If you’ve been doing functional fitness for any length of time you’re no stranger to partner WODs. They bring a different flavor to your training, and can be very challenging, especially if you team up with the right partner. In this article I’ve include a free PDF download that has 30 awesome partner workouts (WODs) that build muscle and conditioning. Keep reading for more.
As a functional fitness coach of many years, I know that it can be hard to write a good program. Sure, anyone can write some gibberish on a whiteboard and call it the workout of the day (WOD). But it takes real skill to choose the appropriate amount of volume, for each specific movement, so that every athlete can benefit from the workout.
Partner WODs can be even more challenging because you have more factors to take into consideration. You have to make sure that each partner can do the movement, especially if they’re male female partners. You also need to make sure one partner isn’t standing around forever, watching their buddy do all the work. While that might be fun in a lazy/masochistic way, it won’t help you build muscle or conditioning! Let’s take a quick overview of these 30 awesome partner WODs.
30 Awesome Partner WODs: Overview
- WODs are not in sequential order
- Designed as a great way to improve your team work and strategy
- Easily scalable for all different fitness levels
- WODs vary between 10-30min in length
A big part of successfully completing a team or partner WOD is creating a good strategy. As you’ll see, many of these workouts can be done several different ways. In some workouts I might give you the choice between several different movements such as: air squats, push jerks, and wall balls. It’s then up to you to decide how many of each movement each partner should do, based off of their fitness level. Next let’s talk about partner WOD strategy.
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General Partner WOD Strategy
The overall goal is to produce the highest work rate between partner a, and partner b. You’ll find that the best way to do that is to complete the largest sets you can, before you start to slow down due to fatigue. This might lead you to think that you should just do huge sets right off the bat. I can tell you from personal experience that strategy can really backfire, especially for upper body work.
You need to pick set sizes that allow you to average the highest amount of reps per second, over the duration of the workout. You’ll find that doing sets at around 60% of your max capability yields a good pace. If you can do 20 box jumps, or 20 push presses, with a given weight before you need a break, then I would recommend hitting a quick set of 12 or so before you switch places with your partner.
The key thing is to communicate with your partner throughout the workout. You might start with an idea of how many reps you want to do, but you need to be flexible enough to modify that if you’re getting thrashed faster than expected. Now let’s take a look at 30 of the best partner workouts (WODs).
If you like functional fitness programs and want to pack on some muscle, then this is your program
30 Awesome Partner Workouts (WODs)
As I mentioned in the overview section these are 30 separate partner WODs. They aren’t in any sequential order, and I wouldn’t recommend following this as any sort of program. You should still follow a good program, for your specific goals, for the majority of the time.
These Partner WODs should be done once or twice per week either for fun, or to work on building team work. If you plan on competing in a partner functional fitness competition, then you need to get used to working together. Moreover, because these aren’t in order you can pick and choose different WODs, that would fit into your regular program well.
If you did a huge leg workout yesterday, in your personal programming, then it would be better to choose a movement that targets other muscles, something like hang power snatches or rope climbs for example. I recommend checking out this article on scaling WODs for guidance on picking good WODs. Let’s get to the first 10 WODs.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 30 AWESOME WODS PDF
30 Awesome Workouts (WODs): 1-10
If you pay attention to the programming, you’ll notice that a lot of the partner WODs are around 20 minutes in length. This makes sense, as that’s roughly the same volume as a single person WOD that lasts 10 minutes. However, some of these are definitely longer, and some are shorter. We can’t make it too easy can we!
It’s important to point out that if I don’t specify how you should do something, then it’s up to you and your partner to come up with a strategy to attack the WOD. Make sure you read the WOD carefully because I do occasionally throw in a penalty, like a 200 meter run for a partner switch, or at a certain time. You can see an example of this on workout 6.
In this workout you and your partner have to do 500 total reps of the following movements: wall balls, deadlifts, sit ups, push ups. You get to choose how many of each movement to do. In this case both partners have to go for a run on minutes 3,6,9 etc until 500 reps has been reached. Let’s look at the next group of WODs
30 Awesome Workouts (WODs): 11-20
These WODs are similar; however, you’ll notice that I’ve programmed a few of these so that one partner must maintain a position to allow the other partner to work. After all, we can’t just have you work while your partner rests all the time can we? You can see an example of this on workout 17.
In this workout the partners need to row 2k, switching as they like. During the row one partner must hold a 135/95lbs bar locked overhead. If they put it down no rowing can be done. They will then transition to 50 squat clean and jerks. For this movement one partner must plank while the other lifts.
This WOD continues on in this fashion, where one partner maintains a movement to allow the other partner to continue moving. This will require smart planning and good communication to finish with a good time! Let’s look at the last group of WODs.
If you want a solid program to take your functional fitness to the next level then check this out.
30 Awesome Workouts (WODs): 21-30
These WODs follow the same pattern as the other groups. Keep in mind that you can modify these depending on your personal needs. If you don’t have an indoor rower or assault bike, you can switch it to a run, or another available piece of equipment. The goal is to keep the power output and duration roughly the same as the written WOD.
Moreover, if you’re competing in a team competition, and you know there is going to be partner synchro WODs, then you might try some of the shorter workouts synchro style. I generally don’t program those types of WODs as it’s pretty easy to convert most WODs on this program for that specific goal.
I would stay away from converting a partner chipper WOD, as it’s likely to be a lot of volume. If you want a real challenge you could definitely do so, just don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Choosing Your Perfect Program
As I alluded to earlier you need to have a specific program that fits your specific goals. In this section I’ll post some links to a variety of my programs. The vast majority of these programs are free, however, if you want a lot of detail like I provide to my athletes in person then you should check out my premium programs.
Programs to Build Muscle Mass
- The 8 Week Functional Bodybuilding Hybrid Program
- 6 Weeks of Muscular Growth for Functional Fitness Athletes Program
- 12 Week Free Bodybuilding Program
- The 11 Week High Intensity Bodybuilding Program
Programs to Build Strength
- 9 Week Functional Strength Program (Part 1)
- 9 Week Advanced Strength Program for Functional Fitness
- 7 Week Free Strength Training Program
Hybrid Programs: Strength, Muscle Mass, and Conditioning
- 15 Week Lift Heavy Run Fast Program for Functional Fitness
- 10 Week Functional Powerbuilding Program
- 9 Week Sprint Program for Running
This is just a small sampling of some of my more popular programs. I would estimate that if you followed all of my programs, you’d have a fitness plan laid out for the next several years! I bet you can find something that will fit your needs.
Final Thoughts
Many of these WODs are very challenging and I don’t expect you to do more than one or two a week. My advice is to take a similar style individual WOD in your chosen program, and swap it for a partner WOD. Try to make sure the same muscle groups are worked in the partner WOD as the original WOD, and you should have no problem.
If you have any questions or comments, put them in the comments section below, and I’ll get you an answer. Now get out there with your partner and get training!
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