When you think of Tom Holland, you may picture him swinging between skyscrapers or backflipping as Spider-Man, not grinding through CrossFit-style workouts. But during press for Spider-Man: No Way Home, Holland revealed that his go-to workout was the iconic CrossFit WOD “Cindy.” Here’s the crazy kicker to Tom Holland’s CrossFit “Cindy” workout numbers: His best is 27 rounds in 20 minutes. Let that sink in for a moment.
That’s 135 pull-ups, 270 push-ups, and 405 air squats.
Cindy looks simple on paper because how hard can bodyweight be? But it’s a classic test of grit, pacing, and full-body muscular endurance. Whether you’re chasing Holland’s score or want to level up your conditioning, this article will help you build the strength, stamina, and mental toughness to go toe-to-toe with one of Hollywood’s fittest stars. Let’s break it all down with the help of Dr. Bo Babenko, then build it up, and just maybe, beat Spider-Man at his own game. Are you in? Then let’s go.
Why Crossfit “Cindy” Workout Works Wonders
Cindy on paper is basic: 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats, repeated for 20 minutes. But don’t mistake basic for easy. This workout has humbled many CrossFit athletes and fitness enthusiasts.
It focuses on push, pull, and squat, three movement patterns that train your entire body. You’re training back, chest, arms, shoulders, core, and lower body every round. Furthermore, there’s no built-in rest; you’re also putting your cardiovascular system to the test.
Here’s what you’ll get if you try it.
- It’s time-efficient: You get a full-body workout in a short amount of time.
- It builds muscular endurance: Especially in the upper body, which tends to fatigue first.
- It’s a mental test: You build mental toughness by keeping your pace, pushing through fatigue, and refusing to tap out before the clock runs out.
What It Takes To Take On Tom Holland
If you’re admiring Tom Holland’s 27-round performance like we are, understand this: You’re competing against your body and the clock. To complete 27 rounds in 20 minutes, you need to finish one round every 44 seconds, without fail. That’s elite-level pacing, flawless transitions, and serious muscular endurance.
It’s not just impressive—it’s downright freakishly efficient. While most people crash and burn, Holland thrives. Why? First, he turns it into an EMOM challenge, where he completes one round every minute for 20 minutes. If you finish a round in 40 seconds, congrats—you’ve earned 20 seconds of valuable rest. Second, Holland often wears a weighted vest to increase the intensity further. The extra resistance turns each repetition into a challenge and prepares his body for whatever the Spider-Man suit throws at him.
Last but not least, he also supplements Cindy’s routine with high-rep bodyweight ladder workouts—such as a monster 1,500-rep session featuring pull-ups, dips, push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. His approach is centered on high volume, strict discipline, and mental toughness.
To match Holland’s record, you need a realistic game plan. Trying to copy his approach is a sure way to burn out and get injured. However, with this training method, you can build your engine, resilience, and speed to reach that 27-round goal.
Next up: a progressive training plan to help you do just that.
The 10-Week Cindy Workout Training Plan
The main stumbling block for knocking out the Cindy WOD is your pull-up strength and grip endurance. If performing five unbroken pull-ups is a problem, Dr. Bo has a solution.
“I’m a massive fan of the Russian fighter pull-up program from Pavel Tsatsouline to build pull-up strength,” he says. “Additionally, improving your overall grip strength and hanging capacity often enhances your ability to perform strict pull-ups. I like Ido Portal’s idea of accumulating several minutes of hanging each day for a consistent month—his main challenge is seven minutes a day.“
If that’s an issue, start there. If not, let’s begin building that base.
Build the Base (Weeks 1–4)
Goal: Groove perfect form and build consistency up to 15 rounds.
Focus: Nail form on push-ups, pull-ups, and squats to improve efficiency and prevent overuse injuries, and to become accustomed to fatigue.
EMOM 10: You’ll rotate through pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats, spread across a repeating 3-minute cycle. You’ll continue this pattern for 10 minutes or longer.
- Minute 1: Perform 3 pull-ups, then rest the remainder of the minute.
- Minute 2: Perform 6 push-ups, then rest the remainder of the minute.
- Minute 3: Perform 9 air squats, then rest the remainder of the minute.
That’s 1 round of the cycle. Repeat this 3-minute cycle for 3 to 5 total rounds, depending on your fitness level and tolerance. Do this twice per week.
Half Cindy: 10-minute AMRAP of 3 pull-ups, 6 push-ups, nine air squats. Focus on keeping each round smooth and steady. Consider adding one more rep to the squats and push-ups each week. Perform this once every week.
Dial In the Engine (Weeks 5–7)
Goal: Improve pacing, reduce transition time, build toward 20+ rounds.
Focus: To stay consistent with sub-1-minute rounds and increase total volume each session.
Cindy Pacing Drills: Perform 1 round every 60 seconds for 10–15 minutes. If that’s doable, shorten rest to 45-50 seconds per round. Do this twice per week,
Triset Circuit: 3 rounds (not for time)
- 1A. 8 Push-Ups
- 1B. 13 Air Squats
- 1C. 5 Pull-ups
Rest 60 seconds after each Triset. Do this once per week, and each week, add an extra round.
Go Time (Weeks 8–10)
Goal: Hit 25+ rounds in training and break through plateaus. Do each workout only once a week, then rest for a week and try to beat Tom’s record.
Focus: Maintain speed without a drop-off in form, embrace the grind, and focus on smooth transitions. Moving immediately between movements saves precious seconds.
20-Minute AMRAP Test (Cindy): Hit it fresh once per week and try to beat your previous score.
Death By Cindy: Is a progressive, escalating workout where you perform Cindy rounds on the minute, adding one extra round every minute until you can no longer keep up.
- Minute 1: Do 1 full round of Cindy (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats)
- Minute 2: Do 2 rounds
- Minute 3: Do 3 rounds (If you ever get here, take a bow)
Transition Speed Circuit
- 1A. 5 Pull-Ups
- 1B. 10 Push-Ups
- 1C. 15 Squats
- 1D. 10 Unilateral Dumbbell Rows per side
- 1E. 10 Incline Plyo Push-Ups
- 1F. 15 Squats
3–4 rounds, no rest between exercises, 60 sec rest at the end of each circuit
Dr. Bo Babenko Form Tips for Tom Holland’s CrossFit ‘Cindy’ Workout
When time is of the essence, efficiency and form come first. Here, Dr. Bo explains the finer details of the pull-up, push-up, and air squat so you can take aim at Spiderman.
Pull-Ups
Technique is also often overlooked when it comes to pull-ups—simple cues such as wrapping your thumb around the bar, getting your knuckles up toward the ceiling to ‘rev the bar up,’ and creating external rotation torque to connect the hands all the way through the arms into the lats can help.
Push-Ups
For Cindy, hand placement will determine how quickly you fatigues. To minimize fatigue, vary your grip and hand placement regularly. Tempo is vital for the same reason; we want to maintain a snappy concentric pace, otherwise it is a sign that fatigue is taking over. If you begin to fight through fatigue and sacrifice form, we start to edge closer to the risk of injury.
Shave Seconds Off Your Air Squats
When it comes to replicating Tom Holland’s CrossFit ‘Cindy’ Workout as much as possible, the most straightforward solution is to adjust your foot placement. You need to find a way to increase volume and manage fatigue by maintaining your ideal squat position. However, in the short term, if you’re trying to improve your score, use a bounce or rebound by engaging your hamstrings and hitting your calves. This technique should be practiced and trained for safety, but it’s also a great way to shave seconds and boost your overall athletic capacity.
