Author: Abby Resek
A couple months ago, a good friend came back into town, and we started doing our lifting sessions together on a regular basis. It became obvious right away that having her with me made a HUGE difference. We both said it – training together made it easier to get out of our own heads, made it easier to challenge ourselves, made it easier to have fun. Our programming was tough too; there were lots of heavy conditioning days on the sled, where we would swap back and forth who pushed and who rested. It was tough, but being together made it not so bad.
I knew it was better to have her with me, but I didn’t realize quite how big a difference it made until one week she was unexpectedly called into work and I was left to sled day on my own. And, for reasons that were entirely psychological, it was about a million times harder to do it by myself. I started with the weight we had added together the week before, but after the first lap, I just could NOT do it. I had to take weight back off the sled to finish.
There was nothing physical that made that week any different or more difficult. It was all me, all about being alone versus training with someone else. Of course, there are times when training (or running, or biking, or anything) alone is wonderful and hugely meditative. But with where I was, I needed the community factor (community of two in this case, but still).
That’s one of the great things about semi-private training: it’s tailored to you, but you’re still in it TOGETHER. In a small group, with people you know, who you can talk to and laugh with and suffer through the sled with. I knew this community mattered, but this small moment really jolted me back to just how much it matters. Work and growth and challenges can be so much better when you can face them, and enjoy them, with other people.
