Rock Steady Boxing

making a tough face or trying to

My local Title Boxing gym has started a Rock Steady Boxing program for PDers, and my recently diagnosed neighbor Mary and I signed up. Car pooling together, we have now completed 2 weeks of classes consisting of three 70 minutes classes per week.

We arrive at 1:15 at the latest and put on our wraps, the long, cloth bands that we wrap around our wrists, hands and fingers to protect them. We have a "get to know you" activity with our two other classmates, like throwing a ball and saying something about ourselves. We do warm ups and stretches. Then the real workout begins.

For the next 50 minutes or so we go from one exercise to another. Each day is different, but all parts of our body are challenged to increase endurance, balance, agility, strength and dexterity. We get 1 minute active rests, then 3 minutes of hard exercise. That's typical.

ugly Christmas sweater day

And always at some point we put on our mitts and box. We've learned all the punches: jab, cross, hook, undercut. We punch the heavy bags, the speed bag, the bag for undercuts, and the crazy one on elastic ropes that flies back at you.





We've learned the stance and how to move around the bag. We've punched the oversized mitts that the coaches hold out on their hands and the big belt they wear, like armor, around their torso. Then we end by freestyle punching as hard as we can, then as fast as we can, then hard again. We're encouraged to make noise - yell while we do it.

truly an ugly sweater

We are sweating and exhausted, but after more stretching, and a group cheer, I always feel good, and glad I'm done. We leave by 2: 45. With dressing, travel, shower, it takes up about 2 1/2 hours of my day.



Guiding and pushing us to go beyond our own idea of our limits are our two coaches, Sharon and Andy. They have been trained by the Rock Steady Boxing organization. It was started in the midwest by a man with Parkinson's whose friend introduced him to boxing. He found his symptoms improving after 6 weeks of training. His Rock Steady program is spreading to gyms all around the country. The one here in West Windsor, New Jersey just started their program.




I feel lucky to have this resource near me. It is not what I would have chosen first. If there was a Tai Chi/Qi Gong center near here I might have chosen that, but there isn't anything nearby. It is hard, hard, hard, but there are fun elements (for instance the Christmas sweater day). And I have Mary, a gym buddy to drive with and to keep each other motivated.

My nickname, chosen by me is"Audacious Clay." Just call me "Clay." And keep your mitts up.