Helen, with 16,486 posts, has recently passed Cindy, 15,707 posts, to become the second most performed CrossFit workout. Let’s figure out why.
If you’ve been with us for a while now, you might’ve browsed our workout collection a few times and noticed a strict hierarchy of workouts based on popularity. Fran has led the way from the very beginning, and rightfully so. It’s certainly the most iconic CrossFit workout and, often times, is used as an introduction to the ever-growing strength and conditioning program. The rest of the top ten consists of the usual suspects: Filthy Fifty, Fight Gone Bad, The CrossFit Total, Angie. Since BTW’s inception, Cindy has held the distinction of the second most popular workout (which is pretty huge considering it is unlikely Fran will ever be dethroned), that is, until Helen recently surpassed it.
What Makes Them Different
Helen, for most people, is a full on sprint(or attempt at one), while cindy is a hard grind for 20 minutes. In fact, Cindy is deceivingly tough, because most people can’t go hard for 20 minutes with proper form.
Personal Standpoint
I find it a tad shocking. If I had the choice between doing Cindy or Helen, I’d choose Cindy at least 7 times out of 10. My reasoning? It’s simple, period. It can be completed within a 5 ft radius, you can do all of it indoors, and, perhaps most important of all, it doesn’t have an ounce of running. I’m not the biggest fan of running, and I know for a fact that is a sentiment I share with many people. So what does it all mean?
CrossFIt HQ (Main Site)
Is it possible CrossFit HQ feels the same way? When looking at the frequency in which the two WODS have been assigned over the past couple of years, it wouldn’t appear so. Since January 2008, Helen has showed up on the main site 9 times, while Cindy has made a whopping 14 appearances. Therefore we can’t attribute the higher number of Helen posts to HQ. This is 100% a result of the community.
CrossFit Attitude?
Perhaps it’s an indicator of CrossFitters’ willingness to work on their weaknesses (ie. running). Makes sense. It aligns perfectly with the CrossFit mentality. As people become more and more aware of the CrossFit way, Helen has been thrown into the mix more and more. Maybe it’s a result of popular coverage. We’ve all seen the famed OPT Sub 7 Min Helen video. That’s not to say Cindy doesn’t have a lot of videos out there. Quite the contrary actually. But how many 30 round Cindy’s have you seen? Probably a lot. Sub 7 Helens are few and far between, which gives it that little something special. Also, so many Cindy videos seem filled with shoddy push-up and air squat standards that the workout seems to have lost its luster over the years.
Bottom line, it’s great to see the community evolving along with the site. We realize the existence of popular CrossFit workouts, but lets not forget one of the most important CrossFit elements…constant variation!
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