Cindy Workout: 5 Pull-Ups, 10 Push-Ups, 15 Air Squats

What is the Cindy workout?

Cindy is a fixed-time benchmark workout built around three bodyweight movements: pull-ups, push-ups and air squats. CrossFit first published Cindy on December 29, 2004. Its prescription is simple, but the 20-minute duration makes pacing, muscular endurance and consistency increasingly important as fatigue builds.

Unlike a workout where you race toward a fixed number of repetitions, Cindy fixes the time at 20 minutes. Your result is the amount of work completed during that time. That makes it useful as a repeatable benchmark: perform the same version later and compare the result.

RepCap is an independent workout-tracking app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by CrossFit, LLC.

How to do Cindy

Start a 20-minute timer, then work through the movements in order.

1. Do 5 pull-ups. Use the movement standard you chose for this attempt.
2. Do 10 push-ups. Move to the floor and complete ten repetitions.
3. Do 15 air squats. Stand and complete fifteen bodyweight squats.
4. Start the next round. After squat number 15, return to the pull-up bar.

Continue until the timer reaches zero. If you want a result comparable with a standard Cindy attempt, do not reorganize the reps into larger blocks: finish each 5–10–15 sequence before beginning the next round.

How is a Cindy workout scored?

A complete round contains 30 reps: 5 pull-ups + 10 push-ups + 15 air squats. Record your result as completed rounds + additional reps.

Recording the partial round matters. It can show improvement even when your number of completed rounds stays the same.

Compare like with like

Only compare scores directly when the workout configuration is the same. A result using ring rows is not equivalent to one using standard pull-ups. The same applies to assisted push-ups, a shortened time cap, or a changed rep scheme.

Always save the duration, pull-up variation, push-up variation, rep scheme, and final rounds plus reps. Modified workouts remain useful benchmarks when they are labeled consistently.

What is a good Cindy score?

There is no single good score for everybody. Movement standards, experience and scaling matter. CrossFit’s current guidance offers the broad reference points below, but your most useful benchmark is your own previous comparable result.

Moving from 8 rounds to 10 with the same movements is meaningful progress even if another athlete completes 20. Avoid combining scores from different scaled configurations into one personal-best number.

Plan your attempt

Cindy pace calculator

Your rounds do not need to be identical, but the target table shows what a goal costs. For example, 20 rounds means averaging one complete 5–10–15 round every minute for the entire workout.

What pace can I still hold at minute 15?

A common mistake is completing the opening rounds far faster than the pace you can realistically sustain for 20 minutes. Use the table to choose a controlled opening pace, not as a reason to sprint round one.

How should you pace Cindy?

Cindy rewards consistency. The opening rounds feel manageable because the sets are small, but pulling, pushing and squat volume accumulates quickly.

After the workout, ask where your pace started to slow and why. That is where round-level tracking becomes more informative than a final score alone.

What muscles does Cindy work?

Cindy combines a pull, a push and a squat. Pull-ups primarily challenge the upper back and arms while also demanding grip and trunk control. Push-ups train the chest, shoulders and triceps while the core maintains a stable body position. Air squats train the quadriceps and glutes, with the trunk helping maintain posture and control.

Together, these movement patterns create a broad full-body bodyweight workout. With no programmed rest and potentially hundreds of repetitions, Cindy also creates cardiovascular demand. Peer-reviewed research using Cindy as a high-intensity functional training protocol has observed vigorous heart-rate responses.

Can beginners do Cindy?

Yes, but the workout should match your current movement capacity. CrossFit’s current beginner variation is a 12-minute AMRAP of 3 ring rows, 6 assisted push-ups and 9 squats. This keeps the pull → push → squat structure while reducing duration and repetitions.

Label modifications. A scaled result is valuable, but it should not be presented as an Rx Cindy score.

Why is Cindy difficult if the exercises are simple?

None of the individual sets is large. That is what makes the workout deceptive. Five pull-ups, ten push-ups and fifteen squats may feel easy in isolation, but Cindy repeats those manageable sets while the clock keeps running.

The challenge comes from accumulated volume, muscular fatigue, cardiovascular demand, transition time and pacing. Small inefficiencies become visible when repeated for 20 minutes. The movements remain the same, while improvements in fitness, technique and pacing can all appear in the result.

Tom Holland’s reported 27-round Cindy score

Actor Tom Holland has publicly described Cindy as a simple workout he uses when time is limited. He said he believes his personal best is 27 rounds in 20 minutes. This is a self-reported training result, not an independently verified competition record.

Twenty-seven complete rounds means 810 repetitions: 135 pull-ups, 270 push-ups and 405 squats. It requires an average pace of roughly 44 seconds per complete round across the full workout.

That is an exceptionally high target, not the standard required for Cindy to be worthwhile. A better goal is to establish your own repeatable score and improve it over time.

How to track a Cindy workout

At minimum, start a 20-minute timer, count completed rounds, record partial reps when time expires, and save the exact movement configuration. That works, but losing count becomes surprisingly easy as fatigue builds.

RepCap is an automatic Cindy workout tracker designed around this problem. Place your phone where the workout can be seen and RepCap follows the sequence:

Pull-ups → Push-ups → Squats → Next round

RepCap can track reps, rounds, the current exercise, final score, round pace, exercise timing, breaks, transitions and workout history. You do Cindy. RepCap handles the counting.

Frequently asked questions