In the world of CrossFit, the “Girls” workouts are more than just challenging—they’re a tradition. These benchmark workouts test an athlete’s overall fitness and provide a way to track progress over time. Cindy is one of the most beloved (and dreaded) workouts in this series. It’s simple in concept but difficult in execution, making it a staple for athletes of all levels.
What is Cindy?
Cindy is an AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) workout with a 20-minute time cap. The workout is composed of three classic bodyweight movements:
- 5 Pull-ups
- 10 Push-ups
- 15 Air Squats
The goal is to complete as many rounds as possible within 20 minutes. It’s deceptively simple, yet as anyone who has tackled Cindy knows, it’s brutal. The workout challenges endurance, strength, and stamina all at once, making it a fantastic test of general physical preparedness.
The “Girls” Workouts: Benchmarking Fitness
The “Girls” are a collection of iconic benchmark workouts that are part of CrossFit’s system for measuring fitness. These workouts are designed to be simple, yet highly effective, testing different elements of fitness like strength, endurance, and coordination.
Each workout in the “Girls” series is a snapshot of a CrossFitter’s overall fitness. They are intended to be repeated over time to measure improvements and to challenge athletes across different domains of fitness. Cindy, in particular, is a great test of bodyweight strength, muscular endurance, and aerobic conditioning.
Why Cindy is a Unique Benchmark
While Cindy may look like a straightforward workout on paper, it offers a unique challenge. Here’s why it’s so effective:
- Bodyweight Movements: Cindy uses only bodyweight exercises, meaning no equipment is needed, besides a pull up bar or alternative. This makes it an accessible workout for everyone, whether you’re training at a gym or in your living room. But just because the movements are simple doesn’t mean they’re easy. The repeated effort of pull-ups, push-ups, and squats adds up quickly, pushing your endurance to its limit.
- Stamina and Muscular Endurance: Unlike some other “Girls” workouts that are more focused on pure strength (like Diane or Grace), Cindy targets muscular endurance. Your body needs to sustain continuous movement over the entire 20-minute period. Each round becomes progressively harder as fatigue sets in.
- Scalability: Cindy is highly scalable, making it suitable for athletes of all levels. For those just starting out, scaled options such as assisted pull-ups, knee push-ups, or box squats can help. Advanced athletes can challenge themselves by striving for more rounds or by performing unbroken sets of each movement. This scalability ensures that Cindy can always provide a challenge, no matter your fitness level.
- Mental Toughness: Like all CrossFit workouts, Cindy demands mental fortitude. With each round, fatigue begins to accumulate, and your muscles start to burn. This is where the mental game comes in—pushing through the discomfort and continuing to move forward is often the hardest part. You’ll learn a lot about your own determination as you push yourself to do just one more round.
How Cindy fits into the broader context of the “Girls” workouts:
- Full-Body Challenge: While Fran (thrusters and pull-ups) and Grace (clean and jerks) might challenge a specific strength component, Cindy hits the whole body in a continuous and sustained manner. The pull-ups test your upper body pulling strength, push-ups target your upper body pressing power, and air squats focus on your legs and core. This makes Cindy a great “full-body” workout that engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
- Endurance and Volume: Cindy is one of the longer “Girls” workouts (at 20 minutes), meaning it tests aerobic capacity alongside strength. Some of the shorter benchmark workouts, like Fran, are sprint-style tests, but Cindy is a true test of stamina and endurance. Completing 20 minutes of constant movement requires cardiovascular fitness and the ability to push through muscle fatigue.
- Mental Game: As with many “Girls” workouts, Cindy also challenges your mental toughness. Unlike shorter workouts where you can push hard for a few minutes, Cindy forces you to stay consistent over a longer time. It’s not just about moving quickly; it’s about pacing yourself, recovering, and staying in the game for the long haul.
Why Cindy is So Effective
Cindy is effective because it combines simplicity with intensity. The bodyweight exercises require little to no equipment, so you can do it anywhere, at any time. The workout is a true test of functional fitness—the kind of fitness that applies directly to real-life activities. We all perform bodyweight movements in everyday life, from picking up objects (squats) to pushing open a door (push-ups) or pulling yourself up (pull-ups). Cindy is a great reminder that bodyweight exercises can be just as challenging as those involving weights.
But more importantly, Cindy allows athletes to see how far they’ve come in their CrossFit journey. As a repeatable benchmark, it serves as a constant measure of progress, helping you assess your endurance, strength, and ability to keep going when it gets tough.
How Cindy Helps Track Progress
Just like any benchmark workout, Cindy serves as a tool for tracking your fitness. By completing Cindy regularly, you can see how your endurance, strength, and consistency improve over time. Here’s what Cindy helps measure:
- Endurance: The longer you can sustain effort, the more endurance you have. Cindy is a fantastic way to test how long you can push yourself without burning out.
- Strength: Over time, you’ll be able to complete more rounds as your strength improves. As pull-ups, push-ups, and squats become easier, you’ll notice an increase in your capacity to complete the workout.
- Consistency: Cindy challenges your ability to maintain a steady pace for 20 minutes. As you improve, you’ll find yourself keeping a more consistent pace throughout the entire workout.
Conclusion
Cindy is a classic CrossFit benchmark workout that provides a challenging test of muscular endurance, stamina, and mental toughness. As part of the “Girls” workouts, it stands as a key component of CrossFit’s approach to developing general physical preparedness. Whether you’re just starting your CrossFit journey or are a seasoned athlete, Cindy has something to offer. It’s a workout that can be scaled to any level, and it rewards consistency, endurance, and mental strength.