Our daughter 8 years old training with Steve. Dyllan has improved out of sight - she found it tough to run in a straight line beforehand. With an excess of boundless energy, Steve has finely tuned her to run efficiently and she's fearless like her big sister Sophie and will eat all the hard work you can give her. Just love the banter between Coach/Athlete - and the high five Dyllan gave Steve recently holding a stone in the palm of her hand! Pay back! We love being back into Athletics after a few years off, and look forward to what the future holds for Dyllan and our son Ashton and what they aspire to in Athletics. They are lucky to have Steve as their Coach and so are we! 

Steve Erkkila coaches our youngest daughter who is now 8 years old. Photo's taken one year ago.
Steve also coached our eldest daughter Sophie Healey who was 2 year NZ National Champion 400m, and gold medal won at Oceania W18 Oceania Championships when she was 15 years old. Keeping our eye on Dyllan she is showing great skill for one so young - perhaps sharing in her big sisters genes! Our youngest son Ashton is also showing great promise and starting to train with Steve. Lovely to be back into this Sport after a few years off for us. 

 22/06/2015
Huge night for Nadia Evans at the Bays Athletics Prize-giving. 
4 trophies - The prestigious Hamblin Cup for best performance at the Colgate Games, Nadia won 4 x gold at both the North & South Island, Best 10yr old girl in the Club, Best sprinter and Best Jumper for her age group. These are alongside her Best 10yr old girl in Auckland trophy. 
She also got certificates for breaking three club records - 100m in 13.35s, 200m in 28.36s and long jump of 4.60m. Many thanks to you Steve Erkkila for your excellent training.
Mike Evans

12/01/2015
Our 10yr old daughter Nadia Evans competed at the North Island Colgate Games over the last three days. 
She won gold in all four events she entered, 100m, 200m, 400m and long jump. Two new AKL Records, a new Club Record in the sprints and a PB of 4.54m in the long jump. Many thanks to you Steve for your excellent coaching. We've taking the Nth Island and now were off to the Sth Island for their Colgate Games.
Mike Evans

18/01/2015
Nadia has done the double. Four more gold at Dunedin Colgate Games 100, 200, 400 & long jump. These go with the four golds at Wellington Colgate Games in the same events. Now officially the fastest 10yr old girl in NZ in these events. Very proud. Job done Steve Erkkila.

Mike Evans

Here you can find information about what I do as well as training tips on how you can improve your speed and fitness.

Feel free to add your own comments and experiences, this might become a good place to get something or someone off your chest!

Please take a look around and feel free to ask questions.

Steve

Water training

Hi feel self conscious about getting onto the park to walk, jog or run, or maybe your legs, knees or whatever cannot take the pressure or running.  I’ve the training for you…..why not join me with water training using water flotation belts. To know more and find out where and when, just get in touch, talk soon.

Muscles - use them or loose them

Muscles that are not used regularly gradually become smaller and weaker.  Regular exercise each week will maintain and improve your muscle tone, no matter your age.

Today’s the day

Actions speak louder than words, as the saying goes and wishes and dreams are not enough.  If you want to improve your body’s well being.
The smallest action is worth far more than the greatest intention.  What did you do to maintain your body’s fitness today?
Just remember the longest journey starts with the first step, hope to hear from you soon.

A little tip.

When stretching muscle pain and tightness is the body’s way of telling you something is wrong.  You are probably exceeding the limits of your muscles and may actually be doing damage.  The correct procedure is to stretch to the point of mild tension in the muscle and hold the stretch for 10-30 seconds.  Be patient.  It may have taken months or even years for some muscles to become as tight as they are, so it will take time to gradually restore them to their normal lengths.  Look after your body.

A fantastic article from the Sydney Morning Herald. I have preached this for years…
Pounding the pavement … Igor Grozdanov, 39, jogging in The Domain during his half hour break from his job in IT in the city. Short sprints can be more effective than hours jogging, according to a study. Photo: Dallas Kilponen
SPRINT training for 60 minutes a week burns the same amount of body fat in men as jogging for seven hours a week, Sydney scientists report.

More than 40 overweight males participated in a short, high-intensity training regime based on cycle sprints over 12 weeks and measured a significant drop in their abdominal fat and an increase in muscle mass.

The lead researcher, Steve Boutcher, said the training program provided the ideal amount of exercise intensity for health benefits, including weight loss, in a short time frame.

”We’ve been searching for about 10 years for the minimum amount of exercise you can do with the biggest health impact factor,” Dr Boutcher, an exercise physiologist and associate professor at the University of NSW, said.

By exercising three times a week, participants, mostly university students in their 20s, lost an average two kilograms of fat and gained 1.1 kilograms of muscle mass, mainly in their trunk and legs.

Other studies have shown men would need to jog for between five and seven hours a week for more than three months to lose the same amount of fat.

As part of the program, participants sprinted on an exercise bike for eight seconds, and raised their heart rate to between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of its maximum rate, followed by 12 seconds of slow peddling.

”In three 20 minute sessions a week, they’re only working hard for eight minutes,” he said.

Participants lost mainly visceral fat, adipose tissue which surrounds internal organs and is linked to cardiovascular disease risk, and reduced their waist circumference.

Previous studies revealed similar results for women, he said.

A control group of participants, who did no exercise, lost no weight during the study.

Both groups were asked to consume their regular diets.

Fast sprinting caused the body to release high levels of a specific group of hormones, called catecholamines, which drive the release of fat, especially abdominal and visceral fat, from fat stores so it can be burned by working muscles.

”We don’t know why, but moving limbs very fast generates high levels of catecholamine,” Dr Boutcher, whose findings are published in the Journal of Obesity, said.

Sprinting for eight seconds raised a person’s heart rate while keeping lactic acid release, which make muscles tire quicker, to a minimum, he said.

While the study, funded by Diabetes Australia, only measured the effect of sprints on an exercise bike, other types of activity, such as fast running, rowing, stair climbing, shadow boxing and skipping , could also raise a person’s heart rate to a high level for the body to release catecholamines.

”We couldn’t get the heart rate up in walking or swimming though,” he said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/fitness/forget-the-jog-slog-and-fit-in-a-sprint-for-maximum-weight-loss-results-20120628-215a4.html#ixzz21OUb8Ci5

You can make huge gains by doing simple things well. Remember when you were learning to ride a bike or drive a car – you had to do it slowly until you mastered the task you were trying to learn? 

The same applies for running mechanics / technique. Many sportsmen, yes and I mean men don’t take the time to learn the basics well. They just plough straight into things at full pace, oblivious that if they only slowed down and learnt the tasks correctly they could improve at least 10% to 15% on their performance.  Maybe some of our sportsmen need to take time out from the “macho” image, slow down and get things totally correct so they have a good chance of reaching 100% of their ability.

Speed – Speed training is high intensity bursts over a short duration, with good rest recovery periods – you must rest the nervous system so it recharges. When the nervous system becomes tired you can’t generate power and co-ordinate your movements. Speed is all about total power –  the more fluent you run the more power you can generate. Fast arms produce fast legs, but first the arms must be performing in such a way to propel the body forward efficiently. Most people, whether sportsmen/women of any code as well as casual runners do not perform this well. It takes patience and the ability to slow down the pace and learn it slowly and correctly if you truly want to reach your true running potential.

Remember it takes 4 to 6 weeks to reverse an old habit!