Punching Up

Rock Steady Boxing is a Challenger In Fight Against Parkinson’s Disease

By Karen Gardner

Photography By Turner Photography Studio

Want to work out, even if you have physical limitations? Consider boxing. Repeated punches work up a great sweat and release dopamine in the brain. But do boxing and Parkinson’s disease go together? At Rock Steady Boxing, they sure do.

Every weekday at the Frederick YMCA, as many as 20 people assemble in a room lined with punching bags and bins full of hand weights. Instructor Paul West starts his class with warmups. Participants sit in chairs with nametags like Dan the Man, Special K, Slim Jim, Jetting Jen, Rockin’ Russ.

Everyone in the class has Parkinson’s, a chronic, progressive disease that affects an area of the brain that controls movement. People with Parkinson’s, usually in their 60s and 70s, also produce less dopamine in their brains. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in many body functions, including memory, movement, motivation, mood, attention and more.

Today’s instructors are West, 65, and Jeanne Scaccia, 58. West, a retired Capital Park Police officer, and Scaccia, a certified Body Pump coach with a master’s degree in fitness, are experienced workout leaders.

“We try to make it challenging but keep it safe,” Scaccia says. As West leads the movements, she darts among the participants. “I try to make sure no one falls,” Scaccia adds.

Participants range from the newly diagnosed to those who have lived with Parkinson’s for years. West begins with a few hand movements, then moves to standing squats, lunges with hammer curls, knee lifts and hip swings, all to the beat of tunes from Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Cher and other ’70s and ’80s favorites. Pushups are done against chair backs.

Participants then don colorful boxing gloves and march toward punching bags to jab, cross and uppercut their way through this phase of the workout. West throws in some foot moves. “It gives them the cardio component, which is so critical to people with Parkinson’s,” Scaccia says.

Boxing also calls for focus. “This is a major brain test,” says Dan Roe, aka Dan the Man, as he takes in West’s rapid instructions. “Left jab, right cross, three right uppercuts, left hook,” West says. Participants twist their bodies while punching.

“Boxing is so great for the body,” Scaccia says. “You can do it seated and work up a sweat from your chair.”

Rock Steady Boxing, based in Indianapolis, grew from a medical study on the impact that boxing and other vigorous exercise have on Parkinson’s symptoms. Studies have linked intensive exercise to the slowing and possible reversal of symptoms.

Do the boxers agree? “It’s amazing,”
says Kevin Draiss, 69. “I feel better every day.”

“Exercise is the most important thing, the one thing that slows the progression,” says Kristen Poppele, 58. “You’ve got to stay on top of it.” The recent Frederick transplant also appreciates the social aspect. Boxers routinely meet outside of class for lunch.

“I can’t imagine where I’d be without it,” says Jim Cichocki, 77, who has been boxing for five years through Rock Steady. “It’s significantly slowed [Parkinson’s] down.”

All participants must receive physician approval before they start throwing punches. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, participants were progressing steadily, but some regressed when classes went virtual. That is reversing with the return to live instruction.

“I can see where they have gained independence,” says Jaime Fisher, who oversees the Rock Steady program at the Frederick Y. “We know it’s not going to be cured, but it’s finding the right cocktail of medication and exercise.”

For more information about Rock Steady Boxing, visit frederickymca.org/programs/health/community-health-resources.