This is the exact workout routine Tom Holland used to build his Spider-Man body, and it only takes 20 minutes
His classic CrossFit workout delivers Hollywood conditioning with zero fancy equipment.
Every time a new superhero movie drops, the same question follows: how did they get that body, and how could we do the same? Most of what leaks out of Hollywood training camps involves private coaches, specialized nutrition plans, and schedules most of us couldn’t sustain even without a day job. It starts to feel like fitness at that level is just another thing money buys. Then Tom Holland shared his go-to workout: three exercises in 20 minutes.
When Tom Holland isn’t swinging between buildings on set, he is not just resting on a sofa. In a recent interview with Men’s Health UK, the 30-year-old Spider-Man star revealed the workout he does when his schedule gets tight: a CrossFit circuit called “Cindy” that takes exactly 20 minutes and requires nothing but a pull-up bar and your own bodyweight. The story went viral almost immediately, with fans and fitness creators scrambling to match his result, but most of them are falling short.
The routine is super simple. You do 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats, then repeat that circuit as many times as possible in 20 minutes. Holland’s personal record is 27 rounds, which adds up to 135 pull-ups, 270 push-ups, and 405 squats in the span of a single TV episode. “It’s great,” he told Men’s Health UK. “You don’t have to think about anything. You just count your rounds.” If you have ever done high-intensity training, you know that even basic counting can be challenging.
He also shared that the workout scales to whatever he has in the tank on a given day. “Sometimes if I’m feeling really tired, I’ll do one round on the minute every minute, so you do 20 rounds,” he explained. “And then if I’m feeling great, I will just push through and do as many as I can.” That flexibility is part of what makes it his go-to: the same workout doubles as a recovery session or an all-out test, depending on how the day is going.
Content creator Skye Mackintosh, known online as the “Daily Reps Guy,” put the benchmark to the test himself, showing up in a Spider-Man costume and grinding through 24 rounds before visibly fading around the 13th circuit. His assessment of Holland afterward was simple: “a beast.”
Why is it called Cindy?
CrossFit has a long tradition of naming its benchmark workouts after women, borrowing the convention from the National Weather Service, which has named storms since the 1950s. The CrossFit Journal’s original explanation was characteristically blunt: these workouts deserve women’s names because they “leave you flat on your back and incapacitated only to lure you back for more at a later date.” Whether you find that charming or grim probably depends on how your last workout went.
Cindy first appeared on the CrossFit website in December 2004 and quickly became one of the most recognized benchmarks in the sport. Its staying power comes from a rare combination of qualities: accessible enough for beginners, scalable for intermediate athletes, and genuinely punishing at the elite level. You need no equipment beyond a pull-up bar, you can do it anywhere, and your score gives you an honest read on where your conditioning actually stands, with no machines, no plates, and no room to hide.
The routine
CrossFit coaches generally consider 10 to 12 rounds a solid beginner score, 13 to 18 rounds intermediate, 20 to 25 rounds advanced, and anything above 25 rounds elite-tier. Holland’s 27-round PR puts him squarely above that top bracket, which makes sense for someone whose Spider-Man: Brand New Day training block also included a 1,500-rep bodyweight ladder every Monday, alongside gymnastics-based conditioning work with trainer Duffy Gaver, the same coach who built Chris Hemsworth’s physique for Thor.
Holland has been clear that his results aren’t only about what happens in the gym. “My diet is far more important than what I do in the gym,” he said. “For me to see results, it’s 80% diet and 20% fitness.” His meals revolve around whole, protein-rich dishes, often prepared by his chef brother.
But the reason Cindy is worth stealing from Holland’s routine isn’t his score. It’s the mindset behind it. “I just really loved the kind of competitive edge of it,” he said of CrossFit. “Setting goals, trying to beat your personal best.” That’s it. No complicated programming, no expensive equipment, no hour-long sessions. Just you, a bar, and a number to chase.
Your first attempt is your baseline. The only score that matters after that is whether you beat it next time.
