The HYROX doubles is a very popular division. It’s great to be able to compete on your own but doing so with a friend / significant other can be that extra bit special.
Whilst going faster in the individual event is more than just about getting fitter (appropriate pacing, for example), this is even more so the case with the doubles. Tactics are very important. You need to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each partner, and optimise your changeovers to avoid losing valuable time. In this article, we’ll look at how to do that.
If you plan to complete in the Doubles at HYROX at any time, this article should help you go a lot faster. And if you need help with your training for the race, check out our Doubles training plan.
How Does HYROX Doubles Work?
Before we start on the best way to approach the HYROX Doubles, it’s worth briefly explaining how it works…
Essentially, both team members go round the whole race together, and so must both complete all of the running, but are able to split the work on the stations as they like. The station work does not need to be divided evenly, and in fact, if desired, one person could do ALL of the work on a station.
There are 3 divisions within the HYROX Doubles category which differ by gender; women, men, and mixed.
HYROX Doubles age groups are as follows:
U29 (16-29)
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+
The age groups are determined based on the average age of the two participants at the time of the event. For example, if Doubles Team Member 1 is 24 years old and Doubles Team Member 2 is 38, the average age is 31. Hence they will be classified into the 30-39 age group.
The rulebook for the HYROX Doubles can be found here.
The weights moved differ by division as follows:
Note: at the HYROX World Championships, same sex Doubles need to use the Pro weights as opposed to the above weights. From January 2024 onwards most events will also have a Pro weight division for same sex doubles. The weights for PRO Doubles are as follows:
Running
Running is obviously a large part of any HYROX. It probably plays an increased role in the doubles events as it takes up a greater percentage of total race time than the individual race (in general). One thing to remember is you are only as fast as your slowest runner in the pairing. Therefore, it is the slowest runner who needs to work on their running the most. It may make more sense for the fastest runner in the pairing to spend more time on the functional exercise work instead.
Of course, it’s not just “running” that you need to be good at in HYROX, but “compromised running”. It feels very different running on fresh legs than it does after a load of sandbag lunges, burpees and sled work.
Fastest Finishes
From a tactical perspective, it’s likely the case that it will be optimal for the fastest runner in the pairing to finish off each functional station. This means that the slowest runner is going into each run a little fresher and will hopefully hold the pairing back a little less on the runs.
This is something that Sophia Kaiser, who once held the world record for the Women Doubles with Melina Wolf, told us:
“The most challenging and tactically interesting task in the Double division is to manage that both team partners are equally tired after the workout, so that both can manage the exact same running pace. If one team partner is a better runner, he/she must do the main part of the workout and especially the last part of the respective workout, so that they are more tired when starting the run. This is especially relevant for the mixed division, where the men are often the faster runners.
In our case, my team partner Melina and I are pretty much equally strong in running and on all stations, we don’t have strong preferences or weaknesses where one performs way better than the other. In other constellations, different tactical considerations might be necessary.”
I want to add a caveat in here though which I’ve learnt since I did a Doubles. My doubles partner is a stronger runner than me, in general. However, his compromised running isn’t quite so strong. He seems to suffer more when coming out of a station. So when we race, he generally starts a station, and I finish it. Therefore, when choosing who your strongest runner is, try to understand who is strongest when compromised!
SkiErg
How much distance each person covers on the Ski Erg will be dependent on just how good each of you are on the machine.
As a general starting point, planning to ski in sets of no more than 250meters, before handing over to your partner, is a good approach. The changeover on the Ski can be done relatively quickly, so I don’t think it makes sense to do longer stints (for example, 500 meters each) if you are reasonably equal in terms of ability. My partner and I do just 125m each before swapping.
Of course, you may want to adjust this depending on your relative strengths – if one person is quicker, then maybe going for 200meters each, with the fastest going first (meaning they ultimately end up covering 600m, to their partners 400m) might be better. That’s something to work out between you.
SkiErg Changover
In terms of how to do the changeover itself, since 23/24 season you are not allowed to pass the handles to your Doubles partner. You need to release the handles and your partner needs to take them from the machine. This likely adds a little time but not a huge amount.
Sleds
As with the SkiErg, how much work each of you do on the sleds will be dependent largely on how good you both are at them (as well as how fresh you need to be when going into the runs). It may be, for example, that the person who is best at the sled push is the worst runner. So, it will be a balancing act as to how much work the person should do on the sled push because it can have such an impact on the running afterwards. Essentially, they should do as much pushing as possible without adversely compromising their running too much. In Mixed Doubles in particular, it may be that the male is stronger than the female on the sleds. Mixed doubles are done at the male open weights / female pro weights. Therefore, in many cases (not all, obviously) it makes sense for the male to do more work on the sled push, but only to the extent that it doesn’t overly adversely impact their subsequent runs.
With regard to changeovers on the sled, you want to get them in before the partner starts to slow or tire. Many pairings push or pull in 12.5m increments each, before changing over. It isn’t essential to go that long though because the changeovers are so quick and easy. When I do Doubles we actually chang over half way on each length (so do roughly 6.25m at a time). That helps to preserve our legs a little better than if we’d done a whole 12.5m length each.
Don’t expect to be able push the sleds this fast, but here’s a nice video of Hunter McIntyre and Tom Hogan switching on the sled push…
Burpee Broad Jump
The burpee broad jumps are an area which have a large relative time difference between pairings. It is, therefore, worthy of your focus.
As with the whole event, you want to put your ego aside here. Even if you have a predetermined number of reps in mind each turn, if you start to fatigue or slow down, talk to your partner, and ask if they can take over. The changeovers can be done pretty quickly, with a minimal waste of time, so you might get to a stage where you are only doing, say, 5 reps each before swapping out. Just make sure you are communicating with your partner very clearly (and let them know in advance of you wanting to switch!).
Here’s what some of the best performers in the sport told us:
Sophia Kaiser: “Practise a signal when to switch and train the switch itself, so that it is clear who steps where. Don’t wait too long with switching, since it takes only a minimal time to switch, and you will regret it on the run when your legs get tired from jumping. We do not specify a number of jumps for each of us upfront, but work with commands from the one jumping (“two more…”). We switch 3-4 times over the whole distance (everybody jumps 2-3times)”.
Tom Hogan: “We wanted speed so the plan was 10 burpees as fast as possible then switch but if we saw the other person slowing or felt ourselves slowing we swapped out. For the last set I think we did 5 each in order to keep the last reps as fast as the first.”
Florian Gast and Viola Oberländer: “For the burpees I think it doesnt really make sense to define a specific set of reps before the race. You have to decide this during the race, when you feel the suffer and see the real time data on your watch. But if you do so, clear race communication is key! Without saying much, your partner must exactly know when she/he has to takeover. If you lose several seconds in every workout due to bad race communication you probably wont beat a hyrox double WR, as you also cant be focused 100%.”
Rowing
After the burpee broad jumps, we get to the row. Now this is the station that, for most people, has the longest changeover time so you ideally want to limit the number that you do.
For most Doubles pairings, just one changeover will likely be most effective. If you’re both fairly equal in fitness and rowing ability, swapping over after 500meters will make most sense. If not, it will depend on who is the strongest and where they are strongest. But in almost all cases – assuming neither of you is injured, truly terrible at rowing, or absolutely, completely, totally utterly gassed from everything that has come up to this point, one changeover will normally be best.
That said, in some instances (especially if one person is much better at rowing and the running), it may be better to just let that person row the whole thing without swapping out at all.
It’s also worth appreciating that the data I’ve looked at shows there isn’t generally a huge variability in rowing times between pairings, so there isn’t lots of time to be saved here by changing more often than once. It will almost certainly not be worthwhile considering the time it takes, unless your changeovers are very slick.
For more information on improving your rowing technique then check out this article.
Rowing Changeover
Getting in and out of the rower is not entirely easy. It needs practice and a plan. Much of this will come down to preference but it’s likely best if, not long before the changeover, the rowing partner starts to count down out loud when they want to changeover. Then, as they finish up, they should move off to the left of the rower, putting the handle into the rest position. The person stepping in should slide their feet under the foot straps, and tighten them themselves (the partner is not allowed to do it).
Oh, and if you can do it half as effectively as the girls in this video, you’ll be alright!…
(I probably should add, don’t even attempt to do what they did!)
Big Feet First
One final rowing changeover tip, which was highlighted to me by the impressive Paul Richardson – who won the Mixed Doubles 2022 World Championship in Las Vegas in the 40-49 age group with Leah Smith – is that he rows first because he has bigger feet than Leah. That means that they don’t need to loosen the straps for him too much for him to get out, and she can slide her feet in easier as they changeover. If Leah went first, they may have to fiddle around loosening the straps so that he can get into them.
Of course, the effectiveness of this tactic will depend on how loose the straps were in the first place, when they arrived at the rower, but it certainly may help and every second counts!
Make the Most of your Rest
It’s worth remembering with the rowing station that, assuming you only do one changeover, each partner will get – very roughly – 2 minutes rest whilst the other is on the machine. This is likely the longest rest you get in the race so enjoy it while it lasts! But it may be worth considering if you want to make the run before it slightly quicker than you otherwise might. Can you push it a little more knowing you have a 2-minute rest coming up? I do preach consistent pacing in HYROX (see this article), but I think it’s at least worth considering whether you could make the run before the row slightly quicker (I don’t know the answer, I’m just saying it’s worth thinking about!).
Farmers Carries
As a partnership, in general, it’s possible to get the farmers carries done reasonably quickly. Changeovers can be done very easily, but I would also suggest they should be minimised as they do take up a few seconds.
If you hold on as long as you possibly can to the kettlebells, then it’s likely worthwhile. It’s mainly your grip you are fatiguing here, and you don’t need that a huge amount for the remainder of the event. It’s not like the sled push, for example, where you have to manage the fatigue in your legs early in the race.
Just make sure you communicate with your partner clearly so that they know when you are going to put the kettlebells down and can be ready to quickly pick them up as soon as you do.
Sandbag Lunges
The lunges are one of the areas that have a larger time difference between some of the fastest doubles pairings and some of the slower ones.
This station is another where changeovers can take a little time. When I initially did a HYROX Doubles simulation at the gym, we noticed we were very quick and efficient at the lunging itself, but lost time (relatively to other pairings) because we changed over too often. That was something we made sure to adjust moving forward. Exactly how often you do it will depend on how you’re both feeling, and performing, but you should bear in mind that the changeover eats up valuable seconds so only do it when it is necessary.
As Sophia Kaiser told us, the changeover itself does need practice: “Practice switching, especially when you are not strong enough to simply lift the sandbag over. The technique for exchanging the sandbag depends on the difference in height of the team partners (I did it completely different in the Women’s Double than in the Mixed Double).
The switching takes some time, especially when not practiced enough. Therefore, we limit it to 3-4 switches over the 100m distance. We don’t decide on a specific number of steps per person but adapt that to how both are feeling at that late stage of the race. We work with commands by the exercising person just as during the broad jumps.
If possible, we try to push ourselves to a decent speed in the walking lunges, since we don’t fear the wallballs that much in the Double division.”
The different techniques for changeover that Sophia mentions is an interesting point. It’s worth highlighting what a couple of handover options might look like…
Firstly, you can go back-to-back with each other. This way you’re essentially moving the sandbag from one person’s shoulders, directly on to the other persons. This can work well if you are a similar height. The downside is you’ll be facing in the wrong direction when you receive the bag, so will need to turnaround when you start lunging.
The second option would be to stand behind the person carrying the sandbag and when it’s your turn, take it off them, then put it over your head and on to your shoulders. The downside is the time it takes to put it over your head (and some people may be unable to if they find the sandbag too heavy). But the benefit over the back-to-back method is that you are immediately facing in the right direction. This method may be suitable if you are a vastly different height to your partner.
Wall Balls
Whilst the wall balls in the individual event can be a real fear for many people, splitting the workload with your partner in the doubles makes them much easier and much quicker. The rest time that you get whilst your partner is working is normally enough time for you to recover well, ready to get a good few more reps in. What’s more, changeovers can be done reasonably quickly (though, of course, should be minimised if you want to go as quickly as you possibly can).
Sophia Kaiser agrees: “Wallballs is the big fear in the single division but are not that hard when doing it together in Doubles. Even if you still do 40-50 wallballs total, the seconds of rest in between, when your partner is working out, help a lot to recover and to be able to do 10-15 more wallballs. Therefore, we go hard on the last run and decide while running who feels better prepared to start with the first wallballs.”
Tom Hogan had this to add – “The wall balls is the one thing I tell people doing Doubles to practice. If you’re used to doing the Men’s Pro division, it’s a big difference going from 9kg to 6kg. It feels unnatural. We would have been quicker if we used a 9kg ball. For the first rep I threw the ball completely over the rig and had to run around and get it. It also falls much slower, which throws your squat speed off. Be flexible here too. Start with 20 reps each but if partner starts slowing tell him and reduce reps.”
Roxzone
I’ve covered this many times on this site (here and here, for example), but from a tactical perspective, not messing around in the Roxzone is a good approach. I won’t dwell on this, read the linked articles for more info. Many don’t heed this advice though and end up wasting a huge amount of valuable time – don’t be one of them!
Summary
To summarise, I’ll reiterate that communication with your partner throughout the race is critical, as are adjusting plans as necessary, putting the ego aside / admitting when you need help, and thoroughly practicing changeovers in your training. The main changeovers to be practicing are on the rowing machine and lunges, closely followed by wall balls.
If you plan on entering the HYROX doubles event at any point, I really hope this article helps. And if you need help with your training for the event, our personalised coaching plans or our 12 Week Doubles Training Plan!
