Not recommending this but it's one option.. It has a ton of pre-requisites due to the (supramaximal) intensity of the method.
An advanced jump only phase one could employ after strength blocks would be The Shock Method. In order to safely perform it though one needs to be around 2+xBW squat (or preferably 5-10 MSEM singles @ 2xBW), no injuries, very minimal aches, comfortable performing depth jumps from ~30" (for eventually 10 reps), have a target when depth jumping (vertec, markings, jump mat). In a block like this, one could completely stop lifting and still see gains in explosive strength, max strength, reactive strength, etc.
Andrew,
I have heard of intense shock method blocks like the one you just talked about and realize that if you are adequately prepared and are able to do shocks at a high enough intensity, you can actually increase maximal strength without doing any weights. Obviously, these would come in the form of high box (30"+) depth drops+jumps and proficient high speed single leg bounding (are there any other plyo's that have crazy 'shock'?).
Ya there's plyo pushups (depth jump style but for pushups), that's the most popular. Then you have specially crafted devices like these "leg press sleds" and "bench press sleds". Here's the "Plyo Swing" that Westside Barbell sells:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXE-JTz_PnY .. So there's stuff like that for lower & upper body.
There's also drop-catch bench press which seems very dangerous HEH. There's drop-catch variations of several lifts, like curls and such. Jay Schroeder seemed to really popularize this, but, you don't see many people utilizing it, probably for good reason.
Even REA squats.. but fuck REA squats. I think LBSS would agree.
1) How long can one go on such a block without weights?
Well, the end goal is to improve the competition exercise, which in our case is jumping, sprinting, etc.. So, we pretty much just forget about weights at this point. They served their purpose leading up to the shock block in building that "bigger engine" & other qualities.
I've read about shock blocks being effective from 4-6 weeks. I don't think anyone would use them much longer. After this block, you're getting the benefits of the Shock Method AND the benefits of the delayed/supercompensation (peaking) effect. That's pretty nuclear.
Theoretically from a newbs standpoint (me), it sounds like once you can safely and proficiently do intense shock plyos (high depth drops/jumps or single leg bounding) you "can" stop weight training forever for legs.
Well, bounds aren't really considered shock. They are actually prescribed as preparatory exercises before depth jumps and such. They are very intense and satisfy some requirements of shock though so.. I think people have done shock-like variations of bounds by actually bounding off of a block, to get more height.. like a 12-18" concrete slab. I've seen it before. So they bound, then bound off that block, then bound once more @ normal level. Seems crazy.
By "forever", if you mean for a short training block/cycle, then ya..
but, you can't train shock forever. Every training method loses it's effectiveness as time goes on.
Weight training provides a much safer & simpler means of improving the various strength qualities. You can easily identify what strength qualities you want to improve & attack them. You can basically do it year round. It's not going to beat up your body (joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, cns) like prolonged intense plyometrics (shock) will.
Although maximal strength gains may be slower than working with weights, you can still just progressively overload the shock and still get gains in max strength (albeit at a slower rate) without ever having things like explosive strength deficits or lack of high frequency/quality jumps/sprints, etc...
well, absolute strength gains could arguably be better under plyometrics.. it's just that expressing it in something like back squat is more complex. So usually they measure with leg press, leg extension etc. The loads experienced via plyometrics far outweigh those of traditional weight training so... much stronger stimulus for improving max strength. It's just not nearly as safe. But ya you will have a smaller explosive strength deficit because you're not allowed to "take as long as you want" when performing a depth jump. You hit the ground and try to get as high as possible. So you're always working within that explosive strength time frame.
2) During a "shock method block", would you still use weights purely for a CNS STIM strategy?
Verkhoshansky (the guy who created it) says literally nothing else is allowed, no weights etc.. just some core exercises, prehab and such... due to the intensity and the competition for recovery/adaptation etc.
Does intense shocks provide STIM as well?
Ya high volume plyometrics is insane stim. In the data I posted in that blog, you can see the numbers shoot up like crazy on my second day (with one day rest after the first). I started to accumulate fatigue as I kept up with the 3x/week ideology. I imagine "1 shock day" could be some pretty powerful STIM. I experienced this again a year or more later. I did one day of 4x10 depth jumps then a few days later I felt like a rocket:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g72fqPlL3eMI even put "shock" in that video.. because those dunks were way better than anything I had done at the time (I think). I remember just feeling unbelievably springy that day. That was also maybe my first good two hander too.
So ya if you approached shock from more of a STIM perspective, then 1 session once a week (throughout 4-6 weeks or so) could potentially be very powerful. Would be an easier way to break into it too than dedicating an entire block to it. That's why we perform DJ's in these sessions though, to get some of that effect without performing an entire block associated with it.
I've read your high frequency depth jump blog and found it interesting. Maybe you can elaborate a little more on using delayed STIM (exercise now for STIM'ed jump session in ~48 hours) from depth jumps vs MSEM squats?
tbh, not sure at the moment.. i'd have to think about it for a bit longer. Regardless of what's actually going on, if one day of 1x10 drops fatigues your nervous system similar to an MSEM squat session, then you should expect a similar rebound.. MSEM won't create significant muscular fatigue so, they are pretty similar.
I've personally never felt such great potentiation/stim from drops though.. and 1x10 drops wouldn't make me nearly as fatigued as say 5-10 singles @ 95% 1RM. Unless perhaps you start going higher and higher from those drops, but then it gets risky. You can't just keep going higher, even if you think you can land correctly.. Because it takes a toll on the articular surface of your joints, little fissures etc.. Say from 50+ inch box heights etc.
From personal experience, i'd think you would need 2-4x10 depth jumps to match MSEM at 5-10 singles at 90-95%. One set just isn't enough.
If shock STIM is as good as low volume high intensity weight room STIM, you can theoretically never go back to the weight room after you can do proficient high intensity shock methods
nah, for reasons I stated earlier. to restate briefly, shock will lose it's effectiveness over time.
3) What kind of volume and frequency is needed to produce maximal strength gains in a shock block if using single leg bounding rather than depth jumps? Looking at your depth jump example, I'm guessing 3x a week of ME single leg bounding at high speed until performance drop off would be sufficient?
not sure with bounds. as stated earlier, they aren't really considered to be apart of the "shock" realm. I havn't read anything on it that I could draw some kind of comparison from. So not sure how single leg bounds would improve MaxS compared to depth jumps.
let me post this for now, not sure what I typed... HEH!
pc!
