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.
To me the perfect scenario is training in a group of 3. It's funny as Charles Poliquin specifically made the same point, but this is the best way to keep on a perfect tempo in the workouts so you rest the right amount between sets and keep pushing.
I'd rather train by myself than with a crappy training partner though...
Dan "Boss" Green
WR 2099 raw total @220
WR 2083 raw total @242
WR 2210 raw w/wraps total @242
Mostly alone. There’s a powerlifting “team” lately at my gym, but they spend most of their time dicking off and worrying more about producing social media content than lifting, so I can’t really stand training with them.
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.
I agree 110%!
Originally Posted by BOSS
To me the perfect scenario is training in a group of 3. It's funny as Charles Poliquin specifically made the same point, but this is the best way to keep on a perfect tempo in the workouts so you rest the right amount between sets and keep pushing.
I'd rather train by myself than with a crappy training partner though...
Never knew that! Interesting.
Originally Posted by Nmowery
Mostly alone. There’s a powerlifting “team” lately at my gym, but they spend most of their time dicking off and worrying more about producing social media content than lifting, so I can’t really stand training with them.
Dave Tate calls them "Instalifters" more concerned with getting likes then the weights used. In a video he joked that one day how many white lights each lift gets online depends on number of likes, LOL!
Yea it gets pretty annoying...also takes them like 2 hours to get thru squats and deadlifts because there’s a dozen people fucking off, taking up 2 racks. I’m definitely a “shut the fuck up and train” type.
I hated working out with people but over the last two years, I have been working out with a guy. Don't know his last name, his families name, where he actually works...nothing really about him. But I do know that he will be at the gym at 5 and will hit it hard.
I hated working out with people but over the last two years, I have been working out with a guy. Don't know his last name, his families name, where he actually works...nothing really about him. But I do know that he will be at the gym at 5 and will hit it hard.
Hold onto that training partner! You'll never find one like that again!
I hated working out with people but over the last two years, I have been working out with a guy. Don't know his last name, his families name, where he actually works...nothing really about him. But I do know that he will be at the gym at 5 and will hit it hard.
I´ve had someone exactly like that for a year as well.
All I knew was his name "Markus". He was an absolute lunatic and would endure any pain and suffering in the gym. We met every day at 7:00am and beat each other up until 9:00. That year I put on 30lbs. of stage weight.
I can´t give a universal answer.
It all depends on who you´re training with.
The perfect training partner for me would be a clone of myself or someone who absolutely obeys to my orders and follows my exact routine.
You Germans have that cyborg mentality, don't ya? =)
Originally Posted by Rex
I´ve had someone exactly like that for a year as well.
All I knew was his name "Markus". He was an absolute lunatic and would endure any pain and suffering in the gym. We met every day at 7:00am and beat each other up until 9:00. That year I put on 30lbs. of stage weight.
Mostly alone. There’s a powerlifting “team” lately at my gym, but they spend most of their time dicking off and worrying more about producing social media content than lifting, so I can’t really stand training with them.
Can't fuck with that... training partners have to push you
Dan "Boss" Green
WR 2099 raw total @220
WR 2083 raw total @242
WR 2210 raw w/wraps total @242
Louie Simmons says good training partners need to be motivating or they need to be irritating! And it's true, if you have a training partner that constantly irritates the shit out of you you WILL push harder lol.
Dan "Boss" Green
WR 2099 raw total @220
WR 2083 raw total @242
WR 2210 raw w/wraps total @242
Louie Simmons says good training partners need to be motivating or they need to be irritating! And it's true, if you have a training partner that constantly irritates the shit out of you you WILL push harder lol.