📈 How Moritz Fiebig Found Another Gear in 2026

September 3rd, 2026

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • ✈️ 📈 Moritz Fiebig arrived in the U.S. four weeks before the Games this year instead of one — one of several changes that helped him finally crack the top 10. Now he wants to see how high he can climb.

  • 💪🏃 HYROX puts a unique amount of stress on your tendons, especially when volume ramps up too quickly. Check out the three injuries showing up most — and how to avoid them.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
❝

It’s a bucket list thing to do as an athlete in CrossFit, because it’s always a very cool event, and I have never done it before.”

Moritz Fiebig on his first career Rogue Invitational berth.
PROFILE

Moritz Fiebig Finally Cracked the Games Top 10 — Here’s What Changed

Credit: Scott Freymond

Jet lag is potent.

That might be the biggest lesson five-time CrossFit Games veteran Moritz Fiebig learned at the recent Games, where he finished in the top 10 for the first time in his career. 

  • “It was the first time after four years having this good of an experience at the Games,” Germany’s Fiebig said. “I finally felt capable of showing what I normally show I can do at Semifinals.”

One of the biggest differences Fiebig identified was the time-change factor. 

In the past, Fiebig always flew to the US closer to the start of the Games and never felt like himself there. But this year, he first spent a week and a half training in London, UK, then flew to the US four full weeks before the Games, where he prepared at Diablo CrossFit in Pleasant Hill, CA.

Another reason for his success: A new coach.

One year ago, in September 2025, Fiebig decided to leave The Progrm and began working with coach Michael Allen, who also coaches Games athlete Harry Lightfoot.

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SPEED READS

🤝🧠 Your Gym Changes More Than Your Fitness: Research suggests healthy behaviors spread through social connections, helping explain why CrossFit’s community can turn showing up into something deeper — an identity. Surround yourself with people who train, and being “an athlete” can become part of who you are.

📅🔥 The Countdown Is On: CrossFit has announced the dates for the 2027 Open, giving athletes their target as the road to next season gets underway.

🎒💪 Beat the Back-to-School Fitness Cliff: When school starts, packed schedules can send workouts and gym visits tumbling. Gym owners and coaches can fight the fall drop-off by making routines easier to maintain and helping members stay consistent when life gets busy.

ICYMI: World Records Hold at XENOM London; Pot Grows to $15,000 for XENOM Miami (Rx article)

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

3 Common HYROX Injuries and How to Keep Them From Derailing Your Training

Credit: @pumatraining / Instagram

In case you missed it, HYROX is having a moment. 

More than 1.5 million people completed a HYROX race last year, and participation is expected to reach at least 2 million in 2027.

But as more athletes take on the unique demands of a HYROX race, another trend is emerging: common injuries.

Nobody knows this better than Steven Witchoskey, a physical therapist and the owner of Bold Sports Medicine, a clinic with two locations in Florida. 

In the past couple of years, Witchoskey has seen “a big uptick” in patients presenting with injuries stemming from HYROX training, many of which can be prevented or avoided altogether with the right precautions. 

  • “It was the same thing when pickleball got big. All of a sudden people were coming in with all these weird tennis-type injuries," Witchoskey said.

In the case of HYROX, the big three injuries Witchoskey keeps seeing over and over are all overuse ones:

  • Achilles tendonitis

  • Patellar tendonitis 

  • Rotator cuff tendonitis

HIGHLIGHTS

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