10 HYROX Doubles Mistakes and How to Address Them

Some Doubles mistakes break the rules; others make your plan harder to execute. This checklist separates the two and gives you a practical way to review shared running, station changes and race preparation.

1. Treating Doubles as alternating running legs

Both athletes run every segment together, for the full designated 8 km each. You do not take turns running a kilometre, and one person cannot wait at the next station while the other completes the run.

Check: practise leaving a station and starting the next run together. Agree an effort both can manage. Under section 7.3, not staying together can incur a one-minute penalty; more than three such penalties results in an Out of Competition result. Do not plan around a supposed permitted separation distance.

2. Assuming every station must be 50/50

The team decides how to share the work. Equal shares can be a convenient starting example, but there is no general requirement for them or for alternating after every repetition. One athlete may do more at a particular station.

Check: write who starts, the intended change points and an alternative split. Assess the run afterwards as well as the station time. An unequal split is not automatically a mistake, and equal work does not establish equal effort.

3. Using the wrong totals or division loads

The 2026/27 Doubles Wall Ball station requires 100 valid repetitions in all five regular divisions. Both sled stations are 50 m, arranged as four 12.5 m lengths. Farmers Carry is 200 m. Old 75-repetition tables or 100 m carry plans are incorrect for these race totals.

Check: use the current division table in the Doubles guide. Sled weights include the sled itself. Mixed partners use the same 6 kg Wall Ball, with a 2.70 m target for the woman and 3.00 m for the man. There is no ball-weight change between them.

4. Applying one generic tag to every station

A team cue does not override station rules. Passing SkiErg or rowing handles directly is not allowed. At Wall Balls, one partner throwing and the other catching into a squat is a prohibited flying change.

Check: rehearse each movement's legal exchange separately. At Burpee Broad Jumps, the incoming athlete places their hands where the outgoing athlete's feet landed, with fingers and toes in line. Farmers Carry and sandbag transfers go sideways or backwards, never forwards. Do not trade valid execution for an arbitrary target change time.

5. Helping with equipment while you are the resting partner

Resting does not mean you may do whatever helps the worker. The Sled Pull partner cannot gather the rope with hands or feet. On the rower, the non-working partner cannot adjust the working athlete's damper or foot straps. Both kettlebells in the Farmers Carry belong to the working athlete, not one bell each.

Check: include the resting person's position and actions in your plan. Follow the station markings and judge's directions. Standing beside the working athlete on a lane-based station can obstruct others; the relevant stations require you to stay behind.

6. Adding a fixed percentage to Singles intensity

Do not automatically set Doubles effort 10–15% above Singles. The rulebook does not prescribe that percentage. Sharing a station does not establish a fixed recovery period, and your partner cannot take over the next running leg.

Check: start from shared practice rather than a percentage. Record the work split, valid repetitions and the next run. If a faster station leads to a slower combined sequence in your own practice, reconsider it. The pacing article shows how to keep the full time budget visible.

7. Making “I am struggling” mean “you must push harder”

A request to slow down or stop needs a clear response. It should not automatically trigger extra effort from the other partner while the shared running pace remains unchanged. You can revise the station work, but both athletes still have to complete the runs.

Check: agree separate calls for slowing, changing and stopping. Confirm that a call was heard. A health concern needs attention, not an obligation to complete an allegedly assigned station. See communication examples.

8. Testing the entire plan only at maximum effort

You can learn a legal transfer, a count or a call at low effort. A full race simulation is not the only way to test coordination, and there is no rule requiring several complete simulations in the final weeks.

Check: isolate the uncertain skill, then place it in a manageable run-and-station sequence when appropriate. Choose training volume and loads according to your preparation. Do not add a large last-minute session solely to satisfy an invented readiness checklist.

9. Forgetting the course and official procedures

Even a clear station split does not replace knowing the venue's running laps, IN/OUT arches, assigned lane and start wave. Both racers need the required timing equipment. Starting in a different wave without approval is not a pacing option.

Check: review the event briefing together. Confirm who tracks lap completion and who checks the next station, while keeping both athletes responsible for the route. Follow the judges' completion instructions rather than leaving on an estimated count.

10. Reviewing only the finishing time

A total time cannot show whether a particular change worked, a count was wrong or one partner's planned share was unrealistic. It also does not prove a cause: a slower station may reflect equipment, standards, earlier effort or the plan itself.

Check: record observations after practice and racing. Separate confirmed facts from interpretations. Choose one change to test next time, keep the relevant conditions comparable where possible and ask both partners for their experience. No particular app feature is required to write a useful training note.

Frequently asked questions

Which Doubles mistake should we fix first?

Correct anything that violates the race rules first, including separate running or illegal changes. Then focus practice on the parts of your own plan that remain unclear or untested rather than a claimed universal ranking of mistakes.

How fast should every handover be?

The rulebook sets no universal five- or six-second handover target for all movements. The transfer must be legal and controlled. Different equipment and station positions require different procedures.

Does joint training guarantee a faster finish?

No. Joint practice can help you test running, changes and communication, but it does not guarantee a fixed time saving. Fitness, valid execution, course conditions and the decisions made during the race also matter.

Sources

Official HYROX^® Doubles rulebook, 2026/27, sections 7, 8, 11 and 12. The checks are editorial preparation suggestions. They are not a ranking derived from REPZ race data.