Tom Holland’s Cindy Workout: The Spider-Man Routine You Can Do at Home

TL;DR – Tom Holland’s Cindy workout is a 20-minute AMRAP with just three moves: 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 squats, repeated non-stop. His personal record: 27 rounds – 810 reps in 20 minutes, an elite-level score. No gym required. Just a pull-up bar and the will not to quit.

What Is the Cindy WOD? The CrossFit Benchmark That Humbles the Strongest

Cindy is one of CrossFit’s most iconic WODs. It belongs to the group known as “The Girls” – a collection of benchmark workouts CrossFit has used since December 29, 2004 to track athletes’ progress over time.

The circuit is brutally simple:

5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 air squats

That’s it. No barbell, no dumbbells, no machines. Just a pull-up bar, the floor and your own bodyweight.

The format is an AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible): you repeat the circuit non-stop for exactly 20 minutes. Your score is the number of full rounds you complete, plus any extra reps if you don’t finish the last round.

On paper it looks manageable. In practice, Cindy has brought CrossFit athletes with years of experience to their knees. The real challenge is the accumulation: no scheduled rest, no mandatory break, just fatigue stacking round after round – and the voice in your head that starts negotiating with you around minute 12.

That’s why this 20-minute workout went viral. Easy to understand. Brutal to execute. A genuine final boss.

Tom Holland’s Performance: 27 Rounds, Legendary Status

Tom Holland revealed his obsession with Cindy in an interview covered by Men’s Health UK and Men’s Health Spain. His exact words:

“I do a CrossFit workout called ‘Cindy’. It’s 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 squats. I think my record is 27 rounds.”

Twenty-seven rounds in 20 minutes. Let’s do the math: 135 pull-ups, 270 push-ups, 405 squats. 810 reps in total. To hold that pace you need to complete a full round every 44 seconds – without ever easing off.

That score comfortably clears CrossFit’s elite threshold, which sits at 25+ rounds. For an actor whose day job isn’t professional athletics, that’s genuinely impressive.

Holland also shared two key details about how he trains with Cindy.

On why he loves it:

“It’s great, you don’t have to think about anything; you just count the rounds.”

On his favorite variation when tired:

“If I’m feeling tired, I do one round every minute, on the minute, so you do 20 rounds.”

And on his go-to legendary gear:

“I always train wearing a weighted vest, it’s the only way to do it!”

This isn’t a movie star playing at fitness. It’s a serious athlete using a deceptively simple tool to stay at the level his action scenes demand.

How to Do the Cindy WOD: Three Game Modes

Three variations. Three difficulty levels. Pick your mode.

Variation 1 – Standard AMRAP (Competition Mode)

This is the original version, the one Holland uses to chase his personal record.

Protocol:

Set a timer for 20 minutes.
Run through: 5 pull-ups → 10 push-ups → 15 squats.
Repeat with no mandatory rest until time’s up.
Record your score (full rounds + extra reps).

The key is pacing from round one. Going out too hot in the first five minutes is the fastest way to fall apart by minute 10. Top athletes aim for consistent round times, not a fast start – a steady hero, not an impulsive berserker.

Variation 2 – EMOM (Active Recovery Mode)

This is the variation Tom Holland uses on lower-energy days. EMOM stands for Every Minute On the Minute: you complete one round at the start of each minute, and whatever time is left is your rest.

Protocol:

1 round (5 pull-ups / 10 push-ups / 15 squats) at the start of each minute.
20 minutes = 20 guaranteed rounds.
Finish in 40 seconds? You get 20 seconds of rest. In 50? Only 10.

It sounds “easier” than the AMRAP – but only if you can consistently finish a round in under a minute. For most people, that’s already a real challenge.

Variation 3 – Weighted Vest (New Game+ Mode)

For heroes who’ve already unlocked elite level and need a new challenge. Tom Holland wears a weighted vest for his Cindy sessions as standard practice.

The vest adds resistance to every rep: pull-ups get heavier, push-ups more demanding, squats harder. Start with 5–10 kg and only add the vest once you’re already stringing together 20+ rounds on the standard AMRAP. This is an advanced progression, not a starting point.

Performance Levels: Where Do You Stand on the Map?

CrossFit.com has published official benchmarks for Cindy. Here’s the level map – from apprentice to legendary hero.

Level	Rounds	Profile
Beginner (scaled)	8–10+ rounds	12-min version, modified movements
Intermediate (Rx’d)	13–18 rounds	Full 20-min version, standard movements
Advanced	19–23 rounds	Sustained pace, fast transitions
Elite	25+ rounds	Under 48 sec per round on average
Tom Holland	27 rounds	44 sec per round. Legendary.

For context: 20 rounds in 20 minutes is a solid advanced score that takes months of consistent training. Hitting 25 rounds puts you at the top level of CrossFit practitioners. And 27? That’s the rarest drop on the loot table – hard to earn, impossible to fake.

Muscles Worked: The Full Damage Map

Cindy is a full-body workout disguised as a minimalist circuit. Here’s what fires on every round:

Pull-ups:

Lats, traps, rhomboids (back)
Biceps, forearms (arms)
Core stabilized throughout the movement

Push-ups:

Pectoralis major (chest)
Triceps, anterior deltoid (shoulders)
Core and total-body tension

Air squats:

Quads, hamstrings, glutes (legs and hips)
Calves, ankle stabilizers

Beyond the pure muscle work, Cindy hammers the cardiovascular system hard. With no scheduled rest, heart rate climbs fast and stays high – making this workout both a strength-endurance session and a HIIT cardio workout at the same time. A study by the Institute of Motion measured the metabolic and cardiovascular response to Cindy and confirmed intensity levels comparable to classic interval-training protocols.

Beginner Modifications: Easy Mode Still Earns XP

Can’t string 5 pull-ups together yet? No problem. Every good RPG has a starting difficulty mode.

CrossFit’s official beginner version:

12 minutes (instead of 20)
3 ring rows (horizontal pull from a low bar or rings) instead of pull-ups
6 assisted push-ups (knees down or hands elevated) instead of standard push-ups
9 squats instead of 15

This is the recommended entry point if you can’t yet string together 5 strict pull-ups.

Progression options:

Pull-ups: Substitute rows under a sturdy table, band-assisted pull-ups, or jumping pull-ups with a slow negative.
Push-ups: Start with hands elevated on a bench to reduce the load, and progressively lower down to the floor.
Squats: Drop to 9 or 12 reps per round if fatigue breaks your form.

The goal isn’t to look like Spider-Man on day one. It’s to earn one more round each session – a steadier pace, fewer pauses, cleaner reps. That’s exactly how you level up in any RPG worth playing.

Why Cindy Is the Perfect Workout for RPGFitness

Cindy might just be the best-suited workout for an RPG-style fitness system. And the reason is simple.

Your score is your level. 10 rounds today. 13 in three weeks. 18 in two months. Every session is a fight against your past self. Progress is visible, measurable, and genuinely motivating – no guesswork.

Zero barrier to entry. One pull-up bar. That’s all the gear you need to start your quest. No gym membership, no legendary gear required upfront.

Built-in level progression. From the beginner version (12 min, modified movements) to New Game+ (weighted vest, full AMRAP), there are clear milestones to hit – exactly like a skill tree with unlockable nodes.

That’s where RPGFitness comes in. The app is built to turn every workout into an adventure: log your Cindy score, earn XP, level up like a hero, unlock new challenges. Every round counts. Every improvement is rewarded. If you’re going to track rounds like a real hero, RPGFitness is the system built exactly for that.

Conclusion: Accept the Quest

Tom Holland’s Cindy workout holds no secrets and needs no complex programming. It’s 20 minutes, 3 movements, and the decision not to stop. What’s impressive about Holland isn’t the exercise itself – it’s the consistency and intensity he brings to it, session after session.

Start with the scaled version if you’re new. Aim for 10 rounds. Then 15. Then 20. And someday, maybe, you’ll look 27 rounds in the eye.

To log your progress, earn XP after every session, and level up like a real hero, join the RPGFitness community. Because every round deserves to be counted.

FAQ – Tom Holland’s Cindy Workout

What exactly is the Cindy WOD? Cindy is a CrossFit benchmark in AMRAP format: 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 air squats, repeated continuously for 20 minutes. Your score is the number of full rounds you complete.

How many rounds did Tom Holland do? His personal record is 27 rounds in 20 minutes – 135 pull-ups, 270 push-ups and 405 squats, 810 reps in total. That’s above CrossFit’s published elite threshold of 25 rounds.

How many rounds is a good score for a beginner? 8 to 10 rounds on the scaled version (12 minutes, modified movements) is a solid starting point. On the full Rx’d version, 13–18 rounds is a respectable intermediate score.

Can you do Cindy without a pull-up bar? The standard version requires one. But you can substitute pull-ups with rows under a sturdy table, ring rows, or a doorframe pull-up bar. The official beginner version specifically uses ring rows for this reason.

What’s the difference between AMRAP and EMOM on Cindy? AMRAP lets you move freely for 20 minutes – you rest when you need to and your score reflects total output. EMOM forces you to complete one round per minute, with leftover seconds as rest. Tom Holland uses EMOM on lower-energy days.

How often should you do Cindy? Once or twice a week at most. It’s a high-intensity, full-body session – recovery matters just as much as the workout itself. Doing it daily will slow your progress, not speed it up.

Is the weighted vest recommended for beginners? Not at all. Master the standard version first and reach 20+ rounds consistently before adding load. The weighted vest is an advanced progression unlock, not a starting item.

Does Cindy replace a full strength program? Cindy builds strength-endurance and cardiovascular capacity, but it doesn’t replace a structured long-term strength program. It works best as a conditioning session within a broader training plan.