The Anti-Burnout Formula: Why MADabolic Members Stay Longer

By focusing on consistency, MADabolic has built a formula for loyalty in a churn-heavy industry

Membership churn is a natural part of the fitness industry all businesses need to deal with — except for MADabolic.

While the group strength and conditioning brand isn’t completely immune to lost or inactive members, it’s developed a treatment of sorts that mitigates burnout and stagnation, largely stemming from its unique programming. As a result, the brand consistently posts higher retention rates than your average boutique. 

“It’s not complicated, it’s just disciplined,” said ​​Brandon Cullen, Co-Founder and Chief Concept Officer at MADabolic. “Pop culture is obsessed with quick fixes, but consistency and balance are the antidote. It keeps people healthy, hungry and consistent for years instead of months.”

Inside the Formula

MADabolic’s “Perfect Week” lies at the heart of its anti-burnout brand of fitness. The programming involves four MADabolic strength training sessions, two active recovery days to allow movement without breakdown and one rest day. The structure ensures consistency and progression, while the varying intensity levels ensure adaptation. 

“The ‘all-or-nothing’ mindset fades and members start valuing consistency over perfection,” said Cullen. “That shift, from chasing exhaustion to chasing improvement, is when retention really sticks.”

Workout sessions also allow trainers to conduct one-on-one instruction even within the group setting. These trainers reinforce the brand’s retention-boosting elements by guiding members through each movement and helping them progress, which establishes additional sticking power. 

“Every session starts with structured demos and coaching points for each movement. The priority is always quality of movement, not chasing reps or time,” said Cullen. “Progress is not only motivating, but it begets further growth. When you master the fundamentals, you lay the building blocks to build even greater strength. If a brand’s clients get injured or plateau because no one helped them learn the fundamentals that are their base for growth, they don’t stick around.”

A Different Kind of Boutique

MADabolic’s programming isn’t common across the industry, especially when it comes to boutiques. However, the brand prefers the road less traveled, viewing the widespread emphasis on high energy and exertion as a trap rather than a tried and true formula.  

“Most boutique models are built on adrenaline,” Cullen said. “They confuse sweat and exhaustion with progress because noise is easier than structured discipline over time. The quick-fix challenge or over-the-top class energy feels good in the short term, but it’s not sustainable and doesn’t drive long-lasting results. The problem is, when the hype fades, so does the member base. Studios that lean on constant novelty and overtraining often end up burning out both their clients and their coaches. While our Anaerobic days push clients to work at an all out max effort, we move at a prescribed pace each day, and more often than not, we’re operating at less than a 100% effort.”

While the quick wins produced by hype-driven, trend-focused operations might entice some operators, it’s the MADabolic sites that trust the process and stay the course that profit in the end. 

“The teams that live and breathe our training philosophy consistently outperform those that treat it loosely,” said Cullen. “Strong adherence translates directly to stronger retention.”

Cullen reported that MADabolic’s churn rate is “about half the industry average,” citing this system which prioritizes sustainability above all else as the differentiator. 

Additional Gains

The MADabolic method also instigates a domino effect. For every satisfied member, motivated by their progression over time, it’s an opportunity to add another and fuel further growth. 

“Members who train with us don’t just stay; they bring their networks with them,” said Cullen. “The formula creates loyalty because it delivers results without burnout. Retention fuels referrals, referrals fuel new members and consistency fuels franchise value.”

As of September 2025, MADabolic has nearly 45 franchise locations open with more in the development pipeline. 

“We’re not churning through members with flashy six-week challenges — we’re building a culture of people who commit, often for years,” Cullen said. “We’ve had several clients or trainers in the system invest in opening their own locations. That stickiness at the client level and at the staff level is exactly why our franchise system keeps expanding.”