Fran
The best-known CrossFit benchmark: a 21-15-9 couplet of thrusters and pull-ups, prized for being short, simple to understand, and brutally unforgiving of an overly aggressive early pace.
Movements in this workout
Scaling
Scaled
65/45 lb thrusters; jumping pull-ups or a band. Keep the reps at 21-15-9 — the scheme is the workout. Target: finish under 10 minutes with no set lasting less than 5 reps.
Beginner
Empty-bar or light-dumbbell thrusters; ring rows. Cut the scheme to 15-12-9. The goal is continuous movement and a first benchmark time to beat, not survival.
The story
The most famous workout in CrossFit. Its blend of two simple movements at a load light enough to keep moving — but heavy enough to punish — made it the sport's universal handshake: 'What's your Fran time?' remains the question CrossFitters ask each other first. Elite athletes finish under 2 minutes; sub-5 is a widely used marker of solid fitness. Part of CrossFit's original 'Girls' benchmark series — named workouts introduced by founder Greg Glassman starting in 2003, on the logic that anything that leaves you flat on your back deserves a name like a storm. They serve as repeatable fitness tests: revisit one every few months and the clock tells you whether you're fitter. First posted to CrossFit.com on 2003-08-25.
First posted 2003-08-25
More The Girls
Structured data from the WodWiz Open WOD Database (CC BY 4.0).