Lift More Weight Instantly! 4 Science-Backed Benefits of Training With a Partner

There are two truths in the gym. Gaining fat is easy. Building muscle is hard.

This is why there are numerous empty promises of quick methods to boost strength and muscle growth. 

Most are highly misleading or outright scams. However, some methods allow you to lift more weight instantly and build more muscle. One of those is training with a lifting partner, and that's just one benefit of training with a friend.

How A Training Partner Helps Build Muscle

A training partner is more than just a friend to hang out with at the gym, or at least they should be. 

They provide a lot of benefits, but the one most overlooked is that training with a partner can actually lead to greater muscle growth and strength. This occurs due to;

• Training with greater intensity
• Choosing heavier loads
• Putting out more effort overall
• Greater long-term strength and muscle

While there don't seem to be many studies on training partners specifically, numerous studies have compared supervised and unsupervised lifting sessions. These studies found that lifters in supervised sessions generally lift harder (Glass & Stanton, 2004, and Gentil & Bottaro, 2010).

1. Glass & Stanton (2004) conducted one of the earliest studies on this topic in 2024. They found that when left unsupervised, novice lifters typically choose a load of around 55% of their one-repetition maximum (1RM). 

Even more interesting is that these were younger lifters with an average age of 19.5. 

While a new lifter can improve with these light loads if they approach failure, it is significantly lighter than what healthy, young lifters should be using, typically 70-80% 1RM.

2. Gentil & Bottaro (2010) conducted another study by dividing high school boys into two groups;

• High supervision with a ratio of 1 coach for 5 lifters
• Low supervision with a ratio of 1 coach for 25 lifters

They followed the same resistance training program, but the highly supervised group used higher intensity and greater adherence. This resulted in significant gains in strength.

Can A Trainer Help Build More Muscle?

While there's nothing supernatural about training partners, they do promote greater intensity. Over time, increasing more loads with more reps can result in greater muscle growth.

In 2023, researchers compared the effect supervision had on 36 young, resistance-trained individuals who followed the same 8-week program. At the end of the study, they found the supervised group had greater improvements in;

• Increased muscle thickness for the triceps brachii.
• Increased muscle thickness in the rectus femoris and the proximal region of the vastus lateralis (quadriceps)
• Squat 1RM strength  (Coleman et. al, 2023)

The researchers concluded that these improvements were largely due to greater adherence and intensity during the training sessions. 

It's no secret that many of the best lifters in the world train with a buddy. If we were all honest, we would probably admit that we, too, generally train harder with a friend, even those who usually prefer to train alone.

3 Other Benefits Of A Lifting Partner

Lifting more isn't the only benefit of having a training partner. Here are 3 more reasons training with a buddy can improve your lifting sessions.

1. Provide Constructive Criticism

A good training partner isn't just a cheerleader but should offer honest feedback and critique. They notice;

• Form errors
• Pacing issues
• Weaknesses

Or, if they know you well enough, they know when you're looking a little fatigued and need to chill. A good training partner helps refine your technique and improve your performance.

2. Accountability

Having a gym buddy keeps you consistent. This is why some people don't want a partner!

When someone expects you to show up, it's harder to skip. And if you try to skip, they can use the perfect amount of shaming to get you in the gym. 

3. Better Form and Safety

A partner can help spot your lifts and check your technique. This is especially important for exercises like squats and deadlifts.

In the long run, this helps to prevent injuries and make training more efficient.

Real-time feedback also helps you improve movement quality, especially under fatigue.

Grab A Lifting Partner For Your Next Gym Session

If your gym sessions have been feeling bland and as if you're just going through the motions, grab a friend and hit the gym together. It's basically free, offers numerous benefits, and can actually improve your overall training session.

References

1. Coleman, M., Burke, R., Benavente, C., Piñero, A., Augustin, F., Maldonado, J., … Schoenfeld, B. J. (2023). Supervision during resistance training positively influences muscular adaptations in resistance-trained individuals. Journal of Sports Sciences, 41(12), 1207–1217. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2023.2261090 
2. Fisher, J. P., Androulakis-Korakakis, P., Giessing, J., Helms, E., Schoenfeld, B. J., Smith, D., & Winett, R. (2023). Supervision during resistance training: A comparison of trainer and trainee perceptions. International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, 3(1), Article 256. https://doi.org/10.47206/ijsc.v3i1.256
3. Gentil, P., & Bottaro, M. (2010). Influence of supervision ratio on muscle adaptations to resistance training in non-trained subjects. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(3), 639–643. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181ad3373 
4. Glass, S. C., & Stanton, D. R. (2004). Self-selected resistance training intensity in novice weightlifters. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 18(2), 324–327. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15142014/ 
5. Steele, J., Malleron, T., Har-Nir, I., Androulakis-Korakakis, P., Wolf, M., Fisher, J. P., & Halperin, I. (2022). Are Trainees Lifting Heavy Enough? Self-Selected Loads in Resistance Exercise: A Scoping Review and Exploratory Meta-analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 52(12), 2909–2923. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01717-9