Photo By Cpl. Zeta Johnson | Nick Compton, the principal consultant for the Teamworks company, gives a presentation...... read more read more
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What if the Marine Corps changed its fitness center model from a regular commercial gym and took it to the professional or collegiate Division 1 model of a human performance center? Nick Gounaris, the strength and conditioning director for Semper Fit, Headquarters Marine Corps, is here to tell you the Marine Corps is doing just that.
“We're trying to take the Warrior Athlete Readiness and Resilience (WARR) Center concept, so it’s a place where you have human performance professionals, strength and conditioning coaches, massage therapists, doctors, financial advisors, everybody under the sun who is here to support the Marines, and put them in one place,” said Gounaris, “We’re trying to get Marines to come into our facility for physical training (PT) but also have them stay for everybody else.”
Headquarters Marine Corps is working with subject matter experts to provide WARR Centers for Marines at multiple installations. These facilities, operated by Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS), will serve as a collaborative, holistic program that will enhance combat readiness in conjunction with warfighter resiliency. The WARR program focuses on strengthening Marines’ fitness in their physical, mental, social, and spiritual domains, all of which are necessary for peak performance in any situation. WARR Centers are set to be more than just gyms, and their staff will be more equipped than ever to train and coach the Marines.
“We're trying to elevate the staff that we have, so now we're looking to hire certified strength and conditioning coaches," said Gounaris. “We're trying to hire coaches who have multiple years of experience, college degrees and professional certifications to run our PT [physical training] along with the strength and conditioning staff.”
Professional sports programs have a litany of experts who are resourced to the teams so they can be as successful as possible. Gounaris and subject matter experts across the Marine Corps are leveraging already-available assets to provide that level of resources to the Marines. This includes reworking the staff within the current fitness centers.
“So, taking some of the old billets or positions, that maybe are not being used as much, and converting them to more human-performance-driven positions,” said Gounaris. “That means we're trying to integrate strength and conditioning professionals who have studied exercise physiology and are certified to teach Marines how to PT, number one--so education is a driving force--but also run the PT for the Marines as well.”
The staff is not the only aspect being reworked; so are the new training facilities. Rather than creating military construction projects to build new buildings, WARR Centers will be built within existing MCCS facilities, with a few modifications. For example, the Area Two facility which was destroyed in a hurricane, was revamped, and is now on par with the Division 1 facilities. The facility features an indoor turf field, 36 lifting stations, multiple classrooms, and offices for visiting professionals to come and provide services for Marines.
“The facilities are already there,” Gounaris explained, referring to the infrastructure that's in place for these new centers. “We’re just putting new stuff and bringing all the best people there for the Marines.”
MCCS Lejeune-New River is the first to design a WARR Center with built-in office space for embedded unit support and Navy medical assets, a new feature not available yet at other Marine Corps Installations. This makes MCB Camp Lejeune a model for the rest of the Marine Corps, according to Raymond Anderson, director of Strength and Conditioning, MCCS Lejeune-New River WARR Program.
“The WARR Center is a true model and state-of-the art facility that other installations will mimic as we move toward the Marine Corps Total Fitness plan,” said Anderson.
In November 2023, an advisory board was held at the Wallace Creek Fitness Center on MCB Camp Lejeune to highlight the WARR Center, the Wallace Creek Human Performance Area and the first iteration of integrated Human Performance Training Operations done with 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, over the course of 12 weeks.
“The advisory board week was about all tactical strength and conditioning leaders coming together, including representatives from Headquarters Marine Corps, Marine Forces Special Operations Command, the School of Infantry-East, and other installations (to provide input on the) WARR program education, training, and curriculum,” said Anderson.
Gounaris described the current facilities across the Marine Corps as regular commercial fitness centers, but with the Marine Corps shifting its vision of fitness to far more human performance, newer facilities will look different. One of these differences is their updated design that facilitates larger unit physical training functions.
“Let’s say we can get around 100 Marines in there for PT [physical training] at one time, coming in on the hour every hour for five hours. In a day, we’ve got 500 Marines who are getting professional strength and conditioning PT [physical training] instead of just going into a regular fitness center and doing things on their own,” said Gounaris.
MCCS WARR Centers give Marines opportunities to train with fitness professionals, although these facilities are meant for more than just physical training.
"The biggest selling point we're trying to pitch at WARR Centers is that they offer an integrated approach,” said Gounaris. “So, while our fitness centers today stand more focused on general fitness, as we go forward, we're trying to spread a message of holistic human performance.’
“Our goal is to provide Marines with the opportunity to enhance more than just their [physical] fitness, but all the components of their wellness, including physical fitness, cognitive fitness, spiritual fitness and social fitness,” said Gounaris. “We want to offer Marines the opportunity to come and use the resources available in one place and get better in all of those components.”
The WARR Center on MCB Camp Lejeune is still under renovation and currently does not have a set date for its grand opening. Anderson says they are looking at being fully operational in 2024. The facility will be offering unit physical training, open sessions for Marines, and an open gym atmosphere.
| Date Taken: | 11.28.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.08.2023 10:45 |
| Story ID: | 458635 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 124 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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