I was wondering what everyones take in regards to where you train having a impact on ones progress if any. Like ive heard before " to get stronger, train with stronger people." But what if a person doesnt have that option? Dont get me wrong,Ive been a Gerage Gorilla for awhile now with some lifting at the local Y .But ,I just cant help and wonder how much progress I would make if I was trainning at a hardcore gym.
Can’t help ya since I’ve never trained with any kind of group. But it helps me enormously to be part of this virtual group!
To me it is finding a balance. I will never train 100% alone again, ever, but of course I am a gear whore so that is an impossibility. But I had trained mostly alone for years, with only intermittent partners, until last year. The improvements I have seen training with a group 100% dedicated to the sport have been amazing. At the same time I place a pretty high value on getting the assitance work in, which can be a challenge with a larger group.
I trained mostly alone for a while. Now, of course, I have a built in training partner which is invaluable and to whom I attribute most of my success. He still belongs to a club in St. Catharines and we will train there from time to time. The atmosphere is great for pulling stuff out of your ass. However, like Pete says, it’s tough to get in assistance stuff and it also takes a ton of time training in a group. It’s great if you can manage to mix it up somehow.
I have no training partner, never have. I would love to have someone who trained like me and/or with me. I think it would help alot. I believe, having someone “pushing” you, would help your lifts increase. Plus the extra eyes to watch your form.
Does it bother me, no, not right now, but I know Ill hit a wall soon, if not already, and I think this is when a partner can come in handy.
[quote]scottgomez wrote:
Does it bother me, no, not right now, but I know Ill hit a wall soon, if not already, and I think this is when a partner can come in handy.[/quote]
Maybe your bench will be limited by what you can unrack by yourself but the sky’s the limit for the deadlift and squat too if you have a power rack.
Had 1 training partner in the past who was great, everyone else was just not dedicated enough. Nothing worse than changing your training routine around to fit in with someone elses and then have them let you down. I did make good progress when I trained with someone else (mainly due to being able to do forced reps, negatives etc) but I am much stronger now after training alone for 10 years. The only thing I miss is the chance to talk “shop” (all my family and friends think what I do is weird!) but I can now get that from this forum which is great.
In regards to the whole training partner thing. Even though this wasnt where i was going when I started this post. I have found that training partners can be a double edge. Either one there a great help and a source of motivation. Or there a major distraction and they become leeches. In my case Ive only enchounter 2 people in my erea who id considered as posibble training partner. Now if I was into getting “Buff” I wouldnt have a issue in getting a training partner.
What I was trying to get at on the post was . what every ones opinion on how much there training enviroment has a effect on ones progress. Lets put it this way> How much effect would it have on your own training if you had a chance to train at a more serious gym setting. Maybe not a " Big Iron" or a" Westside" or any number of gyms that are starting to make a name for themself in the sport. But maybe a place where members actually squat and dead on a regulary bases. A place where there might even be othere competitive lifters.
All of my lifting partner’s I’ve tried so far have been female which has been fun but they get a lot of attention at times from the other guys that can be distracting. I have made the best strides training alone but I like having a partner.
All of my lifting partner’s I’ve tried so far have been female which has been fun but they get a lot of attention at times from the other guys that can be distracting. I have made the best strides training alone but I like having a partner.
[quote]bulldog9899 wrote:
What I was trying to get at on the post was . what every ones opinion on how much there training enviroment has a effect on ones progress. Lets put it this way> How much effect would it have on your own training if you had a chance to train at a more serious gym setting. Maybe not a " Big Iron" or a" Westside" or any number of gyms that are starting to make a name for themself in the sport. But maybe a place where members actually squat and dead on a regulary bases. A place where there might even be othere competitive lifters.[/quote]
I think the environment is important, but I strongly suspect that the responses you’ve gotten so far indicate that no one environment is best for everybody. Personally I find that I’m too easily distracted by training in a public gym, since I have to find an appropriate spot to do a given lift and it’s not always the same spot. It’s also very nice being able to do a lift, sit for 3-5 minutes before the next set and not feel like I’m hogging the equipment.
Probably the biggest issue with me is that I don’t have an entirely predictable schedule. I lift 3-4 days/week, and always do the exercises in the same order, but sometimes I lift during the day on weekends and some times at night. I also may do back-to-back sessions of OHP/Deadlift on consecutive days, or I may skip a day between them. All of this makes it impractical to have a training partner without feeling like I’m constantly canceling at the last minute.
Finally, I’d love to be able to try out a hardcore gym with loud music and clouds of chalk dust, but I’m not sure I’d want to do that all the time.