Lifting Weights Alone, Lifting with a Training Partner, Lifting with a Personal Trainer: Brand New Study

I’m an advocate for strength training with direct supervision.  If you are reading this, you probably are as well.  Discover Strength is built on the notion that strength training with supervision, with someone watching and coaching you, optimizes the benefits of your workouts. 

 This approach was introduced to me in the late 1990s when I was an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Minnesota Vikings.  At that time, there was emerging research that suggested that if strength training was supervised, your results would be better. Thus, we 1-on-1 personally trained every one of our players.  We didn’t do it because the players didn’t know what to do or because they were unmotivated (modern myths as to why we need supervision and coaching).  Instead, we did it because we thought it was the best way for our players to get the MOST out of their workouts.

Authors of a brand new study, published in the scientific journal Heliyon this month, provide groundbreaking insight around the importance not just of supervision, but of supervision by a qualified personal trainer. 

 Researchers divided participants into three groups.

 Group 1: These participants strength trained on their own.  This group received instruction on exactly how to perform the workouts.

Group 2: These participants trained with a training partner.  They were supervised.

Group 3: These participants were personal trained by a qualified personal trainer. 

All other exercise variables were held constant.

The results?

Group 1: The group who trained alone improved muscle strength in the bench press and squat.  However, there was no change to body weight or body shape.  They got stronger, but their body didn’t change.

 Group 2: The group who trained with a partner improved squat and bench press strength and also added lean muscle tissue. 

 Group 3: The group who trained with a personal trainer improved in all fitness measurements; muscle strength, muscle mass, superior leg strength, and significant losses in fat (the only group who showed fat loss).  Additionally, training related injuries were significantly lower with a personal trainer compared to the other two groups. 

 The authors concluded, “Our results indicate that a fitness personal trainer service is effective in expediting the process of achieving fitness goals in a relatively safe manner, thereby substantiating the diversified values of the fitness personal trainer service.”

Final note:  Most exercise professionals are unaware of this research and the importance of supervision.  How do I know this?  Because the vast majority of personal trainers (who want good results) choose to strength train alone.