100 ms (RFD-100 ms), reactive strength index (RSI), dynamic strength index (DSI), and eccentric utilisation ratio (EUR) were derived. Between-group differences were examined using independent-samples t-tests, with effect sizes reported as Hedges' g and 95% confidence intervals.

Indoor players showed markedly faster COD performance, a higher RFD_-100 ms, and a higher RSI than beach players (T-test: 8.60 ± 0.31 vs 9.32 ± 0.47 s, g = 1.83, 95% CI 1.15 to 2.52, p < 0.05; RFD_-100 ms: 13,421 ± 4660 vs 9883 ± 2536 N·s^-1, g = 0.89, 95% CI 0.29 to 1.50, p < 0.05; RSI: 2.08 ± 0.53 vs 1.75 ± 0.47 m·s^-1, g = 0.63, 95% CI 0.04 to 1.22, p < 0.05). No clear between-group differences were observed for IMTP peak force, jump height (SJ, CMJ, DJ), 30-m sprint time, DSI, or EUR (all p > 0.05). Beach players recorded slightly faster 10-m and 20-m sprint times, although these differences were not statistically significant (10 m: 1.83 ± 0.15 vs 1.78 ± 0.12 s, g = 0.39, 95% CI -0.18 to 0.97; 20 m: 3.12 ± 0.20 vs 3.04 ± 0.27 s, g = 0.35, 95% CI -0.23 to 0.93).

Highly trained male indoor and beach volleyball athletes exhibited discipline-specific lower-limb neuromuscular profiles. Indoor players were faster in COD, with higher RFD_-100 ms and RSI, consistent with a velocity- and reactivity-oriented profile, whereas beach players showed no such advantage, possibly reflecting the force and stability demands of sand. These differences may inform targeted lower-limb neuromuscular training for each format.