What the official doubles format asks
HYROX describes Doubles as taking on the race as a pair, running together but splitting each workout station as you choose. The 2026/27 doubles rulebook adds the detail: both partners must run the whole of each kilometre together, with a penalty if one runs ahead, and both must enter and leave every station together. While one works, the resting partner must stay on their feet, with no kneeling, sitting or lying down, and inside the marked zone.
The rulebook lists five doubles divisions this season: Doubles Women, Doubles Women Pro, Doubles Men, Doubles Men Pro and Doubles Mixed, which differ in weights. Check the current rulebook before you enter, because details change between seasons. For the race format as a whole, see HYROX-style training at RPM, and for judging a gym's kit, what to look for in a HYROX training gym.
Changeover rules from the doubles rulebook, station by station.
| Station | Official work | What the rulebook says about pairs |
|---|---|---|
| SkiErg | 1,000 m | The resting partner stays in the marked area, and the handles may not be passed between you |
| Sled push | 50 m, as four 12.5 m lengths | The resting partner walks directly behind the one pushing |
| Sled pull | 50 m, as four 12.5 m lengths | The resting partner stays behind and may not help with the rope, though verbal guidance is allowed |
| Burpee broad jumps | 80 m | At a changeover, the incoming partner puts their hands where the other's feet landed |
| Rowing | 1,000 m | Partners may not pass the handle or adjust the damper or footstraps for each other |
| Farmers carry | 200 m | Kettlebells pass sideways or backwards at a changeover, never forwards |
| Sandbag lunges | 100 m | The sandbag passes sideways or backwards, never forwards |
| Wall balls | 100 reps | Hand the ball over or let it drop, since a flying changeover counts as a no-rep |
Agree the split before race day
Because the official format lets you split stations as you choose, the split is a decision, not an accident. Make it in training, write it down and rehearse it until neither of you has to think.
| Approach | How it works | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Even halves | Each partner does half of every station | Partners of similar fitness |
| Strength-led | The stronger partner takes more of the sleds and carries, the fitter runner more of the ergs | Pairs with clear strengths |
| Short swaps | Change every few reps or one sled length, so neither tires badly | Wall balls, burpee broad jumps, lunges |
| Late-race reserve | Keep the fresher partner for the final stations | Pairs who fade at the end |
A 2025 study of a simulated race found the highest effort ratings at the final station, the wall balls, so plan that split with tired legs in mind.
Pacing the runs together
The rules tie you together on every run, so the pair runs at the pace of the slower partner. In the same 2025 simulation, the runs took longer than all the stations combined, and faster finishers had greater aerobic capacity and more endurance training. In a 2026 study of an official Pro men's race, running speed fell steadily from the first kilometre to the last.
- Set the race pace from the slower runner's comfortable effort, and hold back on the first run.
- Run some sessions side by side, on neighbouring treadmills in summer and outdoors in the cooler months.
- Use the talk test on easy runs: if one of you cannot speak in sentences, slow down.
- Practise the walk into a station together, since you must enter and leave as a pair.
Partner sessions on a functional floor
| Session | How it runs | What it trains |
|---|---|---|
| You go, I go stations | Alternate turns on one station, such as a sled length or 10 wall balls each, for a set time | Changeovers and working while the other rests |
| Run and split | A run side by side on treadmills, then split a station between you, four to six rounds | Pacing together and arriving at a station as a pair |
| Changeover drills | Hand kettlebells sideways, hand the ball over, walk behind on the sled | The rulebook's transitions until they are automatic |
| Solo strength | Each partner lifts to their own plan on separate days | The strength each split relies on |
Two people on one station block it twice as long, so ask about quieter times before you plan partner circuits.
Most pairs in Abu Dhabi will not share every session. Office hours, school runs and the Saturday to Sunday weekend usually leave room for one joint session a week, with running and strength done alone. Keep a shared log so each of you can see the other's week, and in Ramadan, when many people train after iftar, keep joint sessions shorter.
When the gym lacks a station
Doubles still needs every station practised by at least one partner, ideally both. If your gym has no SkiErg or rower, decide who will practise them elsewhere, and use stand-ins at your own gym in the meantime. Building a race simulation sets out substitutions station by station.
If either partner has an injury or a medical condition, or is pregnant, check with a doctor or physiotherapist before race-pace training.
Doubles training at RPM
RPM offers HYROX-style training as an independent gym, not an official HYROX partner, gym or venue. Its functional area, on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal, has a turf lane with a sled, kettlebells, medicine balls and slam balls, and the training floor has treadmills for running side by side. A SkiErg, rowers, sandbags and a wall-ball target are not confirmed, so ask before you plan full partner simulations.
- Mixed pairs: the functional floor is in the Mixed section. The women-only Ladies section has its own strength and cardio equipment, so a woman can do her solo sessions there if her tier covers it.
- Coaching: the roster lists Asma Jamousi Zadeh for HYROX training in the Ladies section. Ask how HYROX-style coaching works in the Mixed section, and whether a coach can see you both together.
- Tiers: Engine adds coached programming and Atelier is built around one-to-one coaching, with inclusions confirmed on enquiry.
- Book a free guided tour together and look at the turf lane at the hour you would both train.
Sources
- HYROX, The Fitness Race: race format, workout stations and divisions
- HYROX Doubles Rulebook, season 2026/27
- Brandt T, et al. Acute physiological responses and performance determinants in Hyrox, a new running-focused high intensity functional fitness trend. Frontiers in Physiology, 2025
- Gutiérrez-Hellín J, et al. Relative running intensity and pacing during an official HYROX PRO MEN competition: the HYScience study. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2026
Questions, answered.
Do both partners have to do every station?
The official format describes splitting each station as you choose, so the split is up to you. Read the current doubles rulebook for any station-specific rules before you settle a plan.
Can one partner run ahead to save time?
No. The 2026/27 doubles rulebook requires both partners to run each kilometre together and applies a penalty if one runs ahead.
Can the resting partner sit down?
No. The rulebook says the resting partner must stay on their feet within the marked zone during all workout stations.
Is Doubles easier than racing alone?
The running distance is the same, and the stations are shared, so each partner does less station work. Whether it feels easier depends on your pace and your split.