Items19The creator’s order
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Medicine Ball Sit-Up PassAn easy first partner exercise. Sit facing each other with your feet close together, sit up at the same time, and hand or toss the ball across at the top before you both lower down. Neither person can rest, because the ball has to keep moving.
The pace is shared, so nobody gets dragged along. A…0 - 2
Lunge and Chest PassTwo moves happening at once: you step forward into a lunge as you chest-pass the ball, and your partner catches it while stepping back into a reverse lunge. Then you swap directions and travel back the other way.
It works for mismatched partners because each person sets their own depth. A beginner…0 - 3
Back-to-Back Twist PassKneel or stand back to back, twist to one side and hand the ball off while your partner turns the opposite way to meet it, then send it around the other side. It is a rotation drill for the obliques that needs no throwing skill at all, which makes it ideal when one partner is nervous about…0 - 4
Squat and Overhead ThrowSquat down holding the ball at your chest, drive up and press it overhead to your partner, who catches it high, drops into their own squat and sends it back. The rhythm turns a plain set of squats into something closer to a game of catch with your legs doing the work.
Distance is the easy scaling…0 - 5
Plank Medicine Ball PassBoth of you hold a high plank, facing each other a short distance apart, and slide or hand a light ball back and forth. Every pass means one hand comes off the floor, so the plank turns into an anti-rotation drill: the job is to keep the hips from swiveling.
A 6 to 8 pound ball is enough, and…0 - 6
Plank High-FivesNo equipment, no learning curve and a built-in reason to smile. Face each other in high planks with about two feet between your hands, then both lift your right hands to slap, set them down, and do the same with your left, back and forth.
It is harder than it sounds, because each high-five briefly…0 - 7
High-Five Oblique CrunchesLie on your backs side by side, knees bent and hips almost touching. Curl up, rotate toward each other and high-five with your outside hands, the ones farthest from your partner, then lower down and repeat.
It is a crunch with a reason to finish each rep, since a missed high-five is obvious to…0 - 8
Handicapped Push-Up RaceThe one contest on this list, rigged so either of you can win. Start together, move at the same tempo and see who lasts longest, but first even out the odds: the stronger partner does push-ups on a slight decline or from the toes, while the other works on an incline or from the knees.
Adjust the…0 - 9
Hand-Hold Partner SquatsFace each other, hold each other's forearms and sit back into a squat together, using your partner as the counterweight. Because you both lean away, each of you can sit deeper than you would alone, with a more upright chest.
This is the gentlest entry here and a good warm-up for any pairing. The…0 - 10
Band Mid-Row TugStand facing each other, loop two resistance tubes through one another so each of you holds one handle in each hand, then back away until the tubes go taut. Now both of you row at once, pulling the elbows back and squeezing the shoulder blades: each person is the other's weight stack.
Start with…0