Training with Friends
by Al Myers
Thom and I lifting the previous "unliftable" Combine Axle on a Tuesday night workout.
I am very fortunate by having great training partners. We may only all train together as a full group a couple of times per week, but these are the days I look forward to the most. A good training partner will bring out the best in you (and vice versa a bad training partner will pull you down), because during the workout you don’t want to let them down by giving nothing but your best effort. I do several of my weekly workouts by myself, and I can tell you from experience, when “things are going good” you can have great workouts by yourself, it is just on those days that you are not feeling in top form that your workouts will suffer when training by yourself. The Dino Gym is a family – we support each other even when one of us is not having our best day, and usually before the workout is over, the workout takes a turn for the better and this lifter ends up having a great workout. This is what good training partners should do – help one another and in turn get that extra encouragement back when needed. Often when one of us is getting ready for a big lift or set, everyone will stop lifting and just spend all our energy supporting the lifter on the platform. I get “a rush” when someone else gets a big lift or personal record, just as if I had done it myself!
This past week I got to work out with my good friend Thom Van Vleck. Thom and I only get to train together once or twice per year because Thom lives 8 hours from me (he says it is only 6 hours, but I don’t believe him). We put aside our rival gym differences when training together, and ALWAYS have a great workout. Just recently I acquired a very large combine axle with a solid shaft of over 3.5 inches. My father found it in his scrape iron pile and brought it down to me using his front end loader tractor, and dumped it in front of the gym. It was much larger than what I had imagined, and I knew that it would beyond what any normal man could lift, so I didn’t even weigh it. I “guessed” it to be in the 800-1200# range based on the strain it was putting on the loader when it was set down. Several gym guys have looked at it, including many strongman who showed up for my strongman competition a couple of weeks ago. You KNOW it must have been an intimidating sight because it was in front of the gym for 3 weeks and NOT ONCE did anyone put their hands on it, or try to lift it. When Thom and I started our workout, I TOLD Thom that we were going to lift that HUGE combine axle tonight, as a joint 2 man team. I was trying to portray confidence that we could do it, but secretly I had my doubts (especially with his end, haha). On top of the weight, the grip was going to be problem. Thom agreed (because he knew I would not let him forget about wimping out if he didn’t). We warmed up with some heavy Trap Bar Deadlifts, and then took our shot at being the first to lift what seemed previously like an unliftable object. Relief soon rushed though our muscles as it came to lockout without an overdose of strain on either of our parts.
Experiences and memories like this is what has me “hooked” on weight training. So there is my advice of the day – enjoy your workouts, enjoy your training partners, and take the time to test your strength in unusual ways. And THAT is what it should be all about!