What kind of works shocks do you have? The basic bottom of the line ones, or the upgraded ones with adjustable preload?
If it's the basic ones that just have grooves around the top of the shock, you need to compress the collar around the top, which will expose a locking ring you can pull off, then the top retaining collar will come off along with the springs. You can even use this method to adjust the preload on what works considers a non-adjustable shock. Just have one person push down on that collar, preferably a heavier person, and then pull that ring out with a pair of needle nose pliers or something similar. I weigh 200 and it took just about all my weight to compress the spring enough to get the clip on the next notch from factory settings.