Training Partners and Atmosphere

"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with."

- Jim Rohn

Set up a roundtable with the most experienced experts in the strength game. Ask them, across the board, what is the most important aspect in building an incredible gym. Without a doubt, the answer always comes down to training partners and atmosphere. 

When you train in a pussy gym, you get pussy results. What qualifies as a pussy gym? Probably the gym you are in right now. Do you think Dorian Yates trained in a gym full of smith machines, mirrors, and old ladies on stepmills? What about Ronnie Coleman? Matt Zroczaleski? 

That's what I thought. 

The common theme between all the best gyms and all of the strongest men in the world is the atmosphere of the gym they train in. They don't complain about the chalk in the air, it's a mainstay. They love the smell of ammonia tablets, and don't shy away from blood on the floors. Yelling, spitting, swearing and puking are all daily occurrences. 

But behind the atmosphere of any great gym is a group or a pair of incredible training partners. These men compete every day, and are always out to get the next man in line. However, they are all striving towards the same goal, and understand that they are only as strong as the gym they train in, and that the gym they train in is only as strong as it's weakest link. So while they are always on a mission to beat the next man in line, they take pride in improving the other lifters around them.

Great training partners don't bring their cell phones into the gym. They are too busy giving cues, coaching other lifters, spotting attempts and loading plates. Great training partners don't forget to spot you because they are too busy talking to the treadmill bunny in the spandex shorts. Great training partners are always willing to pick each other up for workouts because they understand that training alone is never the same as training in a group. Great training partners don't ask endless numbers of questions during workouts, they come in and hit their workouts hard, then ask questions after the workout or go home and research the answer themselves. 

Great training partners spend hours of their free time building extra equipment for the gym with their bare hands: 

Our brand new Chest Supported Row, courtesy of Brad Doyle

I have been blessed with an incredible training partner. It takes a while to find the right group of guys, and some of the strongest guys in the world take pride in making sure the "new guy" doesn't make it through his first squat workout. But when you find that guy who claws his way through and comes back ready for more, you have found a teammate for life.