Training Partners

[Viking Power]

For me personally i train alone, I am motivated enough to go hard and get better each training day and I can switch in a sec before a lift so that part I think if ya struggle with its good to have someone around to help feed off each other, but in the past training partners talk to much for my liking so now i wear ear phones it helps me it also stops people talking to ya I need to be in the zone and I like to stay in it.

The reason why I don't mind training alone is cause if I fail its on me I'm not scare off missing a lift and getting pin hell I've dumped weights being pinned sure a training partner could off spotted me but the bottom line is that i wasn't good enough to get it on that day but next time I will.

Nothing worse than just managing to get that last rep and ya training partner touch's the bar to help cause he or she thinks you don't have it :evil: I'd rather that shit land on me same result in my eyes.

But now unfortunately with gear in power lifting you can't train alone you need spotters and people to help with bench shirts etc when using gear so its a give and take thing now when training in gear which I am cool with I am grateful to those you help as they don't have too, but the down side is focusing on switching and getting into the zone as its becomes a little harder because you'll in out and out of it more when using gear and you have to block out whats going on around you that you were involved with 3 minutes ago so for me alot more distractions with training partners that I need to work on and avoid as best as possible to get the same results as training alone

[teamfatboy]

they're twice as likely to notice... is gender important in a training partner?

I have trained with girls before and they are as good as any guy to train with provided they have the same objectives/intensity.

Agreed - in my own experience, some of my toughest training sessions have been with women who are laser-focussed, and every bit as determined to work hard. The key things in a TP for me are: commitment, and the ability to be "in the room", not off perving at some random or missing my cues.

[HarryB]

I prefer training with someone or a couple of people usually. I generally lead the way and make sure everyone is pushing hard because I am usually the oldest and longest training. I push them hard and it in turn motivates me to push myself harder because I have to lead by example. It can be annoying when I am having a down day or something but what I find is with the right partners I just don't.

I also know how much it means to a younger newbie to have the right motivator there.. as a young teen when I started training it was all hit and miss. The older guys at the gym were grumpy old shits who wouldn't try help me out and I remember every single one of the assholes who dismissed the 15 year old me... just as I remember when I finally came across someone who really helped me out and was a major motivator and mentor to me. Nothing beats having someone there every day to make you push yourself past what you thought you could do and at the same time educates you and leads by example.

Now being 20+ years in the gym I enjoy seeing guys I have trained with at some stage doing really well and it involves me a little in what they are doing. I feel a sense of a job well done. Especially when they have far surpassed what I could hope to achieve myself.

[singular]

The reason why I don't mind training alone is cause if I fail its on me I'm not scare off missing a lift and getting pin hell I've dumped weights being pinned sure a training partner could off spotted me but the bottom line is that i wasn't good enough to get it on that day but next time I will.

Nothing worse than just managing to get that last rep and ya training partner touch's the bar to help cause he or she thinks you don't have it :evil: I'd rather that shit land on me same result in my eyes.

:clap:

I always used to work out alone. The gym = alone time. I've slowly added pieces to my home gym over the years for this purpose.

Lately I've been training up a friend of mine for the firefighter intake and it's been a bit of a breath of fresh air having a training partner. Definitely adds a new dimension to the practise.

Half the time I work with him, other half it's on my own. I still look forward to the days I do it by myself.

[Mutant Chest]

when i was doing my BB training i prefer to train alone... like to do what i want when i want and show up when it suits me.

Do you reckon you push as hard without a TP bro?

yeah bro for sure... when its was on it was on! obviosuly heavy delt presses, benches and squats couldnt go as heavy but i just did more intensity.

thing is with training partners...

if you train with someone who gotta better physique than u and is stronger than u... shut the f*ck up and do what they say. if you got a training partner who is smaller and weaker than u then u are the boss and u decide what exercises to do etc. i hate these lil cunts who think they know better and f*ck up my workouts lol. i think alot of that has to do with unsureness if what the bigger guy is doing will work for me kinda thing. everyone thinks they know best and no one wants to put faith in anyone else

thats y i liked training with my little brother, unfortunatly this isnt possible anymore since we live on opposite side of auckland. but whatever i did he did and now he bigger than me... and stronger on a few exercises than me... go figure.

natural too.

Haha this happens to me every week :pfft:

Because i train with my mate that is new he does some of the workouts i do then just buggers off and does somthing else.

[courts]

i trained with an older guy when i was at high school he was about 100plus kg and had been doing it for years, was great then as he taught me heaps (i was a silly teenage boy i knew everything but knew nothing lol).

[trainlikeadog]

just a question for all the people who train alone. since you obciously cant train to failure with things like the bench, what do you do to work around this?? considering you dont ask someone for a spot.

[drizzt]

I've recently picked up a training partner and must say it's a breath of fresh air. The biggest bonus for me is the rivalry between us (we're good mates), as it often eeks an extra 1-2 reps out of the tank that you wouldn't have otherwise thought were floating around. Squats were an example for me today - meant to only get a set of 5 out, but went for 8 because I wanted to set the bar high for my mate to get on his next set :grin: Those extra 3 reps wouldn't have happened if I had trained by myself.

Assisted reps also come into play which are an advantage, but I'm not convinced they're a hugely important part of training. Well, my current training anyway. Not saying they're useless at all, but I'd just as much prefer to do drop or supersets to get a similar effect.

Only reason I haven't really had a partner in the past is it's too hard to coordinate with people, and my gym sessions are often in times I've negotiated with work which can make things hard for others. Lucky the current partner fits the bill nicely :nod:

just a question for all the people who train alone. since you obciously cant train to failure with things like the bench, what do you do to work around this?? considering you dont ask someone for a spot.

Considering or assuming? As someone who previously trained solo for 5-6 years, I didn't train to failure every session. But when I knew the weight was going to be tough, I'd call for a spot, simple. Squats were easy, set the pins, fail = dump the weight on the pins. Fail Deads and you drop the weight... heck, even some benches have a lower set of catches you can shift the weight onto if you get stuck, or worst case roll it off you.

Assistance exercises are usually just that, assistance for me, so if I ever failed on something during a rep I'm usually able to drop it. Training solo isn't a huge disadvantage in the ways many people commonly think of it as (training to failure + motivation as two examples), I'm finding the rivalry to be the best aspect of it :nod:

[Chillicat]

I find people generally too unreliable to even consider having a training partner. That and the fact that I don't have a single friend outside the interweb who is interested in the whole lifting weights thing. I can't even get my husband off the cardio machines and down to the man cave once a week!

I also wouldn't like to be tied to someone else's timetable. Even if you agreed a time and days, things often change and although I have a week by week programme I like to follow, life can often get in the way and things need to be re-jigged. Having to factor in someone else's life is just too much of a pain in the ass in my opinion, so I prefer to go it alone. But I've always been exceptionally selfish and independent.

I can see how you'd work a wee bit harder though - I know I try just that little bit harder when someone off this forum is in the vicinity!

[HarryB]

Chillicat I am exactly like you so what I do is make my training partners work completely to my schedule lol

[Shutupandsquat]

just a question for all the people who train alone. since you obciously cant train to failure with things like the bench, what do you do to work around this?? considering you dont ask someone for a spot.

I obviously ask for a spot which would then mean I could train 'til failure. You can also do the smart thing and do a dropset... or you know, use dumbbells.

[HarryB]

Or do drop sets... increase your intensity without dropping the weight on yourself

[Shutupandsquat]

Or do drop sets... increase your intensity without dropping the weight on yourself

i did say that

[HarryB]

sorry bro you did too...

[haakuturi]

I'd be keen to find a training partner; I'm stopping my PT sessions as of next Friday 'cause I just can't afford it anymore!

I may end up going back for 1/2 hour sessions in a month or so, but I'm not looking forward to having only myself dependent on going to the gym. I'd much rather that somebody else was relying on me to be there so that we can both get a workout done.

[Ronin]

The only training partner I've ever had is Self Discipline. If you want it badly enough, you will get yourself there and give it everything you've got. Instead of relying on someone else, develop your will-power. If you rely on an external source of motivation, you will always have an excuse for failure..."my partner let me down", "my PT was shit", blah blah blah. If you rely on yourself to get you across the finish line, you have no-one else to blame if you fail.

Of course, I understand the advantages of having a good training partner, and I wouldn't be opposed to having one. But I'm not going looking for someone to fill a gap...if someone suitable comes along, all well and good. If not, I will continue to drive myself forward.

[Yenegh]

Kai Greene A New Breed - Overkill

This is the kind of trainer I want.... I am sure no one will say they don't want this kind of relationship.... this is what we can all benefit from ... :nod:

[Shutupandsquat]

I'd be keen to find a training partner; I'm stopping my PT sessions as of next Friday 'cause I just can't afford it anymore!

I may end up going back for 1/2 hour sessions in a month or so, but I'm not looking forward to having only myself dependent on going to the gym. I'd much rather that somebody else was relying on me to be there so that we can both get a workout done.

In my experience, it's a two way thing. Having a training partner when starting off is better 'cause you always have that spot there for you. But on your own is also better because you get through the workout better and get a better pump. Both have their pros and cons

[HarryB]

Haakaturi... if you have had a decent trainer he should have taught you enough over the time you were paying him for you to be able to train alone. I always think a trainer should be an educator of sorts rather than making you build a dependence on them!

As for training partners, there are good and bad aspects to them but for me personally the fact I have someone else helping me load plates is worth the fact they can be rubbish spotters or talk too much!

[tomsammce]

a good personal trainer will educate u a smart one will make you rely on them.

my definition of smart might be your definition of arsehole but anyway.. lol

no spotter is better than a shit spotter imo. i have this guy at my gym who works there... when iv asked him for a spot i put all my focus into what hes doing making sure hes not gona kill me sumhow (e.g squats, i almost trip over the idiot when i de rack and step back, then he squeezes my rib cage so i cant fucken breath lol) so find i cannot concentrate on what im doing, lots of a big lift is mental imo

[HarryB]

nah bro a smart trainer educates you then you"ll always come back when you have a need to know something. I have some clients that I train every few months just when they need a kick up the bum. Once you work out the trainer is milking you.. you dump them, badmouth them and never come back!

You can teach a training partner how to spot but sounds like you just got a random guy who likes to hug you lol

[tomsammce]

harry, ur playn up bro.. no one wants to hug me lol

[Gym rat]

I dont have training partner plus I rather to train on my own and listen to some good heavy stuff while I am training ie Acdc,pantera,korn and overkill.