21-15-9 thrusters and pull-ups for time. Two movements, 45 reps each, and one of the most brutal two-to-ten minutes in fitness. Rx, scaled, dumbbell, and no-pull-up-bar versions — everything you need.
Complete all thrusters before moving to pull-ups in each round. Total: 45 thrusters + 45 pull-ups.
Fran is one of the original six benchmark workouts from September 2003. CrossFit founder Greg Glassman paired thrusters with pull-ups after discovering that heavy compound movements lit up his lungs the same way gymnastics did. The 21-15-9 rep scheme keeps the sets large enough to be demanding and small enough to stay fast — if you scale correctly, you should never break the bar and never stop moving.
The thruster is the real engine of Fran. It’s a front squat immediately followed by a push press — every rep demands your legs, your core, and your shoulders in sequence. String 21 together and your heart rate spikes faster than almost any other exercise in CrossFit. Then you walk to the pull-up bar. That’s where Fran earns its reputation.
Fran Lung is a real phenomenon — a deep, burning sensation in your lungs that sets in during the pull-ups and makes breathing feel impossible. It’s caused by the extreme cardiovascular demand of cycling thrusters: your diaphragm and respiratory muscles fatigue under load, and the transition to pull-ups doesn’t give them a break. If you’ve never experienced it, you’ll recognise it immediately the first time. If you have, you know exactly why Fran has the reputation it does. The fix is scaling — the right weight and pull-up option keeps you moving fast enough to spike the heart rate without grinding to a halt.
At the Rx weight of 95/65 lb, the barbell should feel light — you should be able to do 15+ unbroken reps before the workout starts. If you can’t, scale the weight. Fran’s stimulus is intensity, not load. A scaled Fran done in 4 minutes is a better workout than an Rx Fran that takes 15.
Fran is designed to take between 2 and 10 minutes. If your time goes much past 10 minutes, you didn’t scale enough — and the stimulus is lost. The goal is to be moving continuously, at high intensity, for the full duration. Here’s how to pick your scaling:
The scaling rule for Fran: choose a thruster load you can do 15 unbroken reps with before the workout. Choose a pull-up option you can string together in sets of 5+ without long rests. If either of these isn’t true, go lighter / easier. Fran punishes ego scaling harder than almost any other benchmark.
Fran is one of the more equipment-friendly benchmarks — it only requires a barbell and a pull-up bar. But if you’re training at home or in a hotel without either, here’s how to replicate the stimulus.
Dumbbell thrusters are actually harder to cycle than barbell thrusters — there’s no barbell to bounce, and the dumbbells require more stability. Go lighter than you think.
| Equipment you have | Thruster sub | Pull-up sub | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dumbbells + pull-up bar | Dumbbell thrusters | Pull-ups | Standard dumbbell Fran. Go lighter than Rx equivalent. |
| Dumbbells only | Dumbbell thrusters | Table rows / towel rows | Table rows: lie under a sturdy table, grip the edge, pull chest up. |
| Resistance bands only | Banded overhead press + air squat (alternating) | Banded rows (anchor low, pull to chest) | Not a perfect sub, but preserves push/pull and squat stimulus. |
| Nothing / bodyweight | Wall balls or goblet squat + push press | Jumping pull-ups (outdoor bar / playground) | If truly no equipment: 21-15-9 of burpees for similar intensity. |
| Rings or TRX | Dumbbell thrusters or barbell | Ring rows (feet elevated for more difficulty) | Elevate feet to increase ring row difficulty and match pull-up stimulus. |
Fran is not a workout you pace. It’s a workout you survive. The goal is to go as fast as possible while keeping the barbell moving and minimising time off the pull-up bar. Here’s how different athletes approach it:
Resting with the bar overhead. The instinct when you need a break mid-thruster is to hold the bar overhead. Don’t — your shoulders fatigue fastest in that position and it kills your next set. If you need to rest, bring the bar to the front rack and breathe there instead.
Chalking up between movements. Elite athletes don’t chalk between thrusters and pull-ups. Every second standing at a chalk bucket is a second not moving. Get your chalk during a planned break within a set, not during the transition.
Fran has more data behind it than almost any other benchmark because it’s been done millions of times worldwide since 2003. These are honest ranges based on real community data — not aspirational.
| Level | Men (Rx: 95 lb) | Women (Rx: 65 lb) | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite / Games-level | < 2:30 | < 2:30 | Mostly unbroken. Continuous movement throughout. Record: ~1:45. |
| Advanced | 2:30–4:00 | 2:30–4:00 | Unbroken or minimal breaks. Strong kipping pull-ups. |
| Experienced | 4:00–7:00 | 4:00–7:00 | Planned breaks, consistent pace. Sub-6 is a meaningful milestone. |
| Intermediate | 7:00–10:00 | 7:00–10:00 | Multiple breaks on thrusters and pull-ups. Still moving with urgency. |
| Beginner (scaled) | 8:00–15:00 | 8:00–15:00 | Light load, ring rows or jumping pull-ups. Under 12 minutes is a solid goal. |
The most important benchmark is your own last time. Write down your weight, your pull-up style, and your time every time you do Fran. A 30-second improvement year over year is meaningful progress. Changing the weight or pull-up type between attempts makes comparison meaningless — keep the variables consistent.
Unlike Murph, Fran is worth retesting every 2–3 months because a sub-10-minute workout is easy to recover from. Each retest builds the mental and physical familiarity with the suffering, which is half the battle.
No barbell? FITL substitutes dumbbell thrusters. No pull-up bar? Ring rows or table rows — with a note explaining the substitution. Your daily workout, built for your setup every day — not just on Fran day.