If you are like me and believe training with barbells is important for survival, then you have for sure completed a bunch of training all by yourself.
I respect that.
You've done it because regardless of whatever your normal training time/location/day usually is, when life happens you go and train anyway. Alone, just you and the barbell.
This is exactly how it should be. You prioritize your weight training over your current environment/circumstances and feelings because you believe that getting strong is important.
With that said, if you have never had a training partner, or worked out in a gym with like-minded people who are working hard, then you are really missing out.
I'm not just talking about having a coach (which I obviously think is very helpful), I'm talking about people who create a positive environment for you to train in.
"Good Energy in the Gym" is what I like to call this phenomenon. Everyone in the gym has a purpose, everyone is working hard, and everyone is positive.
Since I moved to Greenville, South Carolina and opened a training facility here, I have primarily been training alone. My wife, Diana, and I train together when we can but sometimes schedules just do not allow it.
After a few months of my own "come to Jesus" talks in between 5x5 squats, I kind of forgot how awesome a positive encouraging environment can be as a lifter. I pride myself that I can walk into a gym knowing no one and train hard, but at the same time, lifting with others can be uplifting!
A few weeks ago, I was in South Dakota visiting the Massenomics Gym. Diana, Coach Connor, Tanner, and I all trained together. Tanner had a deadlift workout that was a little heavy for me... 455 x 6 x 3.
Being in between programs, I figured, “what the heck, I'll see if I can hang with him.” We fired up some Norman Greenbaum Spirit in the Sky and got to work.
There was Good Energy in the Gym.
I hit all my sets, was pushed harder by others, and this hard thing of barbell training became very enjoyable.
Last week, I was in California visiting our Costa Mesa Gym. I trained in a full class alongside eight other lifters. Everyone was different. There were competitive powerlifters, people with bad shoulder injuries, general strength trainees, and even brand new lifters.
The weight on the bar did not matter lifter to lifter. There was no ego, no comparison, and no judgment. Everyone respected everyone else because they saw the effort each lifter was putting in to every rep and every set.
When they watched a heavy single or a set of five they could relate how hard that work is. Music was playing, people were cheering, and everyone was smiling.
There Was Good Energy in the Gym.
Now do not get me wrong. Your workouts need not be based around your feelings. Because your feelings will go up and down in the gym even during a weight training session. BUT! What I am saying is training with a coach, a partner, or in a class can often add perspective.
It can push you. Encourage you. Or maybe just remind you that it's not that serious.
You need to work hard at trying to get stronger. But at the same time there's always someone stronger. Good lifters know that the process itself is a lot of the benefits of training.
So, if you are feeling burnt out in the gym, getting bored with your training or just need some encouragement, then find a training partner. Go visit a gym like ours and train with people. Join our online community where lifters encourage one another live from their own garages.
If none of this is possible, I get it and you still have to train. But remember, the only variable for Good Energy in the Gym, is YOU!