BOOK REVIEW: Partner Workouts

Title: Partner Workouts: Training Together for Better Results
Author: Krista Popowych
Publisher: Human Kinetics, ISBN: 9781718200401
Details: Paperback, 224pp
RRP: AUD$47.50 OR $33.21 when you use the code AFN2020 at the checkout to SAVE an additional 10% off of already discounted rates HERE. 

Reviewed by Tony Boutagy, PhD, AEP, AES

When I was a young university student in the mid 1990’s, we learnt about the ‘spousal effect’ with respect to exercise compliance. In essence, studies had shown that exercise was more successfully completed and performed more regularly if it was done with a partner (I still don’t know why the word ‘spouse’ was used?).

Most can attest to the increased enjoyment, and often friendly push, one receives from training with a friend, but what became glaringly obvious to me after reading Krista Popowych’s new book is that I was missing an enormous amount of exercise possibilities that can be done with a partner. I loved this all the more because of the timing and ability to immediately apply: I read the book in the middle of another Australian lockdown where all I had was a barbell, plates, some bands and a……partner!

Partner Workouts has all the information, exercise ideas and descriptions, plus numerous workouts to kickstart your training or reignite your current exercise regime. Part 1 of the book lays the foundation of partner-based workouts, including all the benefits, from adherence and time saving, to the physical pluses of having a partner help you in varying ways.

Chapter 2 outlines the theory of physical training, which provides the theoretical groundwork for the programs covered later in the book. Chapters 3 and 4 cover all the equipment you will need to successfully perform all your workouts, including different types of partners and partner formats.

The major part of the book is an exhaustive compendium of exercise options to perform with a partner, including those that use body weight, partner-resisted, small basic home equipment, cardio and HIIT, training solo and flexibility training. The description and number of exercises covered in this section is comprehensive, and I’ve added several new variations to my and my client’s programs.

The final section places the exercises detailed in the previous chapters into succinct workouts, grouped into various themes based on individual goals and training formats. There are numerous and exciting programming options here to entice even the most uninspired and bored trainee.
Partner Workouts is a timely addition to the bookshelf of both trainers and fitness goers alike. Krista Popowych has done a tremendous job of detailing the numerous exercises that can be performed with body weight, with a partner and with minimal equipment at home, and then places these movements into handy programs to easily follow. A perfect book for the new ‘COVID world’, where lockdowns and restrictions make training at home and with a partner either a necessity or a preferred option over heading to a gym.

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