You probably already know that the right gym programming can do wonders for your retention numbers. But when it comes to keeping members coming back for years, Mayhem Gym has placed its focus on another critical factor: the coaching.

Mayhem Gym believes in developing coaches who know how to help members scale a workout on a rough day, to explain why today’s stimulus matters, and to make a class full of completely different fitness levels each feel like the workout was built for them.

If you’re thinking about exploring gym programming through the Wodify Workout Marketplace, here’s why Mayhem Gym should be on list of options.

What is the Wodify Workout Marketplace?

The Workout Marketplace gives you a full list of expert-built programming that imports straight into your Wodify account every day. No more staying up late trying to write a week’s worth of workouts. And no more wondering if what you wrote is actually going to help members progress.

Owners using the Workout Marketplace get back roughly 15 hours per month that they used to spend on gym programming. Plus, they get to choose from tracks built by some of the most respected names in the industry, including Mayhem Gym.

Mayhem’s Coaching-First Approach to Gym Programming

Austin Malleolo joined Mayhem about a year ago to lead coaching development, and he’s blunt about where he thinks the real value sits: programming is probably the least important piece of what a program delivers. To Malleolo, what matters more is whether a coach can actually teach it on the floor. A brilliant workout falls apart if the coach can’t help all athletes in class scale a rope climb.

Mayhem prioritizes coach development and the ability to lead an effective class.

With that in mind, Mayhem builds around the coach’s actual constraints, versus an idealized version of them. Class plans cover the workout, stimulus, targets, class flow, warm-up, teaching demo, strategy and adjustments for the day.

Every workout is built across three levels: “Prescribed” for the roughly 5-10% of a gym chasing full Rx, “Independence” for intermediate athletes, and “Liberty” for beginners. Mayhem treats these as aspirational anchors rather than a rulebook. Most members don’t fit cleanly into one tier, and coaches are expected to scale the gym programming to the person in front of them, not just the level on the page. There’s also an RX+ tier for competitive athletes, with its own timeline, target scores, and movement adjustments for limited equipment or large class sizes.

The Same Gym Programming Worldwide

Recently, CrossFit Mayhem, the flagship affiliate for Mayhem programming, made the decision to run on the exact same programming timeline as the CrossFit affiliates they program for. That wasn’t always the case. The team made the call in order to understand the effects of the programming that other affiliates are feeling, in real time.

That matters because Mayhem gym programming isn’t written for a 50,000-square-foot facility with every rig attachment ever made. It’s written to be accessible for all affiliate owners. Across their more than 2,100 affiliated gyms and the 500-plus members training at CrossFit Mayhem itself, most people walking in the door aren’t chasing a podium. They’re showing up a few times a week hoping to feel a little stronger and keep up with their grandkids. Designing for that member, while still giving the competitive 5-10% something to chase, is the goal.

​Behind all of it is an all-star, OG team: Four-time “Fittest Man on Earth” Rich Froning still puts the original workout on the board most days. Darren Hunsucker, Rory McKernan, and Matt Delavalli (MDV, formerly of NC Fit) build out the RX, RX+, and additional volume versions from there. Christy, who owns her own affiliate, rounds out the customer-facing side.

A Key Differentiator: Mayhem’s Specialty Tracks

The Wodify Workout Marketplace lists more than 13 distinct Mayhem programs. For gym owners, this can sound like a lot to sort through, and the Mayhem team knows it. Part of their current push is making the whole lineup easier to actually use, not just browse.

Mayhem offers a variety of specialty tracks, including Olympic lifting.

For example, here are just a few of the specialty track options:

  • Mayhem Flex: Formerly branded as the bodybuilding track, it doubles as a weightlifting class and a useful lead-generation tool, since “strength” tends to connect with a much broader audience than “CrossFit” does in ads.
  • Mayhem Go: Covers at-home training for members who can’t make it into the gym on a given day.
  • HYROX: Gym programming that’s built around two tracks that follow the actual race event calendar, so gyms riding the HYROX wave have something structured to point members toward year-round.
  • Kids and teens programming: Split across CrossFit Kids (ages 5 to 8), pre-teens (9 to 13), and teens (14 to 17), now shifting to a more cycle-based structure that mirrors how most gyms already run their business.

For Mayhem gym programming subscribers, all of these options come standard in the subscription, not as an upsell. Some of these options can help to increase gym revenue as well. For instance, a youth program is a real revenue and culture-builder, and having it ready to go without extra cost or build time removes the barriers to launching it.

The Bottom Line for Effective Gym Programming

Ultimately, the quality of your gym programming matters. But Mayhem’s bet is that an affiliate gets more retention out of a program built to make coaches better at their jobs than out of a slightly better workout.

Members stay when they trust their coach, understand why they’re doing what they’re doing, and can see themselves getting better over time. That means the focus should start with coaching instead of the programming itself, and it’s where Mayhem built its whole approach.

Want to learn more about the Wodify Workout Marketplace or how Wodify can help you run your affiliate more efficiently? Book a demo with our team today!

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More reading: Looking for a proven, actionable plan to attract the right clients, improve your retention, and track the right numbers to grow your fitness business? Download the Gym Growth Game Plan today!