When courting clients in the crowded fitness space, it doesn’t hurt for gym owners to look like Adam and Colin Woodmansee.
Judging by their physiques, the Long Island-born brothers—co-owners of Training for Warriors in Julington Creek—practice what they preach.
“We believe in what we’re doing,” Colin, 40, told The Citizen. “A lot of people in this business are focused on volume. But we focus on retention. And we’ve created a family atmosphere here that keeps people coming back. We want people to enjoy the people around them and get a great workout.”
The native of Freeport, New York, first moved to St. Johns County in 2010 after getting a job as a fitness specialist with Jacksonville-based CSX, a railroad company.
He helped staffers elevate their fitness through coached classes and biometric screenings.
“I enjoy working with people and helping them achieve their individual fitness goals,” he said. “But I realized I wanted to help a broader range of people and decided to open my own gym.”
Woodmanee rented his first space in Mandarin back in 2011. Personal training was the dominant trend in the fitness industry at the time, and Woodmansee gradually built a steady following.
That success spurred the need for additional room to accommodate a growing client list, and he soon moved into a 4,400 square foot venue in Bartram Oaks Plaza.
In 2014, Adam, 38, joined his brother in St. Johns County and became a business partner. While their venture was thriving, the siblings began to realize that true entrepreneurial control required ownership of their space.
That resolve only heightened when COVID forced the temporary closure of their Bartram Oaks venue.
In 2023, they ultimately settled at their current location on State Road 13 in Julington Creek, a massive 5,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor facility that operates under the Training for Warriors banner.
The fitness program — appropriate for all levels — is based on small group classes of 45 minutes each. The regimen blends weightlifting and cardio metabolic workouts.
Finally secure in their surroundings, Adam and Colin focused on cementing their brand.
“Relationships are everything,” Colin said. “We know everyone who walks into our doors on a personal level. There is no employee turnover because we have a fantastic team of coaches.”
Personal training, he noted, is no longer the preferred industry format. Fitness enthusiasts, young and old, now prefer the communal energy and encouragement of group settings.
That transition has made gym operations more profitable, leading to an influx of new brands and heightening competition.
“We don’t have a marketing pitch,” Colin said. “People walk in here for many different reasons, Some people are brand new to fitness, others need a change to their current routine. For a lot of them the issue is plateauing, so we work with them to get past that.”
After more than a decade in the industry, the brothers have seen every manner of fitness fad that promises miraculous results with minimal effort—including the recent fanfare surrounding Ozempic.
But the Woodmansees retain an old-school ethic—consistency and commitment rather than reliance on pills or injections.
“I’m sure it’s good for some people,” he said. “But you create a dependency, and a lot of people are just going to gain all that weight back. There’s no substitute for work.”
Their clientele now runs the gamut from young athletes with dreams of Division 1 scholarships to vigilant seniors who want to keep pace with their grandkids.
“All we can do is strive to be the best in the industry and treat people with respect,” he said. “To show people they can reach their goals.”
One rep at a time.
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