She’s a ….. - Wednesday, December 10th, 2025
She’s a …..
If you’ve never done her, you’ve likely heard her name whispered with a mix of excitement, fear, respect and maybe a little trauma: Fran.
She’s one of the original and most iconic CrossFit benchmark workouts, a true test of speed, intensity and capacity. And while there are plenty of well known benchmarks in CrossFit, Fran holds a unique spot. Murph is right up there in popularity, and it has extended far outside the CrossFit community, but Fran is different. She’s pure CrossFit. Short, fast, aggressive, and unforgiving. A simple combination of movements that hurts far more than it looks on paper.
What Is Fran?
21 - 15 - 9
Thrusters 95/65
Pull Ups
That’s it.
Two movements.
Descending reps.
Sprint from start to finish.
But anyone who has ever done Fran, knows that simple does not mean easy. The thruster and pull up pairing lights up the legs, lungs, grip and shoulders in a way that no amount of “prepping yourself” truly softens.
Fran is a gut-check.
A truth teller.
A workout where every second matters.
Honestly don’t mind the language but she’s a real B!+$#
So why do we test Fran? It isn’t like CrossFit Total and testing how strong you are, it’s about efficiency and control under fatigue. Fran tests:
Speed
Movement quality under stress
Breathing and pacing discipline
Grip and shoulder endurance
Mental grit
Whether your time is three minutes or nine minutes, the stimulus should remain the same. Fran demands your best effort, and it leaves you on the floor afterward.
Benchmark workouts like Fran show you where you are today and, more importantly, how far you’ve come since the last time you tackled her.
Throughout the year we have other ways to test a Fran like stimulus. While the whiteboard might not say Fran, you’ll find WODs where we’ve programmed different versions that give you that same fast and brutal, lung burning sprint stimulus, such as:
Burpees and pull ups
Wall balls and pull ups
Thrusters with a different rep scheme
Or other combinations that mimic Fran’s intensity curve
Often feel like Fran.
We traditionally test Fran every December, and depending on the programming cycle, we may see her one additional time throughout the year.
Not because we enjoy the collective groan that follows the post about Fran, but because benchmarks like Fran matter.
They’re repeatable.
They’re measurable.
They’re an honest snapshot of your fitness at that moment in time.
And this is exactly why we tell you to, WRITE. IT. DOWN.
You can only see improvement when you record your results.
Your past Fran time becomes a reference point, a reminder of the work you’ve put in, and a reason to be proud of the progress that isn’t always obvious day to day.
Fran has been around since the earliest days of CrossFit, and she remains one of the most celebrated, and dreaded, benchmarks we have. She’s short, she’s aggressive, and she always delivers the truth.
Love her or hate her, she makes you better.
So today, embrace her. Trust your training, push your pace, and then write it down so future you can look back and see just how far you’ve come.
Wednesday, December 10th, 2025
Focus:
Push Press
3 - 3 - 3 - 3
Warm up the Thruster
WOD:
Fran
21 - 15 - 9
Thrusters 95/65
Pull ups
Check back each night at 8pm for the next days WOD .
Contact us: Address: 200 Mountain Rd #3, Collingwood, ON L9Y 4V5 Phone: (705) 444-0006 Follow us on Instagram @crossfit_indestri