Using Partner Power to Boost Your Workout Effectiveness

Most of the time I workout alone. I enjoy the concentration and time to myself away from the rest of the world.

But sometimes I realize I need a bit of a push. That's when I do one of two things: Hire a trainer (my friend Roland Jehl, master trainer) or workout with a partner.

I prefer a trainer for selfish reasons. You do not have to shift your focus from your own goals and training.

Plus they hand you dumbbells. Kinda cool when they are over 100 pounds each. : )

But partner training has its own brand of personal power.

People who train with a partner have greater consistency and progress about 15% faster on average. That's because on the days you do not feel like being pushed you have someone there to do the job for you.

Just be sure to choose someone very similar to yourself in goals and temperament. While a "super-stud" workout partner would be nice, he or she may be far ahead of you progress-wise. Then the workout becomes more of one where you are taking plates off of the bar more than lifting the bar yourself.

:: --- :: The Dream Image Trick

Here's a simple trick that I use all the time. During my initial transformation I really got carried away with it -- and it worked like a charm.

Find a picture of someone you want to look like. Make sure it's someone who resembles your body style. Do not pick some massive bodybuilder if you are 6 foot 6 and 140 pounds. If you are on the heavier side and a lady, avoid picking Mrs. Skin-n-Bones, despite how thin she looks. Pick someone you can really relate to.

Then put that picture up where you can see it every morning. That's all. Just look at it. The impression on your subconscious will be very powerful.

Like I said, when I originally transformed my body, I used a bodybuilder (Bob Paris) as my role model. Frank Zane was another, but I though Bob would be a bit closer to my own build. I then used Photoshop to put my head on Bob's body.

What was amazing is that certain bodyparts that never would grow ended up growing and looking a lot like Bob's. Of course my body will never look like Bob's. He's a pro, and he has genetics that are simply amazing. But the technique worked great for me, and I use it to this very day.