Mayhem Gym / NCFIT FAQs

What’s Improving for Mayhem Gyms

This guide gives you a first look at all the powerful upgrades and new coaching tools rolling out as we fuse NCFIT’s top-tier coaching systems with the next evolution of Mayhem Affiliate programming.

WHAT’S NOT CHANGING

Everything you currently know and love is staying:

World-class programming written by the Darren Hunsucker
All existing programming tracks will remain exactly as they are
No changes to pricing
Nothing is being removed or replaced

You’ll continue to receive the same great programming, now with better coaching resources, a clearer structure, and more guidance for your coaching team.

WHAT’S IMPROVING

These updates are designed to elevate coaching, improve class flow, refine communication, and enhance your members’ experience across the board.

More Coach-Centered Notes

Thanks to Austin Malleolo’s elite coaching mastery, combined with NCFIT’s industry-leading coaching systems, our coach notes and resources are leveling up to become more effective than ever.

Here’s what you’ll notice:

Less long, repetitive movement-standard explanations your coaches already know.
More clear, actionable coaching cues that help coaches teach and guide the stimulus.
Notes designed to help coaches fix movement faults, manage class flow, and run an engaging hour.
Timelines will include more coaching time to allow your coaches to truly shine.

The goal: give your coaches the tools to coach better, not just “run the class.”

Some of the new Coach Notes sections include:

Own your Programming: Details simple adjustments that can be made to the strength, skill, or workout portion of class.
Primary Workout Goal: Details the overall goal for the day in terms of stimulus for all parts of the session.
Teaching Priority: Details the movements that will be primarily taught and demonstrated…what is the major goal/priority of the coach today?
Intended RPE for the Workout
Target Times: Broken down into top performers, most athletes, and top Mayhem score.
At the Whiteboard: Details 2-3 points that the coach should mention to the athletes about the class. These are your most important points that coaches should bring up at the whiteboard.
Two Suggested Warm-ups:
- High Touch Warm Up: This option is for athletes who want a thorough, structured warm-up to ensure they’re fully prepared both physically and mentally for the demands of the session.

- Low Touch Warm Up: This choice is for those who prefer a shorter, lighter ramp-up, allowing them to move at their own pace and focus on the key areas that matter most to them.
Teaching & Demo: This section will provide coaching guidance on how athletes should tackle a movement or workout segment. This usually includes instructions on pacing, intensity, quality, and technique. You’ll also see a coach cue focus for each major movement, along with scaling options, as appropriate.

Upgraded Coaching Videos

Our coaching videos are being completely redesigned to be more useful and coach-oriented.

Videos will now focus on:

How to brief the workout
How to coach the key movements
Common movement faults to watch for
Efficient, effective corrections

And yes, they’ll stay short (typically under three minutes).Fast, simple, and immediately helpful.

Cleaner, More Consistent Formatting

We’re standardizing our wording and structure to reduce confusion and create a smoother experience for coaches.

Expect:

Consistent language
Repeatable formatting
Unified naming conventions

Less confusion, more coaching.

Introduction of RPEs to Guide Athlete Effort

We’re introducing Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) to help athletes better understand the intended effort level and help coaches clearly express pacing expectations.

RPE Scale:
1 – No intensity
2 – Very light
3 – Light
4 – Moderate-light
5 – Moderate
6 – Moderate+
7 – Moderate-high
8 – Sub-high (80% effort)
9 – Very high (90% effort)
10 – Max intensity (100% effort)

RPE makes pacing predictable and helps your athletes approach every workout with confidence.

2026 Yearly Outlook Calendar

We’ll be sending out a comprehensive programming roadmap for the entire year, including:

Strength cycle overview
Gymnastics cycle overview
Benchmark workouts
Monthly challenges
Clear goals and themes for every cycle

This gives you the ability to plan events, challenges, skill cycles, and membership touchpoints months in advance.

New Workout Pace Types

We’re adding pace categories to help athletes instantly understand the “feel” of each workout.

Workout Pace Types:

SPRINT: Very short, very fast. It’s a full send workout from the start.
STEADY: Manageable pace you can maintain throughout without blowing up.
GRIND: Longer effort requiring grit, endurance, and pacing discipline.
CHALLENGE: Push the boundary of comfort. More aggressive than Steady, but not as brutal as Pain Cave.
PAIN CAVE: High intensity, deep discomfort, max effort style workout.
QUALITY: Focused work prioritizing technique and control over speed.

Pace types prepare athletes mentally and physically before the clock starts.

Extra Fitness Programming

Starting in 2026, we’re adding Extra Fitness pieces to complement our main programming track. These are optional training pieces for athletes wanting a bit more outside of class time (not to be done within the 60:00 Class Timeframe).

Appears 3 times per week
Includes strength or skill work
Designed for completion outside class
Time-efficient: 25–30 minutes max

Perfect for athletes seeking structured additional training.

This can be found in a new programming track called “Extra Fitness.”

More Benchmark Workouts

We’re expanding our benchmark lineup to include benchmark workouts every month. You’ll see:

CrossFit benchmarks and Hero workouts
Mayhem benchmarks
NCFIT benchmarks

More testing = clearer progress = stronger athlete buy-in.

You have questions, we have answers

What changes will my members notice in the programming?

You can expect the same great programming. The changes your clients will notice are more nuanced, like improvements to the skills of their coaches and a heightened experience during their time in the gym. The biggest changes will be noticed by the coaches who interact with our material, class plans and coaching cues on a consistent basis. The majority of the improvements are geared toward making their lives easier, and helping them hone their craft.

When will NCFIT gyms join us?

January 5th, at the start of our next Strength Cycle.

Contact Questions

You can join us live, during our upcoming office hours:

Meeting 1: 9AM - 9:45AM EST
Meeting 2: 12PM - 12:45PM EST
Meeting 3: 5PM - 5:45PM EST  

All other inquiries can be directed to: Chrisi@mayhemnation.com

2026 Outlook

The 2026 Outlook will arrive via email on December 12th. This is one of the improvements we are most proud of. This comprehensive programming roadmap covers the entire year, including:

* Strength cycle overview
* Gymnastics cycle overview
* Benchmark workouts
* Monthly challenges
* Clear goals and themes for every cycle

This gives you the ability to plan events, challenges, skill cycles, and membership touchpoints months in advance. It provides the opportunity to have intelligent conversations with your coaches about serving your members comprehensively for the entire calendar year. .