WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Tom Holland favors Cindy, a 20 minute CrossFit routine involving repeated pull-ups, push-ups and air squats.
- Skye Mackintosh attempted the demanding routine while wearing a replica Spider-Man costume.
- Mackintosh appeared tired after 13 rounds but continued and completed 24 rounds.
- His fitness transformation began after a 2024 photograph prompted him to share daily 20 minute workouts online.
A fitness creator known for squeezing demanding workouts into 20 minutes has put himself through Tom Holland’s preferred CrossFit routine. The compact challenge sounds simple on paper, but its relentless pace delivered a punishing test.
Holland recently revealed that his favored workout is a CrossFit routine called Cindy. Despite the gentle sounding name, the session requires participants to repeat three familiar exercises as many times as possible before the clock runs out.
Each round consists of five pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 air squats. The goal is to complete as many rounds as possible within 20 minutes, making speed, stamina and consistency crucial throughout the workout.
“It’s great,” Holland told Men’s Health. “You don’t have to think about anything, you just count your rounds.”
The effort described for Holland reaches a formidable scale, involving 135 pull-ups, 270 push-ups and 405 squats within 20 minutes. It is apparently a routine the Spider-Man star prefers when he is short on time.
When Holland is feeling particularly tired, he instead completes one round every minute. Maintaining that pattern across the full session produces 20 rounds, which still represents a substantial volume of exercise in a tightly controlled period.
While many people might struggle to imagine completing so many repetitions, content creator Skye Mackintosh decided to test himself against the routine. Mackintosh is known as Daily Reps Guy on TikTok and Instagram, where he shares his 20 minute workouts.
For the attempt, Mackintosh wore a replica Spider-Man costume and exercised in a makeshift gym. He joked that taking on Holland’s routine felt “inevitable” before beginning the exhausting sequence of pull-ups, push-ups and squats.
By the time he reached 13 rounds, Mackintosh was noticeably tired. He continued despite the fatigue and ultimately completed 24 rounds before the 20 minute session came to an end.
“Tom Holland, you’re a beast,” Mackintosh said after finishing the challenge. He explained that he had previously only completed the routine using the every minute on the minute format.
The Cindy workout requires relatively little equipment despite its demanding structure. Anyone attempting it needs access to a pull-up bar, along with enough room to perform push-ups and air squats safely.
Mackintosh began building his sizeable online following after seeing a photograph of himself in 2024 that he did not recognize. The image followed a period of casual weight gain and prompted him to pursue new fitness goals.
At age 31, Mackintosh created Instagram and TikTok accounts because he believed sharing the journey publicly would give him the pressure needed to continue. “I knew that if I put my fitness journey online, I wouldn’t be able to face the embarrassment of not following through on my word.”
He selected 20 minutes because he believed 30 minutes would not always be achievable, while 10 minutes did not appear sufficient. He also considered the prospect of having more children, eventually becoming a grandfather and facing possible changes in his career.
After 351 days of dedication, Mackintosh had developed a noticeably ripped physique. He also overhauled his diet, which now includes a chocolate protein drink made with five servings of liquid egg whites and assistance from AI when identifying restaurants suited to his dietary requirements.
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