By: Jeremy Reither, the co-creator of WODwell, the #1 site for benchmark WODs (including Partner / Team WODs)
I didn’t start working out at home in my garage for the cost and convenience benefits. I started garage WOD’ing out of necessity because after we had kid #3 it felt like the only way I was able to get a workout in at all (and yeah, I do consider physical activity a necessity). But 2 years later I am a full-on garage gym convert. What happened? The tipping point for me was partner WODs.
Over time I did buy into the convenience benefits of my garage gym. For example, even when I have time I now have trouble justifying a commute to the gym. Why let a 1-hour workout consume 2 hours of my day? Just go to the garage and get ‘er done. But despite the convenience, I was still putting off working out.
I missed the social aspect of my CrossFit gym. I don’t mean social as in high-fives. I mean social as in social pressure to do work and shared suffering. When working out next to others I was able to motivate, push harder, and get a better workout. My wife and I workout together, and she can definitely push me, but we don’t have a ton of equipment. So more often than not we used to take turns working out in the garage. That is until we started experimenting with different kinds of partner WODs that allowed us to share, for example, the one set of gymnastics rings, while pushing each other…and suffering together. Once we figured out how to make do with less equipment we started inviting more friends over to workout with us, which re-introduced the social element at home.
Here are some of the types of partner WODs we use most often:
One Partner Works at a Time
In WODs where one person works at a time you typically share the work such that each partner gets built-in rest while the other partner works. This creates an interval style workout that allows you to sprint when it’s your turn, then recover, then sprint again (eg: “Fly High 22”).
Both Partners Work at the Same Time
In this type of workout one partner performs one type of work while the other performs another (either an active movement or a static hold). Depending on the workout format there may be very little rest (eg: “31 Heroes”) or there may be built-in rest (eg: “Hang In There Partner”).
Governor Style
As far as I know, I made this style up. I’m not aware of any benchmark WODs (yet) that I can point to as examples, but maybe I’ll create one. I use this format all the time when I’m making up a workout for 2 or more athletes at home – particularly when I have limited equipment to share. Governor WODs are circuit-style, where each athlete is at a different station, one of which is the “governing” station that, when an athlete completes it, all athletes rotate to the next station. Here’s an example I did the other day:
4 Rounds for Max Reps (in a Team of 3)
Station 1 (Governor): Run 200 meters, 50 Double-Unders
Station 2: Max reps of Squat Cleans (135 lb)
Station 3: Max reps of Handstand Push-Ups
Each partner starts at a different station. With a running clock, each partner starts the work at their station. When the athlete in station 1 completes the run and double-unders, they call “rotate!” and each partner moves to the next station (the partner at station 3 moves to station 1). Continue this until each partner has completed every station 4 times.
Your score is the total number of repetitions of Squat Cleans and Handstand Push-Ups completed.
The beauty of the governor style workout is that you can create them for any size group (one station per partner) and use a lot more equipment than you could otherwise. Also, you’re racing against your partners, which makes it sport-like. The downside, if you want to call it that, is that athletes’ scores are dependent on the performance of another athlete, so they’re not really comparable to one another. For example, if you’re a fast runner and great at double-unders, your partners in this workout aren’t going to get as many cleans and HSPU’s in. Don’t worry, “max reps” means it’ll still be a great workout.
“Shared suffering” sounds strange if you haven’t heard the term before but it’s real and it builds camaraderie. For me, it makes working out more fun and effective. And, especially when you’re working with limited equipment, partner WODs are a great way to incorporate shared suffering (the good kind) into your already super convenient garage gym.