A fitness and rehabilitation specialist, Kathy Fisher is always looking for ways to help people overcome hurdles.

When the former boxer learned about Rock Steady Boxing and their ability to help Parkinson’s patients, she knew the program could help a lot of people through the Randolph YMCA.

“The program started in 2006 with this prosecutor (Scott C. Newman) in Indiana. He was young and diagnosed with Parkinson’s and he realized his boxing training was really helping his symptoms. They’ve found there’s a real connection between the skills that you use in boxing and the skills that are depleted when you get Parkinson’s,” said Fisher, aquatics and program house operations director at the Randolph YMCA.

“Rock Steady Boxing is the only one of its kind that’s helping people with Parkinson’s today. There’s a tremendous amount of money out there for research and that’s great but it just goes to research. There’s nothing that’s helping people today. But this program is.”

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative movement disorder which can cause deterioration of motor skills, balance, speech and sensory function. The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation estimates there are more than 1 million people in the United States living with Parkinson’s disease with more than 60,000 diagnosed each year.

“It’s terrible and it affects everybody so differently. What I’ve learned is if you see one person with Parkinson’s, you’ve seen one person with Parkinson’s. Everybody is different. The rate of progression is different and their symptoms are different,” said Fisher, who has worked at Y’s for the past 30 years.

“There’s good days, bad days and it’s really, really affected by their medication. The medication really plays a huge role in this disease. But they say, exercise is medicine and boy, exercise really, really helps this particular group of people. Really, really helps them.”

Rock Steady Boxing, the first and only boxing program designed exclusively for people living with Parkinson’s disease, is now being offered at the Randolph YMCA. The non-contact, boxing-inspired fitness routine improves the ability of people with Parkinson’s to have independent lives by delaying the progression of the disease. People of all ages and degrees of progression are welcome. No boxing experience is necessary and all workouts are modified to each person’s ability.

“Anyone can come and participate. I especially encourage those who have never seen it before to come and watch a class. Take a class. All they need is a medical release from the doctor. There is a fee for the class but because we’re a Y, no one is turned away because of their ability to pay. So that’s a wonderful thing.”

While focusing on overall fitness, each one-hour workout includes a circuit of heavy bags, speed bags, double-end bags, core work, balance, functional and weight training with the boxers moving from activity to activity. Each class works on all muscle groups with the exercises varied to maintain the level of interest.

“The workout is called ‘forced intense exercise.’ In other words, we take people out of their comfort zone. You have to work very hard in whatever that is for you which means when I teach a class I can have varying levels of people. So we try to break them down according to their level and we put them in the appropriate class,” said Fisher, a well-rounded athletes who has competed in boxing, racquetball and swimming.

“If they fall into a certain level, we encourage them to bring help, whether that’s a spouse or an aide or a friend. They’re called their cornermen since this is a boxing program and they help their boxer get through the workout. We encourage family participation because it really does take a village. It takes a lot of help.”

In addition, the Randolph Y offers UH20 Boxing, an aquatic boxing program featuring underwater boxing heavy bags, underwater treadmills and Hydrorider bikes. Part of the Y’s Aquatic Rehab program, the Parkinson’s classes use balance beams and trampolines underwater so participants are able to work on their skills without fear of falling or becoming injured.

“We’re able to take our boxers and put them in the pool and give them a totally different component of exercise that we can’t give them on land. Balance is a really big issue for people with Parkinson’s so there’s this fear of falling. But in the pool you don’t fall. The worst thing that can happen is you get wet. It takes all the fear away so you’re able to push them to the next level, to really work on balance, to really use the properties of water and resistance,” said Fisher, who has worked at the Randolph Y for the past 14 years.

“Parkinson’s makes you small. It makes your movements smaller, it makes your gait smaller, it makes your voice smaller. We try to get people big.”

Rock Steady Boxing is offered from 10-11 a.m. on Monday and Friday at the Randolph Y. UH20 Boxing is offered from 10-11 a.m. on Wednesdays. Membership to the Randolph YMCA is not required for either program. Anyone with Parkinson’s and their caregivers are invited to observe a class before registering for an assessment. Both programs are fee-based. The Y offers financial assistance for anyone unable to afford the assessment and/or classes.

“With these types of programs, there’s not only the physical benefit but the emotional and the social support. You become really close. Everybody’s fighting the same thing and they get really close which is just great. You’re also doing it in a non-medical setting and it’s fun. It’s recreation but it is physical therapy. You just don’t realize it. It’s really cool.”

For more information about the Parkinson’s programs or the Randolph YMCA, contact Kathy Fisher at 973-366-1120, ext. 14 or email her at kathy@randolphymca.org. To see all the classes and programs available at the Randolph Y, visit www.randolphymca.org.

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January 9th, 2017