If you consider Tom Holland, you might image him swinging between skyscrapers or backflipping as Spider-Man, not grinding via CrossFit-style exercises. However throughout press for Spider-Man: No Method Dwelling, Holland revealed that his go-to exercise was the long-lasting CrossFit WOD “Cindy.” Right here’s the loopy kicker to Tom Holland’s CrossFit “Cindy” exercise numbers: His finest is 27 rounds in 20 minutes. Let that sink in for a second.
That’s 135 pull-ups, 270 push-ups, and 405 air squats.
Cindy appears easy on paper as a result of how exhausting can body weight be? But it surely’s a basic check of grit, pacing, and full-body muscular endurance. Whether or not you’re chasing Holland’s rating or wish to stage up your conditioning, this text will make it easier to build the strength, stamina, and mental toughness to go toe-to-toe with certainly one of Hollywood’s fittest stars. Let’s break all of it down with the assistance of Dr. Bo Babenko, then construct it up, and simply possibly, beat Spider-Man at his personal sport. Are you in? Then let’s go.
Why Crossfit “Cindy” Exercise Works Wonders
Cindy on paper is primary: 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats, repeated for 20 minutes. However don’t mistake primary for simple. This exercise has humbled many CrossFit athletes and health fanatics.
It focuses on push, pull, and squat, three motion patterns that prepare your total physique. You’re coaching again, chest, arms, shoulders, core, and decrease physique each spherical. Moreover, there’s no built-in relaxation; you’re additionally putting your cardiovascular system to the test.
Right here’s what you’ll get when you attempt it.
- It’s time-efficient: You get a full-body exercise in a brief period of time.
- It builds muscular endurance: Particularly within the higher physique, which tends to fatigue first.
- It’s a psychological check: You construct psychological toughness by retaining your tempo, pushing via fatigue, and refusing to faucet out earlier than the clock runs out.
What It Takes To Take On Tom Holland
If you happen to’re admiring Tom Holland’s 27-round efficiency like we’re, perceive this: You’re competing towards your physique and the clock. To finish 27 rounds in 20 minutes, it’s worthwhile to end one spherical each 44 seconds, with out fail. That’s elite-level pacing, flawless transitions, and severe muscular endurance.
It’s not simply spectacular—it’s downright freakishly environment friendly. Whereas most individuals crash and burn, Holland thrives. Why? First, he turns it into an EMOM problem, the place he completes one spherical each minute for 20 minutes. If you happen to end a spherical in 40 seconds, congrats—you’ve earned 20 seconds of worthwhile relaxation. Second, Holland usually wears a weighted vest to extend the depth additional. The additional resistance turns every repetition right into a problem and prepares his physique for regardless of the Spider-Man go well with throws at him.
Final however not least, he additionally dietary supplements Cindy’s routine with high-rep body weight ladder exercises—comparable to a monster 1,500-rep session that includes pull-ups, dips, push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. His strategy is centered on excessive quantity, strict self-discipline, and psychological toughness.
To match Holland’s file, you want a sensible sport plan. Making an attempt to repeat his strategy is a certain option to burn out and get injured. Nonetheless, with this coaching technique, you possibly can construct your engine, resilience, and velocity to achieve that 27-round objective.
Subsequent up: a progressive coaching plan that will help you do exactly that.
The ten-Week Cindy Exercise Coaching Plan
The primary stumbling block for knocking out the Cindy WOD is your pull-up energy and grip endurance. If performing 5 unbroken pull-ups is an issue, Dr. Bo has an answer.
“I’m an enormous fan of the Russian fighter pull-up program from Pavel Tsatsouline to construct pull-up energy,” he says. “Moreover, enhancing your total grip energy and hanging capability usually enhances your skill to carry out strict pull-ups. I like Ido Portal’s thought of accumulating a number of minutes of hanging every day for a constant month—his foremost problem is seven minutes a day.“
If that’s a problem, begin there. If not, let’s start constructing that base.
Construct the Base (Weeks 1–4)
Aim: Groove excellent type and construct consistency as much as 15 rounds.
Focus: Nail type on push-ups, pull-ups, and squats to enhance effectivity and forestall overuse accidents, and to turn into accustomed to fatigue.
EMOM 10: You’ll rotate via pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats, unfold throughout a repeating 3-minute cycle. You’ll proceed this sample for 10 minutes or longer.
- Minute 1: Carry out 3 pull-ups, then relaxation the rest of the minute.
- Minute 2: Carry out 6 push-ups, then relaxation the rest of the minute.
- Minute 3: Carry out 9 air squats, then relaxation the rest of the minute.
That’s 1 spherical of the cycle. Repeat this 3-minute cycle for 3 to five complete rounds, relying in your health stage and tolerance. Do that twice per week.
Half Cindy: 10-minute AMRAP of three pull-ups, 6 push-ups, 9 air squats. Deal with retaining every spherical easy and regular. Contemplate including yet one more rep to the squats and push-ups every week. Carry out this as soon as each week.
Dial Within the Engine (Weeks 5–7)
Aim: Enhance pacing, cut back transition time, construct towards 20+ rounds.
Focus: To remain in step with sub-1-minute rounds and enhance complete quantity every session.
Cindy Pacing Drills: Carry out 1 spherical each 60 seconds for 10–quarter-hour. If that’s doable, shorten relaxation to 45-50 seconds per spherical. Do that twice per week,
Triset Circuit: 3 rounds (not for time)
- 1A. 8 Push-Ups
- 1B. 13 Air Squats
- 1C. 5 Pull-ups
Relaxation 60 seconds after every Triset. Do that as soon as per week, and every week, add an additional spherical.
Go Time (Weeks 8–10)
Aim: Hit 25+ rounds in coaching and break via plateaus. Do every exercise solely as soon as per week, then relaxation for per week and attempt to beat Tom’s file.
Focus: Preserve velocity with out a drop-off in type, embrace the grind, and concentrate on easy transitions. Transferring instantly between actions saves valuable seconds.
20-Minute AMRAP Take a look at (Cindy): Hit it contemporary as soon as per week and attempt to beat your earlier rating.
Dying By Cindy: Is a progressive, escalating exercise the place you carry out Cindy rounds on the minute, including one further spherical each minute till you possibly can not sustain.
- Minute 1: Do 1 full spherical of Cindy (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats)
- Minute 2: Do 2 rounds
- Minute 3: Do 3 rounds (If you happen to ever get right here, take a bow)
Transition Pace Circuit
- 1A. 5 Pull-Ups
- 1B. 10 Push-Ups
- 1C. 15 Squats
- 1D. 10 Unilateral Dumbbell Rows per facet
- 1E. 10 Incline Plyo Push-Ups
- 1F. 15 Squats
3–4 rounds, no relaxation between workout routines, 60 sec relaxation on the finish of every circuit
Dr. Bo Babenko Type Ideas for Tom Holland’s CrossFit ‘Cindy’ Exercise
When time is of the essence, effectivity and type come first. Right here, Dr. Bo explains the finer particulars of the pull-up, push-up, and air squat so you possibly can take goal at Spiderman.
Pull-Ups
Method can be usually missed in terms of pull-ups—easy cues comparable to wrapping your thumb across the bar, getting your knuckles up towards the ceiling to ‘rev the bar up,’ and creating exterior rotation torque to attach the arms all through the arms into the lats may help.
Push-Ups
For Cindy, hand placement will decide how shortly you fatigues. To attenuate fatigue, fluctuate your grip and hand placement repeatedly. Tempo is significant for a similar cause; we wish to keep a handy guide a rough concentric tempo, in any other case it’s a signal that fatigue is taking on. If you happen to start to battle via fatigue and sacrifice type, we begin to edge nearer to the danger of damage.
Shave Seconds Off Your Air Squats
In terms of replicating Tom Holland’s CrossFit ‘Cindy’ Exercise as a lot as doable, essentially the most simple answer is to regulate your foot placement. It is advisable discover a option to enhance quantity and handle fatigue by sustaining your ultimate squat place. Nonetheless, within the brief time period, when you’re making an attempt to enhance your rating, use a bounce or rebound by partaking your hamstrings and hitting your calves. This system must be practiced and educated for security, however it’s additionally a good way to shave seconds and increase your total athletic capability.
