KP residents offer new Fast-N-Fit athletic training

Lakebay native Evan Burk and his wife, Debra, have recently started a new business in Gig Harbor called Fast-N-Fit Training. The business is geared toward baseball training, but offers a rigorous workout program in other areas as well. The couple has teamed up with Jon Fuller, former catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, to open the Gig Harbor Baseball and Sports Academy in the North Harbor Business Park, where they provide their services.

Evan Burk is a certified N.E.S.T.A. (National Endurance Sports Training) instructor, S.A.Q. (Speed Agility Quickness) trainer and a Little League coach on the Key Peninsula. Debra Burk has been active in yoga and aerobic exercise since 1982. She is also working on obtaining her aerobic certification, and is vice president of the Key Peninsula Little League. Their 16-year-old son, Chris, is a big contributor to the business, leading the drills, conducting demonstrations and keeping the younger students focused.  Chris is a sophomore at Peninsula High School, plays basketball and baseball, and is a member of the Narrows Baseball Club.

During a typical session, Debra leads the warm-up, which incorporates the anaerobic program, focusing on the core stations targeting the middle and lower body.  She uses a large Swiss ball and medicine ball to do a series of abdominal and lower back exercises.

Meanwhile, Evan oversees the N.E.S.T.A. training, which includes instruction and drills using polymeric, isometrics, speed, agility, balance training and sport specific conditioning.

When Evan and Debra Burk are not teaching at the Fast-N-Fit, they are busy with their full-time jobs. Evan, a sales engineer with CenturyTel for more than 13 years, designs voice and data network systems. Debra owns a business called Debbie’s Office Aide, which provides bookkeeping and technical editing services. Although both have full-time jobs and keep very busy, they enjoy what they do at the Gig Harbor Baseball and Sports Academy.

“We’ve tried to create an anaerobic program geared toward improving speed and agility for young athletes,” Evan said. “It’s a high-energy, advanced training, and hopefully through proper conditioning, it may help in preventing injury while playing sports.”

One of Evan’s future goals is to provide a high level of training for school-age athletes to better prepare for their college careers.

“I want to create a place where kids can go to improve their abilities health, physical, and mental abilities. Somewhere they can increase their speed and agility by incorporating sports-specific training,” he said. “We’ve even trained some Gig Harbor High School cheerleaders,” Debra added. “We can help them with their agility and jumping skills.”

Though much of the clientele is Little League age and up, the academy is open to the public and anyone is welcome to come and train. Members also include the Narrows Baseball Club players, PAA and various school teams.