HYROX Doubles is a unique and fast-growing race category within the HYROX fitness competition. In this format, two athletes team up to complete the full set of HYROX workouts and runs – splitting the workload, supporting each other, and strategizing their way to the finish line. Whether you’re looking for a more social way to race or hoping to push your limits with a partner, HYROX Doubles delivers a powerful blend of performance and camaraderie.
This guide will dive into the tactics and changeovers that can make or break your doubles performance – but first, let’s explore what HYROX Doubles actually involves, how it differs from the individual event, and how to prepare if you’re new to this format.
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.
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…
In HYROX Doubles, two competitors race together as a team through the standard HYROX format: 8 functional fitness stations, each preceded by a 1-kilometre run. Unlike the solo division, doubles partners share the workload on each station, allowing for faster transitions, strategic rest periods, and split reps.
Here’s how it works:
– Both partners run every 1km together.
– At each workout station, reps can be divided however the team chooses
– There’s no requirement to split reps equally, which allows for tactical flexibility based on strengths.
Key Features:
– Shared fatigue management: Partners can swap in and out during stations to stay fresh.
– Communication is critical: Success often depends on timing, cues, and understanding each other’s abilities and energy levels.
– If desired, one team member can perform ALL of the work on a single station.
HYROX Doubles is a great option for:
– Newcomers who want to ease into the format without going solo.
– Competitive athletes who enjoy racing in a team dynamic.
– Friends or training partners looking for a fun challenge with serious fitness benefits.
– Athletes who prefer a more intense form of racing (because workload can be shared, the stations and runs can be performed much faster)
There are 3 divisions within the HYROX Doubles category which differ by gender; women, men, and mixed.
The rulebook for the HYROX Doubles can be found here.
HYROX Doubles Age Groups
HYROX Doubles age groups are as follows:
16-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
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 30-34 age group.
As things stand, there are no categories older than the 65-69 age group for Pro Doubles.
HYROX Doubles Weights
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 (with the exception of over 60’s).
How to Train for HYROX Doubles
Because of the team nature of HYROX Doubles, there are some key things to consider when training for the event when compared to a singles HYROX. These include:
Simulate the Race Format
Practice HYROX-style workouts with your partner. Alternate efforts on stations like rowing, sleds, and wall balls to mimic race-day strategy.
Work on Transitions
Fast, clean changeovers are one of the biggest opportunities to gain (or lose) time. Practice “touch tagging” or verbal switches so they’re instinctive.
Communicate in Real Time
Use your training sessions to develop non-verbal cues and hand signals. Learn to read each other’s fatigue without needing long discussions.
Run as a Team
Since you must run together in the race, train together at your goal pace. Learn how to “tether” your pace to your partner’s — either verbally or physically.
Test Your Limits Together
Do partner EMOMs, relay workouts, or time-capped challenges that force you to communicate and recover quickly between efforts.
HYROX Doubles Tactics
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. Let’s look at how to do that…
HYROX Doubles Partner Selection
Success in HYROX Doubles isn’t just about strength or speed — it’s about synergy. Picking the right partner can dramatically impact your performance and experience.
Key Factors to Consider:
Fitness Compatibility
How closely you are matched in terms of fitness will impact how you approach the race. For example, if one is a much better runner than the other, this can mean the faster runner feels held back on the runs. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as they may then have more energy to attack the stations.
Communication Style
Look for someone who’s calm under pressure, listens well, and communicates clearly. Mid-race cues and quick decisions (as opposed to blazing arguments!) can be crucial.
Shared Goals
Are you both racing for fun, trying to win your age group, or chasing a world championship qualifying time? Having aligned expectations avoids tension and builds trust.
Schedule Alignment
Training together is a big bonus. Choose someone whose schedule and location make that feasible, or who’s willing to commit to remote coordination.
Running
Running is obviously a large part of any HYROX and it 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. Swapping every 30 seconds can also be another good option.
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 change 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.
Burpee Broad Jump
The burpee broad jumps are an area which have a large relative time difference between HYROX doubles 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, should you start to fatigue or slow down, talk to your partner, and ask if they can take over. The changeovers can be executed reasonably 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)”.
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 can work well. 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. Another approach can be limiting it to 2 changeovers in total – so the first person may do 250m, then the other does 500m, and then there is another switch for the first person to finish off with 250m. This means both partners are a touch more fresh as they head into the next run.
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 or twice. 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 cover an equal amount of distance 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.”
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!
