Does having a workout partner push you toward better results, or increase the chances of injury, distraction, and inconsistency? In this Q&A episode, Amy Hudson and Dr. James Fisher break down a listener’s question about strength training with a partner. They unpack the surprising psychology behind workout buddies, the role of supervision versus competition, the power of social motivation, and why the right training environment can dramatically shape both your results and your long-term commitment to strength training.

• Dr. Fisher explores whether having a training partner is beneficial or harmful during a fitness journey. Survey responses revealed that many people preferred training with a partner instead of supervision, yet also reported a higher risk of injury.
• Learn why unsupervised partner workouts can sometimes create unintended risks. According to Dr. Fisher, competition between training partners can reduce focus on proper technique and controlled movement, increasing the likelihood of injury.
• Dr. Fisher explains that supervised environments, such as semi-private sessions at The Exercise Coach, create a different dynamic than unsupervised partner training. The presence of a personal trainer helps maintain safety, technique, and appropriate intensity.
• Learn how social bonding becomes a powerful benefit of training with a partner. Shared workouts can strengthen relationships and create deeper emotional connections through a common experience.
• Dr. Fisher introduces the concept of “emotional amplification,” where experiences feel more intense when shared with another person. Training with a partner may increase emotional investment and attachment to the fitness journey.
• Dr. Fisher explains why long-term training with a friend can strengthen commitment to health goals. Building strength, improving body composition, and increasing functional capacity often feel more meaningful when someone else shares the journey.
• Learn how inviting a friend into an established fitness routine can create additional motivation and encouragement. Experienced members often enjoy supporting others through the same exercises and milestones they once experienced themselves.
• Dr. Fisher highlights that the social element of exercise can be highly positive when approached in a healthy and supportive way. The key is maintaining encouragement without allowing competition to override proper training habits.
• Learn why excessive competitiveness during partner workouts may become counterproductive. Without supervision and attention to form, competition can shift focus away from safe and effective exercise execution.
• Amy and Dr. Fisher explain how social motivation naturally increases effort levels during workouts. Simply having another person present, whether a coach or peer, can encourage greater consistency and performance.
• Learn why supervision plays such a powerful role in exercise outcomes. Research suggests that even the silent presence of a personal trainer or a coach can enhance effort, accountability, and training adaptations.
• Dr. Fisher and Amy emphasize that peer influence in fitness environments can positively shape workout intensity and commitment. The feeling of shared participation often motivates people to push themselves further than they would alone.

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TRANSCRIPT

So, our emotions feel more intense and our experiences can become more real. They gain confidence. They learn what to do. They understand form and safety considerations. People value things more when they’ve worked on them or struggled or had a shared experience. Welcome to the Strength Changes everything podcast, where we introduce you to the information, latest research, and tools that will enable you to live a strong, healthy life. On this podcast, we will also answer your questions about strength, health, and wellbeing. I’m Amy Hudson. I own and operate three exercise coach studios. My cohosts are Brian Sagan, cofounder and CEO of The Exercise Coach, and Dr. James Fisher, leading researcher in evidencebased strength training.

And now for today’s episode. Upbeat music) Hi everybody. Today we’ve got a QA episode for you. So we’re answering a couple of questions question that has come in from a listener all about working out with a partner having a workout buddy there with you during strength training, is that a help or a hindrance? We’re going to get Dr. Fisher’s take on this today. So Dr. Fisher, what do you think about this question? Is working out with a partner a help or a hindrance? I love this. Question. And I’m immediately drawn back to some research I did some time back where, which talked about the idea of supervision and many people in that in their response to the survey that I did said that they felt like they didn’t need supervision, but they trained with a partner. And one of the things that they then Followed on to report was that they had a higher injury risk training with a partner.

Now, I realize that’s not the same as training at the exercise coach where you’re maybe in small workouts, which are still supervised, you know, in semi private workouts, which are still supervised. But the idea of going away and just training with a partner without supervision can lead to a degree of competition. And without that focus on technique and that emphasis on control of what you’re actually doing, competition typically can be bad. And we often see a higher injury rate as was reported in this survey. And as is associated with other exercise modalities, which I’m not going to mention, but we all know kind of what exists.

As far as exercise, it’s competitive. So it’s quite an interesting concept. And if we go a bit deeper, it’s kind of, it spans social, cognitive, and clinical psychology. You know, there’s evidence of social bonding. We create stronger social ties with somebody that we do something with, that we’re partnered with. There’s emotional amplification, an interesting phrase. So our emotions feel more intense and our experiences can become more real. So you know whether that makes people’s emotions towards strength training more intense, I have no idea, but certainly if we experience something that’s already emotional it’s often heightened when we’re with a partner. There’s evidence around behavior synchrony and creating a sense of unity and this probably lent itself most closely to strength training with a partner. So if you ask people to perform tasks Together, coordinated tasks, then it increases trust, cooperation, it reduces uncertainty. You know, there’s almost a you’re going through this experience, I’m going through this experience, we’re in this together kind of thing. So, there’s some really positive reinforcement there. There’s one that’s referred to as the IKEA effect. And I guess this is kind of phrased around the idea of building. Something or building furniture in this case is the Ikea effect.

And that’s when people value things more. When they’ve worked on them or struggled or had a shared experience along the way. You know, how well that applies to the acute element of strength training, I don’t know. But if you are engaging in strength training regularly with a friend and you have been on this journey for a prolonged period, the idea of building health, building strength, reducing body fat and improving body composition and improving functional capacity. You know, you can maybe be more attached to it if there’s been a person along the journey with you. So there’s a few different things. And of course it can increase motivation or adherence. You know, we kind of, we have a friend that we’re going to go work out with. We’re far less likely to cancel that workout if we, uh, if we’ve arranged it with somebody because we don’t want to let them down. So there’s kind of multiple facets to this construct. So it sounds like you’re saying that it could be both. It depends. Is that what you’re saying in the answer? I think as an overarching viewpoint, it can be both. I think that if somebody is unsure of the workout, so if somebody’s, for example, new to the exercise coach, then bringing a friend along could be a great way to kind of go on this journey together and have that kind of emotional tie with it.

And, you know, I’m sure they’d leave the work out and talk about maybe some of the elements that felt hard and some of the elements that felt enjoyable and so forth. If somebody’s already engaging in an exercise coach workout, then maybe getting one of their friends or colleagues to come along for a workout might also be a real boost for them because they’ve already been on this journey, but now they get to share it with somebody and they can kind of look at that person and say, Yeah, I remember the first time I did the leg press. Or I remember the first time I tried that exercise and so forth. So I think as a whole, it’s probably quite a positive thing if people are happy with that social element. Now, beyond the exercise coach, I think it’s difficult to discuss because as I said, there’s potentially an increased risk of injury if people start to get competitive over it. So yeah, there’s kind of two sides to it. Yeah. What we love to see is people come in and most of the time people will try the workout first on their own and get started.

And we like that because they gain confidence. They learn what to do. They understand form and safety considerations to keep in mind so that they’re in a better position to be in an environment, maybe with another person down the road without being concerned about doing something incorrectly, not working at the right enough effort. They’ve got that piece. They’ve learned that. And then they can maybe invite somebody to join them. And I have heard that, you know, people who exercise or people who exercise or start a new healthy habit along with somebody else are more likely to succeed and stick with that. And so the adherence is huge, as we know, to actually achieving all that you can achieve through any exercise program, especially the exercise coach, which the ceiling is amazingly high. And so if that’s going to help you stick with it, that’s great, right?

And I don’t know what the current stats are in terms of like the percentages of how much more likely you are, but I can see that being definitely a powerful motivator. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And I think somewhere like the exercise coach where people, you know, are encouraged to work as hard as they feel comfortable to do, you know, if they’re with somebody else and they see them working hard, then they’re probably more comfortable to work hard themselves. So, you know, the, the return on investment, their effort level of the exercise coach will give them more, more reward their physical adaptation. Do you think that there’s a possibility that somebody else just being in the room working out that isn’t their partner necessarily, but is working out in the same room with them could that be a subtle boost of social motivation to the person working out?

Yeah, I definitely think so. I think there’s peer elements around exercise. We know that supervision can play a big role in enhancing adaptations. If the coach were there but not saying anything, there’s still an enhanced outcome. There’s still a higher effort level because there’s the feeling of that other person being there, of a peer being in the room. So, other people doing a workout with another coach. Yeah, definitely. I think that. But that can… That can definitely enhance kind of effort level and the experience. Absolutely. Interesting. Well, this is definitely an interesting topic. And obviously, your coach is kind of a buddy with you, even though they’re not doing the workout with you.

If you’re a one on one client, they’re with you as you do the workout, which will build that motivation. So, super interesting. Thank you for answering the question today. No problem. Awesome. All right. Well, we will see you next time on the podcast. Until then, we hope you remember strength changes everything. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please share it with a friend. You can submit a question or connect with the show at strengthchangeseverythingcom Join us next week for another episode and be sure to follow the show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts so that you never miss another episode. Here’s to you and your best health.