Clarendon Specialty Gym Focuses on Form, Not Fashion to Stand Out

One needs only take a drive through Arlington to see that specialty gyms are all the rage these days.

Like rock climbing? There’s a gym specifically for that. What about kickboxing? Kick away. Rowing? Running? Lifting? You can have it all in one place.

But at one of Arlington’s newest specialty gyms, the focus isn’t trendy workouts or buzzy rash diets, it’s a dedication to form. Or at least, that’s how Corbin Jennings, owner of MADabolic at 3100 Clarendon Blvd, pitches the business, which opened to the public on Labor Day last year.

Located below street level, across from the Clarendon Metro station, MADabolic specializes in 50-minute workouts where groups lift weights, squat, do burpees and run suicides to help bolster their endurance and fitness level. During classes — which are capped at 20 — trainers instruct their clients how to move their bodies.

“If there is one thing I’d say differentiates us from a lot of other programs out there, it’s attention to form,” Jennings said. “Our trainers are not in here on a microphone in dimly lit lights trying to be a cheerleader.”

The workouts aren’t glamorous, nor are they fun. But they’re effective, Jennings said.

“It’s not the fashionable thing to do,” he added. “It’s not trendy, but we’re doing what’s right for the consumer at the end of the day.”

The gym is part of a fitness chain with locations in Charlottesville, Va., along with several others in North Carolina and South Carolina. The name MADabolic contains an acronym that stands for momentum, anaerobic and durability — the core tenets behind the training regimen, Jennings said.

Each location’s workouts are formulated weekly by the company’s founders, former professional hockey players Brandon Cullen and Kirk Dewaele.

“This is all stuff they were doing while they were playing hockey,” said Jennings. “We train you like an athlete and typically the results are like an athlete.”

Currently, the gym has about 100 members, but Jennings hopes to add more in the coming year. Those interested in signing up for classes can visit MADabolic’s website or call the business at 571-319-0172.