When i was at uni, i trained with the same guy every day for 3 years - and it was very productive. We had the same goals, and we became responsible for each other, chasing up about meals etc. In the gym it helps to have a spotter who's always around, brings up the intensity, etc. But I don't think we said a word to each other between sets, both just listening to music, and workouts about 2 hours long.
Since then I've trained with several people, on and off, including my girlfriend for a time, and none of them were 'good' - shows up in a bad mood, bad attitude, wants to chat all the time, late, wants to finish early, the list goes on. I found myself looking forward to training alone, because i felt my workouts were a lot better.
It's not necessarily a reflection on any of the people i trained with -- they're not malicious or whatever - just didn't work well together. I think a good training partner is someone who's goals and style aligns with yours, which is often hard to find. (much like in life in general, i guess)
tldr; a good training partner is gold - a bad one is wasting your time (and theirs).
What are your thoughts on training partners? A necessity? A distraction?
I dont think they are a necessity but a good training partner can make a lot of difference. It can go either way. I usually train alone (joys of strongman in a small town) but have a friend that I occasionally do event training with. I do find myself more confident in some heavy lifts (like bench) if I have a good spotter there, even though I have safeties in place anyways. And while neither of us are super vocal we do push each other in our training. So I can go either way myself.
Though since I train mostly at the school I teach at I have to be careful who I train with and how many people, for liability reasons.
I sweat I remember a old article somewhere that was written about how to be a good training partner and things to look for in one.
"To make things happen sometimes you have to swim against the tide while others stand on the shore shaking their heads." - Machine
Alone. Haven’t had a partner in a long time. Finding someone with the same goals and work ethic is difficult. Certainly don’t want to spend half my time chit chatting.
Strength doesn't come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will. -Gandhi
You cannot dream yourself into a character. You must hammer and forge yourself into one. -Thoreau
Alone. Haven’t had a partner in a long time. Finding someone with the same goals and work ethic is difficult. Certainly don’t want to spend half my time chit chatting.
100% agree! You have to find a good match which is harder as you get older. People have different schedules.
LOVE training by myself. I find it much more effective. Focus more and push harder. Not to mention I NEED TO DO WHAT I NEED TO DO in the gym as far as exercise selection.