Shock Method Exercises for Athletes

These are shock method exercises demonstrated by Yuri Verkhoshansky.

The depth jump is the classic shock method exercise.

An external force is created by the athlete's body falling

from a strictly prescribed height.

That external force acts during the yielding or eccentric

phase and is followed immediately by takeoff.

The defining feature is the short ground contact time between

landing and push-off. The same depth jump structure can be

used for vertical or horizontal jumps depending on the

task. You'll see the athlete here now performing

a depth

drop into a broad jump. Next, you'll see

Yuri talk about performing a depth jump with an overhead target.

His studies showed that with an overhead goal,

the athlete would

show increases in vertical jump height, and it altered

takeoff mechanics compared to jumping without a target.

Next, you'll see some repeated consecutive

jumps, which are

multi-impact shock method exercises, where

rapid repeated contacts increase the neuromuscular demand.

When external resistance is added, such as kettlebells or barbells,

these become combined shock method exercises where the impact of

external force is increased. You can do

unilateral or split variations to increase coordination

demands while maintaining short ground contact times.

In Verkhoshansky's depth jump experiments, explosive strength and

even maximal strength increased after the athletes

went through a phase of using depth jumps.

This is an extremely potent stimulus, and you have to be careful

with the height you are choosing and the volume.