If the chemistry is right, if the person or persons pushes you and demands the best from you, if they

do
so without being reckless or hurtful, if they inspire you to do more than you would on your own, and
do
so without veering into injurious training practices—you are in for the most productive physical
training period of your entire life. It is a predictable phenomenon and for this reason the athletic elite
cluster together to train. It’s only natural for the strong and capable to seek each other out.
The elite know that loafing or giving less than 100% effort is less likely when training in front of
individuals who are your athletic equal or preferably better than you. If possible or given a choice,
seek to train with individuals stronger and more knowledgeable than you as they will drag your game
upward. When it comes to stimulating your own physical progress, it is far better to be the small fish
in
the Big Pond than the Big Fish in the small pond. Nothing seems to make that insurmountable 400
pound squat barrier (your personal best) seem slight and insignificant as when training with people
who squat double that poundage for reps.
At first glance it might appear intimidating but once you swallow your ego, training with better
athletes is a real advantage. If you live in a tiny pond where everyone is in awe of you because you
squat 400, it is a lot harder psychologically to view 400 as just a step and not an ultimate destination.
Ever wonder why so many times the youngest brother in a large family becomes the best athlete?
This
is an example of the benefits of playing with athletes bigger and better than you. It forces the little
ones to “up their game” in order to hang. In the end that is a good thing, athletically speaking.
When you have a larger frame of physiological and psychological reference, you come to understand
that by striving, by continually and unrelentingly pushing yourself in order to keep apace with your
betters, you improve—or you break down, physically or psychologically. A good training partner has a
responsibility to himself and to his partners. You are required to show up on time at the designated
training venue, ready, willing and able to blast the living dog-shit out of some muscle, lift or body
part.