Precision, Discipline & Purpose: Inside Madabolic’s Uncompromising Programming

MADabolic’s purposeful training schedule is carefully crafted to deliver results in the flavors of strength and resilience — which can be  hard to come by in an industry heavily swayed by trends. 

In a booming industry now with no shortage of faces in the crowd, MADabolic continues to stand out. Built around a culture that demands discipline and consistency, a nod to the Co-Founders’ background in professional hockey, the brand facilitates structured strength training and conditioning through a progressive, periodized system. It’s not for everyone — and doesn’t aim to be. 

“While we consider industry shifts as well as owner, trainer and client feedback, we always measure those inputs against the core principles on which we founded the brand,” said Kirk DeWaele, Co-Founder and Chief Training Officer of MADabolic. “Our system is designed to evolve intelligently, not reactively. We don’t chase trends; we refine what already works.”

Structure is at the backbone of MADabolic’s training program. Each day follows a deliberate protocol with an assigned percentage-based intensity, which asks members to be intentional with their pacing. The assigned pacing and work-to-rest ratios range from a slow grind to all out max effort. 

It’s this unique formula that gives MADabolic its foundation for a one-of-a-kind training  experience. 

“MADabolic’s program teaches clients to leverage different energy systems, or ‘drive in different gears,’ so to speak,” said ​​Brandon Cullen, Co-Founder and Chief Concept Officer at MADabolic. “Many people walk into a gym thinking it’s ‘game day every day’. But even professional athletes don’t train that way. We train for life — building durability, power and athleticism over time. 

From the Founders to the Floor

What makes MADabolic’s system unique isn’t just what they do — it’s how consistently they do it. Every interval, every rest period, every movement is engineered with a specific purpose in mind. Every workout is designed by the brand’s co-founders, Brandon Cullen and Kirk DeWaele out of MADabolic’s HQ office in Charlotte, NC.

“Our job isn’t to make you tired,” said DeWaele. “It’s to make you better. We use intensity and balance movement patterns with a lot of thought behind every decision we make so we don’t burn you out but build you up.”

While the structure of MADabolic’s training protocol is built with a year-long strategy, the founders sit down once a week to program the next seven days of workouts. Like its members in the gym, MADabolic never takes shortcuts with this technique either. 

“We don’t use a 5,000-movement database or program weekly workouts based on AI,” DeWaele added. “Rather, we stick to core movements that align to our goals for that day, week and quarter.”

Craftsmen in the Studio

While all programming is created at MADabolic’s headquarter office, trainers nationwide are trained and trusted to deliver the classes drawn up by Cullen and DeWaele in their local facilities.  

“Our trainers aren’t cheerleaders — they’re technicians,” said DeWaele. “They understand the ‘why’ behind every movement, the intended effort for every interval and how to tailor that to each individual’s capabilities. We hold a high standard for execution, from movement mechanics to verbal cues to floor presence.”

Before any trainer hits the MADabolic floor, they go through a two-day in-house training camp at the brand’s headquarters, undergoing a deep-dive on brand movement mechanics and other tips for running a successful class. They then go through a multi-week onboarding process at their local studio.

Trainers are also trusted to foster the MADabolic culture which additionally helps the brand stand out and deliver tangible results. 

“Craftsmanship at MADabolic also means consistency,” said DeWaele. “We lock the doors at the start of class. We apply specific points of performance on every MADabolic training floor. Every trainer is expected to train four times a week and be an ambassador of the brand’s core values: strength, structure and accountability.

“One of our biggest differentiators is the quality 1:1 coaching our clients receive in a group setting,” DeWaele added. “By investing in clients, we help them move better, get stronger, and stick with us for longer.”

Staying the Course

While these initiatives from MADabolic may seem new given their distinctiveness, if you’ve paid attention to MADabolic over the past few years, you know they’re anything but. MADabolic always has and will continue investing time and energy into its programming and coaching, building on what matters rather than substituting it for whatever’s hot at the moment. 

“Where many brands try to add more, we’re committed to sticking to the core things that we know work,” said DeWaele. “Scaling without compromising means doubling down on the fundamentals — for us, this is core to our daily workouts,  trainer onboarding and development, continuing trainer education, and client experience. While we’ll continue to stay keyed in to new opportunities, the core fundamentals of what we do haven’t changed.

“We’ll never outsource the programming or dilute it to be more mainstream,” DeWaele concluded. “The integrity of our product is what makes us MADabolic — and that will always come first.”

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