The Explosive Mechanics Training System
WE DON'T SELL WORKOUTS. WE BUILD RESULTS.
Explosive Mechanics is not built around random exercises, trends, or whatever training method happens to be popular at the moment. It is built around a system.
Every exercise has a purpose. Every load has a purpose. Every repetition has a purpose. And every training session is designed to move the athlete toward a measurable result.
Athletes don't need more random exercises, complicated drills, or constant variation just to make training look impressive. They need the right training stimulus, applied consistently, measured objectively, and adjusted when necessary.
That's the Explosive Mechanics System.
METHOD + FREQUENCY + MEASUREMENT = RESULTS
RESULTS OVER FEELINGS
Training should produce a result. It doesn't matter how difficult the workout felt, how tired the athlete was afterward, or how impressive the exercises looked.
Did the athlete get better?
Did strength increase? Did vertical jump improve? Did sprint speed improve? Did force production increase?
Those are the questions that matter.
At Explosive Mechanics, athletes are tested regularly so we can determine whether the training is actually producing the desired result.
We don't guess.
We measure. We train. We retest.
Then we make decisions based on the results.
THREE METHODS. ONE SYSTEM.
One of the foundations of the Explosive Mechanics System is understanding muscular tension. Strength training isn't simply about choosing exercises. The method behind the exercise determines what we are trying to develop.
Our system is built around three primary methods of developing muscular tension:
BRIEF MAXIMAL TENSION
Heavy resistance develops the nervous system's ability to recruit and coordinate the muscle fibers needed to produce extremely high levels of force. Simply put, this is where we build strength.
REPEATED EFFORT
Repeated muscular contractions help increase muscle size, improve work capacity, and build the physical structure necessary to tolerate and produce greater forces. Simply put, this is where we build the athlete's structure.
DYNAMIC EFFORT
Producing force isn't enough in sports. The athlete must be able to produce it quickly. Dynamic Effort training develops the athlete's ability to produce force rapidly and express strength within the limited amount of time available during athletic movement.
Simply put, this is where we develop explosiveness.
But these are not three separate training programs.
We use all three methods in conjunction with one another.
Brief Maximal Tension develops the ability to produce greater force. Repeated Effort builds the muscular structure capable of producing and tolerating that force. Dynamic Effort develops the ability to express that force quickly.
Three methods. Different purposes. One system.
THE SYSTEM STAYS THE SAME. THE EMPHASIS CHANGES.
Every athlete at Explosive Mechanics is trained using the same foundational system. What changes is the mixture.
One athlete may need more emphasis on maximal strength. Another may already be strong but need more Dynamic Effort work to improve how quickly that strength can be expressed. Another may need more Repeated Effort work to increase muscle mass and structural development.
We don't have to completely change the training program to address these differences.
We adjust the mixture.
Monthly testing tells us how each athlete is responding. If an athlete is improving in one area but not another, we can adjust the amount of emphasis placed on the appropriate training method.
The system remains consistent. The training is adjusted according to the results.
STRENGTH IS NOT ENOUGH
An athlete can become stronger without becoming proportionally more explosive. That is why simply increasing the squat, bench press, or deadlift is not the complete answer.
Sport happens fast.
The athlete must be able to access strength within fractions of a second.
The Explosive Mechanics System develops both sides of the equation:
BUILD MORE FORCE. PRODUCE IT FASTER.
Maximum strength increases the athlete's force-producing potential. Dynamic training develops the ability to access that force rapidly. Repeated Effort supports both by developing the muscular structure needed to produce and tolerate greater forces.
All three work together.
That's what creates a more complete athlete.
WHY WE JUMP WITH DUMBBELLS
The Dumbbell Jump System was developed by Explosive Mechanics founder Jared Bidne as a way to systematically train and improve explosive strength rather than simply test it.
Dumbbell jumps have since become one of the defining components of the Explosive Mechanics System. Not because they are different.
Because they work.
An unloaded vertical jump primarily displays the athlete's current explosive ability. But displaying explosiveness and developing explosiveness are not necessarily the same thing.
To develop that ability, we add external resistance to the jump. The goal is to provide enough resistance to increase force production while still allowing the athlete to move at the high velocities necessary to develop explosive strength.
By manipulating the amount of external resistance, we can train specific speed-strength qualities and progressively overload the jump rather than simply asking an athlete to jump as high as possible over and over again.
This gives us something extremely important:
A measurable and progressive system for developing explosiveness.
Just as we can progressively load a squat to develop maximal strength, we can progressively load a jump to develop the athlete's ability to produce force quickly.
The objective isn't to make jumping harder.
The objective is to make the athlete more explosive.
That distinction is the foundation of the Dumbbell Jump System.
THE SQUAT RATIO SYSTEM: DOES IT TRANSFER?
Getting stronger and more explosive is important, but ultimately those improvements need to transfer to athletic performance.
The Explosive Mechanics Squat Ratio System uses squat load, bar velocity, and body weight to determine what an athlete should be capable of running in the 40-yard dash.
If an athlete can squat a certain load at a certain velocity relative to their body weight, the Squat Ratio System gives us a corresponding expectation for 40-yard-dash performance.
We can then compare what the athlete should be capable of running with what the athlete actually runs.
This gives us another objective way to evaluate whether the training is producing the intended result.
The squat develops and measures the athlete's ability to produce force. The Dumbbell Jump System develops the ability to express force rapidly. The Squat Ratio System helps us determine whether those qualities are transferring to one of the most important measures of athletic acceleration:
THE 40-YARD DASH.
If the athlete's squat load, bar velocity, and body-weight relationship improve and the 40 gets faster as expected, the training is producing the desired result.
If the numbers say the athlete should be capable of running faster than they actually are, that tells us something too.
The weight-room numbers have to transfer to the field.
And if they don't, the data helps us determine where the training emphasis may need to change.
FREQUENCY IS PART OF THE SYSTEM
Having the right training program isn't enough.
The athlete has to train often enough for the program to work.
Our system is designed around producing measurable results on a monthly basis. In our experience, this generally requires approximately 8–12 training sessions per month.
An athlete could have the correct mixture of Brief Maximal Tension, Repeated Effort, and Dynamic Effort training, but if they don't complete enough sessions, they may not receive enough exposure to the training stimulus to produce a measurable result that month.
That doesn't necessarily mean the training isn't working.
It may simply take longer for the result to appear.
An athlete consistently completing 8–12 quality training sessions per month may show measurable changes each month. An athlete training less frequently may need two months to accumulate enough training exposure to produce a similar result.
That's why frequency and consistency matter.
The right methods + enough training exposure = the opportunity for consistent results. THE MORE YOU TRAIN, THE MORE YOU GAIN.
TRAINING SHOULD BE REPEATABLE
Real training is often repetitive. That isn't a flaw in the system. It's one of the reasons the system works.
The body needs repeated exposure to a training stimulus before we can expect a measurable result. That's why we don't constantly change exercises, methods, or workouts just to create variety.
We don't change exercises simply to entertain athletes. We don't create random workouts because they look good online. And we don't abandon a method that is producing results simply because something new becomes popular.
We give the training enough time and exposure to work. Then we measure the result.
If it's working, we keep doing it.
If the athlete has received enough training exposure and isn't improving, we adjust.
We don't change training because we're bored with it. We change training because the results tell us to.
WE TRAIN QUALITIES TOGETHER
We don't believe an athlete needs to spend months becoming strong before training explosiveness, then abandon strength to enter a "speed phase." Athletes need multiple physical qualities at the same time:
Strength. Speed. Explosiveness. Muscle. Coordination. Structural resilience.
The Explosive Mechanics System develops these qualities together while adjusting the amount of emphasis placed on each according to the athlete's needs.
We don't want to improve one physical quality while allowing another to disappear.
The goal is to build a complete athlete.
MONTHLY TESTING GUIDES THE SYSTEM
We don't test athletes simply to see what they can do.
We test to determine what we should do next.
Each month gives us another set of information.
Did strength improve? Did vertical jump improve? Did sprint performance improve? Did body weight or strength-to-bodyweight ratio change? Did the athlete complete enough training sessions to reasonably expect a result?
The answers help determine the next step.
If an athlete completed the required training frequency but a specific quality didn't improve, we may need to adjust the training mixture.
If the athlete didn't complete enough sessions, the problem may not be the training at all. The athlete may simply need more exposure before we can expect a measurable result.
This prevents us from changing training unnecessarily.
TEST. EVALUATE. ADJUST. REPEAT.
WE MEASURE WHAT MATTERS
Testing isn't something we save for the beginning and end of a training program.
Testing is part of the system.
Depending on the athlete and the objective, we may measure:
Vertical jump
10-20-40 yard dash
Sprint performance
Bar velocity
Maximum strength
Body weight
Throwing Velocity
Broad Jump
Strength-to-bodyweight ratios
Training loads and repetition performance
The numbers give us feedback. They tell us what's improving, what isn't, and where the training emphasis may need to change.
Results determine the next step.
WE'RE OKAY WITH BEING DIFFERENT
Explosive Mechanics doesn't train a certain way simply because that's how everyone else does it.
We don't choose exercises because they're popular. We don't avoid methods because they're unpopular. And we don't build our training around what looks impressive from the outside.
We ask a much simpler question:
Does it produce the result we're looking for?
Some of our methods challenge conventional thinking.
That's okay.
The objective was never to conform.
The objective was to produce results.
THE RESULT
The Explosive Mechanics System has been developed through years of coaching, testing, measuring, adjusting, and working with athletes.
The system continues to evolve, but the standard remains the same:
The training must produce a measurable result.
Our athletes have produced 40+ inch vertical jumps, significant improvements in sprint performance, dramatic increases in strength, and improvements that have helped athletes compete at the high school, collegiate, professional, and international levels.
Those results aren't the product of a secret exercise.
They're the product of a system.
A system that develops strength.
A system that builds muscle and structure.
A system that develops speed and explosive force.
A system that uses all three methods together.
A system that provides enough repeated exposure for the body to adapt.
A system that measures whether those qualities are actually improving.
And a system that adjusts according to what the results tell us.
METHOD + FREQUENCY + MEASUREMENT = RESULTS
SYSTEM-BASED. PERFORMANCE-DRIVEN. RESULTS-FOCUSED.
This is Explosive Mechanics.