How the Marine Corps’ WARR Initiative Built an Enterprise-Wide Human Performance Program

Introduction

Nick Gounaris, Director of Strength & Conditioning for the Marine Corps’ Warrior Athlete Readiness & Resilience (WARR) program inherited a solid foundation when he stepped into his role. The Marine Corps had dedicated coaches, motivated service members, and a commitment to human performance. But managing thousands of Marines across multiple installations with disconnected systems was creating operational inefficiencies and missed opportunities for holistic support.

“We’ve tried different strength and conditioning platforms, and we just funded FY26 for an enterprise-wide solution,” Gounaris said. “One of our biggest issues across the DOD is just trying to get access to our service members to be able to provide them with support and resources.”

What the Marine Corps needed wasn’t just another fitness application but an integrated solution that could scale across the entire organization while remaining cost-effective and user-friendly. TeamBuildr’s comprehensive suite—which includes the AMS—provided this capability. The result was a unified system that could serve as both a strength and conditioning solution and holistic human performance tool that unites multiple disciplines.

Through strategic implementation of TeamBuildr’s comprehensive features, the Marine Corps went from siloed program delivery to an integrated, data-driven approach that serves warfighters and their families while improving personal relationships between coaches and Marines.

Challenges

When Gounaris evaluated existing systems across the Marine Corps, he found significant operational and technological gaps that prevented optimal service member support. The scope was massive: managing human performance programs across hundreds of installations worldwide, with varying levels of technological sophistication and staffing capabilities.

“There are never going to be enough coaches or personnel who go through our ‘train the trainer’ course,” Gounaris said, “but we can force multiply with technology like TeamBuildr.”

The financial constraints were substantial. While other platforms offered robust capabilities, their enterprise-level pricing made widespread deployment prohibitive. “A lot of TeamBuildr’s competitors are too expensive for our limited budget, which made them unsuitable for us when we tried to provide a solution to as many Marines as we could,” Gounaris said.

Beyond cost considerations, the Marine Corps needed a platform that could support their holistic approach to human performance. The WARR program encompasses four domains of Marine Corps Total Fitness: physical, spiritual, mental, and social fitness. Traditional strength and conditioning systems couldn’t accommodate this comprehensive approach or facilitate the integration between disciplines that was central to their mission.

Data security presented another critical challenge. Any application serving the Department of Defense required specific authorization levels and compliance standards that many commercial systems couldn’t meet. “The data security that TeamBuildr offers is huge,” Gounaris said. “It meets all the stringent standards established by the Department of Defense.”

The system needed to be intuitive enough for all users, while sophisticated enough to support advanced monitoring and intervention strategies. The platform had to work seamlessly across many different disciplines —including strength coaches, nutritionists, chaplains, and clinical counselors—without creating barriers to adoption.

Solution

TeamBuildr’s integrated suite provided the Marine Corps with a cost-effective, secure, and scalable solution that could accommodate their unique requirements to increasing warfighter readiness and wellbeing.
The implementation began with core programming functionality, addressing the fundamental need for accessible strength and conditioning programs. “TeamBuildr is really easy to use for all the Marines who benefit from our programs,” Gounaris said.

TeamBuildr’s intuitive user experience proved crucial for adoption across diverse populations. “We used to see Marines downloading workouts from other platforms—some of which are applicable and others that aren’t,” Gounaris said. TeamBuildr allows WARR personnel to provide a single, centralized source for comprehensive programs.

TeamBuildr’s flexibility empowered multiple disciplines within WARR to utilize a single source of truth. “TeamBuildr’s versatility enables staff members across the board to adapt it for their needs,” Gounaris said. 
“The journaling component of TeamBuildr allows our Marines to reflect on their workouts,” Gounaris explained. “It can be an ongoing conversation, so a warfighter who’s trying to figure out their purpose or meaning can be prompted by some of our staff members.”

The AMS provided advanced monitoring capabilities without the expense of dedicated athlete management systems. “We’re going to use the TeamBuildr AMS to capture data and use it in the best way we can without having to break the bank,” Gounaris said.

This module facilitated wearable technology integration across multiple devices. “Every installation will have access to the TeamBuildr AMS, which means they can integrate wearable technology,” Gounaris said. The API capabilities will allow coaches to access heart rate variability, sleep data, recovery scores, and other biometrics to make more informed training and intervention decisions.

Results

TeamBuildr lets Gounaris and his colleagues provide holistic support to warfighters and their families, leading to improvements in spiritual, emotional, and mental health. The platform’s simplicity allowed WARR to get up and running quickly. “TeamBuildr is very user-friendly,” Gounaris said. “A Marine logs in, selects their calendar, and then gets into their programs so they can start training.”

The integration capabilities have enabled the Marine Corps to implement their point guard model effectively. “I always talk about each strength coach being like the point guard on a basketball team,” Gounaris said. “Sometimes that’s not just about coming into the weight room. It can mean directing a Marine to the chaplain or our substance abuse staff.”

TeamBuildr has facilitated data-driven decision-making. Through wearable integration, coaches can now make real-time adjustments based on objective metrics. “If a Marine has a chronic sleep problem or we’re seeing their fitness degrade, TeamBuildr lets us know so we can intervene,” Gounaris said.

The platform’s monitoring capabilities have proved especially valuable for identifying intervention opportunities. “If you’re drinking too much alcohol consistently and your HRV is down all the time, that’s a problem,” Gounaris said. “You might not know it’s an issue, but we’re alerted by TeamBuildr so we can say, ‘Hey brother, your HRV’s down, your training has been bad.’ TeamBuildr gives us the opportunity to have that kind of conversation.”

The comprehensive approach enabled by TeamBuildr supports the Marine Corps’ focus on long-term outcomes. “One of the big things that we’re trying to do is look after our veterans better,” Gounaris said. “There are billions of dollars that are unnecessarily spent on avoidable musculoskeletal injuries and negative behaviors. We believe TeamBuildr can help reduce these costs.”

The platform’s versatility has exceeded initial expectations. Beyond strength and conditioning, it now supports spiritual fitness through structured reflection, mental fitness through monitoring and intervention protocols, and social fitness through family program integration. “Our methodology exists for the good of Marines’ families,” Gounaris said. “They have access to the weight room and our entire staff.”

The customer support experience has been exceptional throughout implementation and ongoing operations. “Anytime we need anything day or night, someone at TeamBuildr is going to get back to us within a day,” Gounaris said. “They treat us like we’re their number one priority.”

Most importantly, TeamBuildr has enabled the Marine Corps to maintain a relationship-centered approach to physical readiness, while also facilitating enterprise-scale human performance programming. The result is a model that demonstrates how large military organizations can leverage technology to enhance the human connections that drive meaningful behavior change, increased readiness and force capability, and improved wellness.