Your total is set by your weakest lift — why a two-time champion trained his
In short
The 2026 CrossFit Games ran the most expansive individual competition in its history with 20 scored events, and the winner finished on 1,318 points, 27 ahead of second place. A 10th-place finish in the final event was enough — he won on relentless consistency across four days rather than outright domination. Most of his training was centred not on his strengths but on top-end strength, where he lagged the field, built around heavy lifts, accessory hypertrophy work and Olympic lifting.
The 2026 CrossFit Games was the most expansive individual competition in Games history: 20 scored events designed to test virtually every dimension of fitness, from strength and gymnastics to endurance, speed and power. Previous editions had run anywhere between 10 and 12.
The winner finished on 1,318 points, holding off second place by 27. How he won is the interesting part. It was built less on outright domination than on never dropping off the top of the leaderboard across four days. His finish in the final event was 10th place, and that was enough.
Where did most of the training go?
CrossFit mixes strength, gymnastics and monostructural cardio work, so you have to be well-versed in all of them. His own assessment: he holds his own on the monostructural work and is pretty good at gymnastics. And top-end strength is where he lacks compared to the other guys.
So most of his training was centred on that weakness. Heavy lifts, a lot of accessory work, hypertrophy work to build bigger, stronger muscles, and a lot of Olympic lifting. He did not spend the time getting better at what he was already good at.
For a 20-event format specifically, he amped up volume considerably and widened the range of what he trained — running up hills, swimming more, going to the track more often. That was how he prepared for a competition whose contents he could not predict.
What changed between generations
His read on the difference between eras points the same way. Athletes back then largely attacked a workout as hard as they possibly could, with little pacing or strategy involved. Now athletes break down every piece and detail of a workout, and put far more thinking into their training programmes and their approach to competition. That, he argues, is why the big leaps are happening.
The weakness-first principle has an exception. A painful joint or an area recovering from injury is not a "weakness" to attack — it is something to manage. The weakness meant here is a healthy but underdeveloped area.
How this relates to your strength score
A relative strength score is calculated from the sum of your squat, bench press and deadlift one-rep maxes. That structure produces a blunt conclusion: a kilo added to any of the three contributes exactly the same to your total. Going from 200kg to 205kg on the deadlift and going from 70kg to 75kg on the bench are worth identical points.
But those two 5kg jumps cost different amounts. Five kilos on a lift you are already good at can take months; five kilos on an underdeveloped lift often takes weeks. In total-based scoring, the cheapest points on the board are sitting on your weakest lift.
Most people do the opposite anyway, because training your best lift feels good. Strong deadlifters look forward to deadlift day and quietly reschedule bench day. That a two-time champion allocated his training the other way round is worth sitting with. Put your three current numbers into the calculator and it is immediately obvious which lift is holding the total down.
On how to add volume to a weak lift, see volume versus intensity.
Frequently asked questions
Should you train your strengths or your weaknesses?
In anything scored on a total, weaknesses are the more efficient investment. The 2026 CrossFit Games winner was already strong on monostructural work and gymnastics, but centred most of his training on top-end strength, where he lagged the field.
Why is weight added to a weak lift worth more?
In a scoring system based on the Big 3 total, a kilo on any lift contributes identically. But five kilos on a lift you are already good at can take months while five kilos on an underdeveloped lift often takes weeks — so the same points come cheaper.
What was different about the 2026 CrossFit Games?
It was the most expansive individual competition in Games history, with 20 scored events across four days testing strength, gymnastics, endurance, speed and power. Previous editions had run between 10 and 12 events.
Does consistency beat domination?
In total-based scoring, yes. The 2026 winner did not stack event wins; he stayed near the top of the leaderboard for four days, and a 10th-place finish in the final event was enough to protect a 27-point margin.
Are there exceptions to training your weakness?
Yes. A painful joint or an area recovering from injury is something to manage rather than attack. The weakness meant here is a healthy but underdeveloped area.
Source: Men's Health Fitness