Get A Training Partner To Overcome Plateaus

Get a training partner to increase your motivation. Having a partner to push you during workouts is the perfect way to overcome training plateaus. Research shows that when people exercise with a partner who is more advanced than they are, they will push themselves to lift more weight than if they trained alone. Working out with someone more advanced than you can also increase your physical pain threshold.

One study found that people who are in good shape and have confidence in their physical abilities tend to get the best results by working out with someone who is moderately more advanced than they are. Novice trainees generally do better with a partner who is more closely matched in terms of skill and physical ability.

Another interesting study tested the effect of having two female partners work together to complete a cycling test to exhaustion. Researchers compared those results to a trial in which the women competed against each other or did the test alone.

Results showed that when the women worked cooperatively, they significantly increased work capacity and cycled much further than when the two women competed against each other. Most significant was that when working together, the women persisted for 102 percent longer than when cycling solo!

Consider the following tips in choosing a partner:

• Get better results by finding a training partner or workout group that fits with your personality.
• If you like to compare yourselves to others, a competitive environment may be best. If you like teamwork, setting dual goals with a training partner is recommended.
• Advanced trainees may do well in a threesome in which they can compete, and whoever is training best on any given day will likely raise the bar for the other two.
• Don’t get sidetracked with chit chat when training with others—it’s not a social hour. Stay focused by counting tempo and rest periods.