Training Partners: Performance Booster or Hidden Distraction?

Discover the pros and cons of solo training versus partner training for rock climbing performance. Learn when training alone can boost mind-muscle connection and performance—and when a training partner can enhance motivation, accountability, beta refinement, and overall climbing performance.

One question I get fairly often from climbers is this: Is it better to train with a partner or train solo?

The short answer is that both can work extremely well—but they work best in different situations.

Over the decades, both as a climber and coach, I’ve done a lot of both. Some workouts I strongly prefer doing alone. Other sessions are unquestionably better with a partner. The key is understanding the goal of the workout and matching the environment to the task at hand.

When It’s Best To Train Alone

For me, highly technical and high-intensity training sessions are usually best done solo.

I’m talking about things like weighted hangboarding, edge lifting, weighted pull-ups, campus training, front levers, and other maximum-strength or power-focused exercises. These workouts demand concentration, precision, and what weightlifters often call a “mind-muscle connection.”

Even exercises that appear simple on the surface require careful attention to technique. During a hangboard workout, for example, I’m thinking about shoulder engagement, grip position, body tension, breathing, and maintaining consistent force throughout the hang. During edge lifting or weighted pulling exercises, I’m focused on proper mechanics, controlled movement, and quality execution—not conversation.

When I’m doing this kind of training, distractions dilute performance.

That’s why I often enjoy putting on headphones, getting lost in my own thoughts—or maybe a podcast—and fully immersing myself in the workout. Between sets, I’m usually taking notes, tracking weights or hang durations, evaluating how I feel, and deciding whether I need to increase or decrease intensity on the next effort.

This level of engagement is difficult to maintain in a highly social environment.

Watch Eric Discuss the Pros & Cons of Training Partners on the Training Cafe #94

One thing I see happen frequently in commercial climbing gyms is climbers arriving with a good plan, but then getting pulled into random sessions, side projects, conversations, or someone else’s workout. That can be fun—and honestly, climbing should be fun—but if your goal is maximizing gains, it’s important to stay intentional.

Sometimes the most productive workout is simply showing up, executing your plan with focus, and leaving before the gym turns into a three-hour social event.

When It Can Be Beneficial to Train with a Partner

That said, there are absolutely situations where training with a partner is incredibly valuable.

Interval training is a perfect example.

If you’re doing treadwall intervals, spray-wall circuits, or hard board-climbing intervals, having a partner can help enormously with pacing, timing, accountability, and motivation. Alternating efforts with another climber often pushes you to maintain quality and consistency throughout the session.

Partner sessions are also excellent for projecting, route climbing, and more playful training days.

When you’re working difficult boulder problems or system-board climbs, another set of eyes can help tremendously. A partner might spot a better beta sequence, identify a body-position adjustment, or simply encourage you to keep trying when fatigue or frustration begins to creep in.

And of course, climbing is inherently social.

Some of my favorite climbing experiences over the years have been shared with partners and friends. Outdoor climbing, especially, is as much about the people as it is the rock. So I certainly don’t want to diminish the importance of the social side of climbing.

But I do think serious climbers benefit from occasionally training in solitude.

There’s something powerful about going to the gym with complete focus, putting the blinders on, and becoming fully immersed in the process. No comparison. No distraction. No external noise. Just you, the workout, and the pursuit of improvement.

So here’s my rough rule of thumb:

Highly technical, high-intensity, highly personalized workouts are often best done solo.

Lower-intensity, higher-volume, skill-oriented, or more playful sessions often benefit from a partner.

Neither approach is inherently superior. Both have tremendous value when used appropriately.

The important thing is to train with purpose. Whether you’re alone or with a crew of friends, your workouts should align with your goals, your current needs, and the type of adaptation you’re trying to create.

That intentionality—not whether you train solo or socially—is what ultimately drives long-term progress.

Key Takeaways

High-intensity strength and power workouts are often best done solo to maximize focus, precision, and mind-muscle connection.
Training partners are especially valuable for interval workouts, projecting, route climbing, accountability, motivation, and beta refinement.
Social climbing sessions are fun—but they can quietly derail serious training if you lose focus or abandon your plan.
Technical exercises like hangboarding, edge lifting, and campus training require concentration and deliberate execution, not distraction.
Use rest periods productively: track data, assess performance, adjust intensity, and stay mentally engaged in the training process.
Match the training environment to the goal of the session: solo for precision and intensity, partners for support, pacing, and collaborative climbing.
The biggest key to improvement isn’t whether you train alone or socially—it’s showing up with intentionality and executing a purposeful plan.

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