Some days, hitting the gym is all about much-needed me-time. You just want to pop on your headphones and dial in. On other days, you may want the extra motivation of your workout buddy sweating it out with you. Trying out partner workouts also lets you get some socializing in while chasing those gains.
Credit: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A / Shutterstock
We’ll break down the best partner exercises you can do with medicine balls, dumbbells, barbells, and just your body weight. Whether you’re looking for beginner-friendly, fun partner exercises or high-intensity partner CrossFit workouts — we’ve got you covered. Grab your buddy (or significant other), and let’s get into it.
Best Partner Exercises
Choose from the following exercises based on your preferences or the type of equipment you have available to you.
Medicine Ball Partner Exercises
Medicine Ball Sit-Up to Chest Pass
Medicine Ball Lunge to Chest Pass
Medicine Ball Squat to Overhead Throw
Dumbbell Partner Exercises
Alternating Dumbbell Snatch + Lateral Box Jump Over
Dumbbell Renegade Row + Dumbbell Goblet Squat
Dumbbell Reverse Lunge With Twist
Barbell Partner Exercises
Rowing Machine + Barbell Thruster
Burpee + Barbell Rollout
Partner Deadlift
Bodyweight Partner Exercises
High Plank High-Five
Wheelbarrow Walk With Push-Up
Partner Wall-Sit
Medicine Ball Partner Exercises
Medicine balls are a classic way to work with a partner. You can start with the lightest one you can find. Since you’ll be tossing or handing these to each other, let the person who can lift the least amount of weight dictate what size medicine ball you’re working with.
1. Medicine Ball Sit-Up to Chest Pass
Why Do It: This is a partner core exercise that incorporates upper body work. You’ll build core strength, upper body power, and coordination with your partner. It adds weight to a traditional sit-up, which you can adjust based on your fitness level.
Muscles Worked: The medicine ball sit-up to chest pass works your ab muscles (rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis), hip flexors, glutes, as well as your triceps and chest.
How to Do It
Sit facing your partner with your feet flat and knees to the ceiling. Hold your medicine ball at your chest.
Partner A: Inhale and lower down with the medicine ball at your chest. Partner B stays sitting up.
Partner A: Exhale and sit up, keeping your elbows close to your body. Pass the medicine ball to partner B when you reach the top.
Partner B: Catch the medicine ball and lower down onto your back with control. Exhale and sit back up. Partner B passes the ball back to partner A.
Continue on alternating sit-ups and chest passes. Make it a fluid motion to toss the ball as you complete each sit-up.
Coach’s Tip: Actively engage your abs to keep your spine neutral and protect your lower back.
Sets and Reps: Perform three sets of 16 to 20 reps, with each partner doing eight to 10 sit-ups and chest passes.
Modification: Do these with a very light medicine ball, or simply simulate the pass with your hands. Have one partner help hold your feet down during your portion if need be.
2. Medicine Ball Lunge to Chest Pass
Why Do It: This partner exercise combines a lunge with a chest pass, making it a great part of a full-body workout. You’ll get some unilateral training for your legs with alternating lunges. At the same time, a horizontal push builds upper body power. Controlling the medicine ball builds core strength and stability as you resist movement through your trunk with each pass and catch.
Muscles Worked: The medicine ball lunge to chest pass works your entire lower body, specifically your glutes, quads, and hamstrings, as well as your core, chest, and triceps.
How to Do It
Stand upright a few feet away from your partner, facing each other.
Partner A: Hold a medicine ball at your chest. Step your right foot forward into a lunge, bending your knee at a 90-degree angle. As you lunge, pass the medicine ball to partner B.
Partner A: Step your right foot back to meet your left, returning to the starting position.
Partner B: Catch the medicine ball. Step your right foot forward into a lunge and pass the medicine ball back to partner A.
Alternate legs with each lunge. Continue for your desired amount of reps.
Coach’s Tip: Keep your elbows tight to your body as you hold the medicine ball, and use your triceps and chest as you pass it with power.
Sets and Reps: Perform three sets of 10 to 12 lunges per leg for 20 to 24 reps total.
Modification: Use a very light ball or simply simulate the throw if need be. One or both partners can also squat to a chair instead of lunging. To make it more challenging, raise your working knee with each pass so that you’re balancing on one leg when you do your throw.
3. Medicine Ball Squat to Overhead Throw
Why Do It: Our last medicine ball exercise is a combo move that includes a squat, overhead press, and powerful throw. It’s great for a full-body workout because it combines a lower-body movement, a vertical push, and a cardio element. If you’re a CrossFitter, think of this one as wall balls with a partner.
Muscles Worked: This combo works your entire lower body (legs and glutes), core, and upper body (shoulders and arms).
How to Do It
Stand upright, facing your partner, several feet apart. Partner A holds a medicine ball at their chest.
Partner A lowers into a squat on an inhale. Exhale to stand up and press the ball overhead. Throw the ball on a high arc toward Partner B.
Partner B lowers into a squat position as they catch the ball. Partner B stands, presses the ball overhead, and throws it back into the air toward Partner A — just like a wall ball, but with a partner instead of a wall.
Continue back and forth for your desired length of time or reps.
Coach’s Tip: Maintain proper form in your squats and presses. Keep your chest as upright as you can, and bend your knees upon catching the ball to reduce impact on your joints.
Sets and Reps: Do three sets of 10 to 12 reps total.
Modification: Squat back to a plyo box or weight bench as a form of support. Replace the overhead throw with a chest pass. To make this more difficult with coordination, both partners can face a wall and perform a wall ball with a bit of a lateral throw so that Partner A can catch the ball rebounding off the wall whenever Partner B throws it.
Dumbbell Partner Exercises
Unlike with medicine ball moves, you won’t be passing the equipment back and forth to each other here. This means that you can both use differently weighted dumbbells if you’d like. This allows you to further customize your training so that you’re both challenging yourselves equally, even if you have different strength levels.
4. Alternating Dumbbell Snatch + Lateral Box Jump Over
Why Do It: This partner workout has each partner doing a different exercise, and then you switch roles. You can do it as part of a partner CrossFit workout or a high-intensity interval training or HIIT workout. With the alternating dumbbell snatch, you’ll work your lower body with unilateral upper-body explosiveness. The other partner will get a cardio workout and build agility with lateral plyometrics.
Muscles Worked: The alternating dumbbell snatch works your lower body (glutes and hamstrings), core, shoulders, triceps, and upper back. Lateral box jump overs work your lower body and core.
How to Do It
Partner A: Set a dumbbell between your feet as you stand shoulder-width apart. Inhale to squat, then exhale to snatch the weight overhead explosively.
Partner A performs six to eight snatches on each arm, alternating sides.
For as long as it takes partner A to complete their set number of snatches, partner B performs lateral box jump overs. Use a plyo box, step-up platform, or other elevated surface. Stand on one side and laterally jump over to the other. Jump over the box again to the starting position. Continue.
Switch roles after partner A completes their agreed-upon number of snatches.
Coach’s Tip: Maintain core stability and tension throughout your snatches and jump overs to protect your spine.
Sets and Reps: Each partner performs three sets of 12 to 16 snatches per side.
Modification: Do a dumbbell clean & press or simply a single-arm push press instead of a snatch. Step up to the box instead of jumping if needed.
5. Dumbbell Renegade Row + Dumbbell Goblet Squat
Why Do It: This can be a central feature of a partner ab workout. While one partner works their core and upper body with a plank and horizontal pull combo, the other will hammer out goblet squats. Beginners can do this with no equipment, while advanced athletes can go with heavier dumbbells. You can do shoulder taps if you’re not ready for renegade rows.
Muscles Worked: Renegade rows work all your ab muscles, shoulders, and upper back. Goblet squats work your lower body, core, and arms to hold your weight.
How to Do It
Partner A: Hold a dumbbell at your chest and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your abs engaged and chest up. Inhale, brace, and sit down into your squat. Exhale to stand up as you push the floor away. Tuck your hips and gently squeeze your glutes at the top.
Partner B: Set two dumbbells shoulder-width apart. Get into a plank position with your hands on your dumbbells. Step your feet slightly wider than your hips. Engage your abs and glutes to keep your spine and hips still. Inhale, then exhale to row one dumbbell. Alternate sides.
For as long as it takes partner A to complete 10 goblet squats, partner B performs renegade rows. After 10 squats, switch positions.
Partner B completes 10 goblet squats while partner A performs renegade rows. Continue.
Coach’s Tip: Focus on keeping your abs right in your goblet squats to get the most out of these dynamic partner core exercises.
Sets and Reps: Perform three rounds of 10 to 12 squats while the other partner rows. Both partners do three sets of each exercise.
Modification: Simply hold a plank if renegade rows are too challenging. Add a push-up to the renegade rows if you’re trying to up the ante.
6. Dumbbell Reverse Lunge With Twist
Why Do It: The reverse lunge is one of the best unilateral exercises for your legs, helping you increase balance and control as you build strength and muscle. Adding a twist works your obliques and gives you some rotational work in the transverse plane. You’ll perform these side-by-side with your workout buddy and twist towards each other, making it a solid partner exercise.
Muscles Worked: Reverse lunges with a twist work your lower glutes, hamstrings, quads, abs, and obliques.
How to Do It
Stand upright next to your partner. Both partners hold a dumbbell at your chest in a goblet position. Partner A steps their left foot back, and partner B steps their right foot back.
Land on the ball of your back foot, keeping your heel lifted. Inhale to lower the back leg down. Bend your front knee at a 90-degree angle.
Twist your torso toward your front leg so you face your partner. (Smiles recommended but technically optional.) Exhale to twist back forward. Push off your back foot to step forward. Return to standing position.
Continue for 10 lunges on the same leg. Both partners then turn around and perform 10 more on their other leg.
Coach’s Tip: Keep your abs engaged to keep your spine straight throughout the movement. Maintain the stability of the front leg and resist any lower body movement when you twist.
Sets and Reps: Perform three to four sets of 10 to 12 lunges per leg.
Modification: The person who may tend to move slower should set the pace here. Hold TRX handles to help with balance instead of a dumbbell if needed. For an extra coordination challenge, swap the dumbbells for a medicine ball and hand it off to each other between each rep.
Barbell Partner Exercises
For the first exercise here, you’ll also need a rower or other cardio machine. But you can just as effectively swap in another full-body exercise like burpees or jumping lunges into the mix. Otherwise, all you’ll need here is a barbell or two, weight plates, and collars.
7. Rowing Machine + Barbell Thruster
Why Do it: Add this to your next partner CrossFit workout. You’ll need access to a rowing machine, but you can always substitute it with a different cardio machine. You’ll get a great cardio workout on the rower while working your entire body to push with your legs and pull with your arms. Barbell thrusters are a full-body exercise combining a squat with an overhead press. You’ll build serious strength and conditioning. Combining cardio with strength training will help you increase muscular and cardiovascular endurance.
Muscles Worked: The rowing machine works your lower body, back, shoulders, and cardiovascular system. Barbell thrusters work your legs, glutes, back, and shoulders.
How to Do It
Partner A hops on the rowing machine and rows for 200 meters. Push through your legs. Keep your abs engaged. Push with your legs and pull with your upper body when your knees start to straighten. Retract your shoulder blades on each row.
For as long as it takes Partner A to row 200 meters, partner B performs barbell thrusters. Hold your barbell in a front rack position. Squat down. Stand up explosively and press the weight overhead.
Switch roles and continue.
Coach’s Tip: Even if you want to increase your speed, maintain proper form on the rowing machine and in your thrusters.
Sets and Reps: Perform four to five rounds of 200-meter row + barbell thrusters.
Modification: Row for fewer meters if needed. You can also swap out the rowing machine for a treadmill or elliptical. Just set the distance standard you want before beginning. If you don’t have access to any cardio equipment, swap in burpees or jump squats instead.
8. Burpee + Barbell Rollout
Why Do It: This exercise is for advanced athletes looking for a tough partner core exercise paired with a full-body strength and cardio experience. Whether you love or hate burpees, they get your heart rate up and work your entire body and cardiovascular system. Meanwhile, the other partner will challenge their core strength, performing ab rollouts with a barbell. You can do them from a kneeling or standing position, depending on your level.
Muscles Worked: Burpees work your upper and lower body and core muscles. Barbell rollouts work your core, chest, lats, triceps, and shoulders.
How to Do It
Partner A performs eight to 10 barbell rollouts from a kneeling or standing position. Keep your abs and lats engaged.
Partner B performs burpees while partner A completes their rollouts. Control each part of the movement. Lower to the ground in your push-up. Jump up explosively.
Switch roles after the first round. Continue.
Coach’s Tip: If you can’t complete a full barbell rollout, go as far as possible before returning to the starting position. Keep your abs engaged to protect your lower back.
Sets and Reps: Complete three to four rounds of eight to 10 rollouts + burpees.
Modification: You can use an ab roller instead of a barbell if desired. You can also switch it up and set a specific number of burpees to achieve instead of pacing the workout with the rollouts.
9. Partner Deadlift
Why Do It: There’s nothing fancy about this partner exercise, but it is an extra challenging way to hit your deadlifts with your workout buddy. You already know why to do deadlifts. They’re a full-body pull exercise that works your entire posterior chain. You can increase strength, muscle, and mobility. Make deadlifts a partner exercise by playing with tempo. You’ll alternate reps by holding the bottom position as your partner stands up and vice versa.
Muscles Worked: Deadlifts work your glutes, hamstrings, core, lats, back, and shoulders.
How to Do It
Set your barbells up facing each other. Both partners hinge down and grab your barbells. Depress your shoulders to lock in your lats and build tension in your hip flexors. Brace your cores.
Partner A stands up with power while partner B holds their hinge. Tuck your hips and squeeze your glutes at the top.
Partner A lowers back down with control, keeping the bar close to their body. They get down to the starting position and hold their hinge. Partner B pushes their feet into the floor and stands up with power.
Partner B lowers back down, and partner A stands up. Continue alternating reps.
Coach’s Tip: When you’re the “down” partner, focus on building full body tension to hold your hinge position.
Sets and Reps: Perform four to five sets of eight to 10 reps each.
Modification: You can also opt to perform your deadlifts synchronously with each other. Let the partner who struggles with deadlifts more set the pace.
Bodyweight Partner Exercises
Sometimes, you’ve got to get in an at-home bodyweight workout because there’s no equipment in sight. You can even pull off these exercises in a crowded gym where everyone else is using the barbells. Grab an exercise mat (optional) and get after it.
10. High Plank High-Five
Why Do It: Now we have a few partner bodyweight exercises you can do with no equipment. The high plank high-fives are a partner ab exercise to add to a bodyweight workout. You’ll challenge your core and shoulder stability with a high-five. To kick it up a notch, you can add a push-up.
Muscles Worked: High plank high-fives work your entire core, shoulders, and triceps.
How to Do It
Begin in a high plank position, facing each other. Place your hands shoulder-width apart. Squeeze your abs and glutes and resist shifting through your torso and hips.
Partner A: Lift your right hand as partner B lifts their left hand. High-five each other. Return your hands to plank position.
Partner A: Lift your left hand as partner B lifts their right hand. High-five each other. Return your hands to plank position.
Continue alternating hands and high-fives.
Coach’s Tip: Keep your core rigid to resist spinal or hip movement throughout the exercise.
Sets and Reps: Perform three sets of 20 high-fives.
Modification: Do these from your knees if needed. For an added challenge, do two high fives, one push-up, and continue.
11. Wheelbarrow Walk With Push-Up
Why Do It: If you thought you left wheelbarrow races in your childhood, think again. They’re back for your adult workout routine. The wheelbarrow is a challenging and potentially silly — but effective — partner exercise. One partner works on balance, control, and upper body strength, walking on their hands and performing push-ups. At the same time, the other partner walks while holding their legs. It’s teamwork, there’s a cardio element, and it’s just the right amount of ridiculous.
Muscles Worked: The wheelbarrow walk with push-ups works your core, shoulders, and triceps, while the wheelbarrow carrier works their grip, traps, and core in a weighted carry.
How to Do It
Partner A gets into the top of a push-up position with hands shoulder-width apart. Partner B lowers to a squat and grabs partner A’s legs. Then, Partner B stands up with one of their partner’s legs in each hand.
Partner A leads by walking on their hands as Partner B carries their ankles and walks forward. Pause after 30 seconds. Partner A performs eight to 10 push-ups.
Partner B lowers partner A’s legs. Switch positions. Walk for 30 seconds. Partner B performs eight to 10 push-ups.
Continue to switch roles.
Coach’s Tip: Maintain core tension and control as the hand-walker in the wheelbarrow; try not to rush through it.
Sets and Reps: Perform three sets of 30-second walks with eight to 10 push-ups. Each partner plays each role three times.
Modification: Take out the push-ups if they are too challenging. To up the ante, have the person holding the other’s ankles stay in a half-squat position during the push-up portion.
12. Partner Wall-Sit
Why Do It: The wall-sit is a classic lower body, isometric, bodyweight exercise you can do with no equipment. As a partner exercise, you don’t even need a wall. You’ll use each other’s backs for support — physical and moral support, that is. Throw these into a bodyweight workout to feel the burn in your legs and abs.
Muscles Worked: The partner wall-sit works your glutes, quads, and hamstrings.
How to Do It
Stand back-to-back with your partner. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart.
Brace your cores. You can link your arms for more stability. Lower down into a squat position. Bend your knees to a 90-degree angle. Press into each other’s backs.
Hold your wall-sit for your desired length of time. Keep your legs, glutes, and core engaged. Reach your arms forward for an added challenge.
Push your feet into the floor to stand back up. Repeat.
Coach’s Tip: The wall-sit will burn your legs, but keeping your abs engaged will help you sit up tall.
Sets and Reps: Perform three 30 to 45-second wall-sits. Progress up to one minute holds.
Modification: Hold a TRX suspension strap, anchored in front of you and pulled taut, if you need extra support.
Partner Workouts
We’ve selected the best partner exercises and put them into workouts to target your core, burn major calories in a HIIT workout, or challenge you and your CrossFit buddy.
Partner Ab Workout
This partner ab workout will hit all areas of your core muscles, increase strength, and challenge your core stability. You’ll start with dumbbells, working your upper and lower body simultaneously. Next, you’ll get plenty of weighted sit-ups in, then finish with tons of core stability in your high-plank high-fives.
Perform these moves as a circuit with three rounds, OR complete all three sets of each exercise before moving onto the next combo.
Dumbbell Renegade Row + Dumbbell Goblet Squat: 3 x 10 rows per arm + 3 x 12 squats
Medicine Ball Sit-Up to Chest Pass: 3 x 20
High-Plank High-Five: 3 x 20 high-fives
Partner CrossFit Workout
You’ll be channeling team competitions with this workout, which is all about speed, strength, and conditioning. You’ll be doing a 10-minute AMRAP, which stands for as many rounds as possible. Set a timer for 10 minutes and complete as many rounds of the following as you can.
The partner doing the first exercise will determine how long the second exercise lasts. Partner B does lateral box jump overs for as long as it takes partner A to do 10 snatches per arm. For as long as it takes partner A to complete a 200-meter row, partner B does barbell thrusters.
10-minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)
Alternating Dumbbell Snatch + Lateral Box Jump Over: 10 snatches per arm
Rowing Machine + Barbell Thruster: 200-meter row
Barbell Deadlift: 10
Partner HIIT Workout
HIIT workouts involve short bursts of maximum effort, followed by short rest or active recovery. Doing a HIIT partner workout helps motivate you both to grind it out. Each full-body exercise combines strength, explosiveness, cardio, and core control. You’ll start with a medicine ball partner exercise, team up in a wheelbarrow, and finish with explosive burpees while the other does ab rollouts.
You’ll do each exercise for 30 seconds and then move on to the next one or switch roles. Complete 30 seconds of each, rest for 45 seconds to one minute, then do it all over again for four to five rounds total.
Four to five rounds:
Medicine Ball Squat to Overhead Throw: 30 seconds
Wheelbarrow Walk with Push-Up: 30 seconds, switch roles, 30 seconds
Burpee + Barbell Rollout*: 30 seconds, switch roles, 30 seconds
*You can also use an ab wheel.
Benefits of Partner Exercises
Why add partner exercises to your workout routine, especially if you already have a plan you like to stick to? Here are the top benefits of training with a workout buddy or significant other.
Accountability
If you’re a beginner in your fitness journey, it can help to have someone else counting on you to show up. Working with a personal trainer can be beneficial since you are paying to be on someone’s schedule and are unlikely to skip your session.
But you don’t have to pay your workout buddy to have some shared accountability. On days you might be tempted to hit snooze on your alarm and skip the gym, knowing that someone is there waiting for you may nudge you into showing up. You’ll be glad you went.
Even seasoned fitness enthusiasts need an accountability boost now and then. Life gets in the way, the weather is bad, and work gets wild — making a commitment to someone else can push you through.
More Fun
It’s not all about accountability and forcing yourself through a grind — you’ll also probably get a lot more laughs into your training if you’re doing some fairly ridiculous (but effective) exercises together.
Though a partner workout is more about sweating than sitting down and having a deep conversation, you still spend valuable time engaging in human connection. Socializing and connecting with others is important to mental health, and so is engaging in physical activity. Doing them together gives you an extra boost. Plus, you’ll build a special bond after suffering together through three minutes of wall-sits.
Exercise Variety
Working out with a partner may open you up to exercises and types of training you haven’t done before. Some partner exercises, like medicine ball passes and wheelbarrows, require a workout buddy — you can’t do them alone.
You get to work on different skills and coordination and challenge your muscles in new ways. A little friendly competition in a partner CrossFit workout can also encourage you to beat your times — and get you ready for team competitions.
More Training Content
Mix up your workout routine by adding a friend. Whether you like medicine balls and barbells, or bodyweight workouts you can do on the go, choose your favorite partner exercises, and get moving. Finish with a high-five.
Learn more about some of the topics we covered with some of BarBend’s further content on partner workouts, HIIT workouts, and CrossFit for beginners.
Be a Hero in the Weight Room — Here’s How to Properly Spot Someone in the Gym
Why You Should Love to Hate High-Intensity Interval Training
The Best CrossFit Workouts for Beginners to Build Strength and Mental Toughness
FAQs
Here are your most burning questions about partner exercises (and, of course, the answers).
What is the best partner workout?
That depends on your fitness goals and the equipment you have available to you. You might want to do a bunch of moves with a medicine ball if that’s what you have access to, focusing on your full body. Or, you can put together multiple implements to create a partner ab workout.
How do you structure a full-body partner workout session?
Select three to four full-body partner exercises, like alternating dumbbell snatches with lateral box jump overs or a rowing machine session with barbell thrusters. Complete your exercises for three to four rounds.
What is a partner workout?
With a partner workout, you can either exercise alongside your partner or, taken literally, perform your exercises directly with a partner. That means you’ll be performing moves in tandem, using each other’s cadence to inform your own.
Featured Image: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A / Shutterstock
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