How Santa Rosa boxing classes are helping Parkinson's patients thrive

David Glass might get around with the help of a walker, but when the Santa Rosa resident shows up for Rock Steady Boxing classes at Ringtime Fitness off Steele Lane near Santa Rosa Junior College, he wastes no time in finding a heavy bag to punch the heck out of.

For Glass, 73, the regular noncontact boxing workouts have become an important part of his life. He said the classes present a great opportunity to release steam.

“It’s real satisfying to take out my frustrations on the bag,” he said.

It turns out the repeated punching and rhythmic movements in Rock Steady Boxing classes also are good ways for Glass to keep his body limber and stave off more serious symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological condition that he’s had for the better part of the last 12 years.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, Parkinson's disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder in the United States behind Alzheimer’s disease. And an estimated 5-10% of U.S. residents of with Parkinson's disease are diagnosed before the age of 50.

Glass is one of about 25 Parkinson’s patients who participate in the early morning classes run by Don Ammons, a USA Boxing-certified instructor who co-owns the gym with Israel Nuñez. Participants of the class are in their 40s-80s.

In order to teach these classes, Ammons and other instructors obtain certification through the Parkinson’s Foundation Exercise Accreditation Recognition, which distinguishes Parkinson’s-specific exercise education programs and courses that align and adhere to Criteria for Exercise Education Programs and Competency Framework for Exercise Professionals.

After they are certified, instructors will have the understanding and skills to teach exercise programs to those with Parkinson’s.

According to Ammons, the classes he teaches offer something just as important as the medical benefits: a sense of community.

“It’s great to see (participants) coming to class and managing their symptoms,” said Ammons, who started the gym with Nunez back in 2014. “It’s even better to see them coming to class and feeling like they have found their people — a group of other men and women that they can talk to about Parkinson’s and all of the challenges of the disease.”

It’s all about movement

The Rock Steady Boxing class is offered at 9 a.m., four days a week.

Participants usually trickle in around 8:30 a.m., some with walkers, many with canes. After checking in at the front desk, they warm up by lifting weights or moving their bodies on the cardio machines toward the back of the gym.

Around 9 a.m., Ammons calls everyone into an area dubbed the “rack,” which is lined with punching bags. He leads the group in light stretching first, then a short jog around the rack. Later, Ammons moves into bag work, commanding the crowd to “jab,” or punch, like a drill sergeant.

Some participants strike the bags with gusto. Others barely touch the bags at all.

Ron Thomas, a self-proclaimed “exercise fanatic” and former Boston Marathon finisher who has had Parkinson’s for just over three years, said workout intensity isn’t as important as simply working out.

“It’s not really about how hard you hit, it’s about moving your body and staying loose,” said Thomas, who is 82 and lives in Sebastopol.

Rock Steady Boxing classes usually last about 45 minutes apiece, and several participants (including Thomas) spend extra time at the gym lifting more weights, engaging in light cardio, or stretching.

The main focus of the classes are hand eye coordination, drills with mitts, speed bags and double end bags. By using quick movements like footwork drills, class participants are able to activate their neuromuscles, legs and feet. Ammons added they work in various planes of motion and strength exercises which is very important for this group.

There’s also a small ring where some participants can work out, too.

Some of the participants even go for coffee together afterward.

Chris Fitzgerald is one of the more social members of the class. Fitzgerald explained that when she was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s back in 2014, she was depressed and would rarely leave the house. Then she started taking the class, and she turned everything around.

“I’ve made lifelong friends in here,” she said. “Being with people who are in the same boat you’re in makes all the difference in the world.”

Helping the body fight

So what is it about boxing and Parkinson’s disease? Why does training like a boxer reduce Parkinson’s symptoms for certain patients? These are questions that many Rock Steady Boxing aficionados asked and answered early in their journeys with the disease.

The science behind the classes is solid; multiple peer-reviewed studies over the years have indicated that Parkinson’s patients who participate in high-intensity exercise improve their quality of life and experience less depression, fewer falls and overall improvement in how they function.

Some studies even suggest that intense exercise programs may be “neuro-protective,” actually working to delay the progression of symptoms.

Yale School of Medicine notes, “Following the six-month (high-intensity) program, brain imaging showed a significant increase in both the neuromelanin and DAT signals in the substantia nigra. This suggests that high-intensity exercise not only slowed down the neurodegenerative process, but also helped the dopaminergic system grow healthier.”

This is where classes like Rock Steady Boxing can help.

Ryan Cotton is CEO of the Rock Steady parent organization based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and he said his group’s fitness classes provides encouragement through a “tough love” approach, inspiring maximum effort, speed, strength, balance and flexibility.

“There is no cure for Parkinson’s, but there is a way to live your best life with the disease and part of that is including regular moderate to high-intensity exercise,” he said. “Our program works the brain, body, and voice. It’s packaged around boxing but it’s really a Parkinson’s-specific exercise program. Boxing just gives it the swagger.”

Cotton, whose father had Parkinson’s disease, added that there are more than 800 Rock Steady Boxing programs across the country currently, including in Petaluma, Sonoma and Napa.

Ammons said he has seen firsthand the impact of movement on those Parkinson’s patients in his class.

“I can’t tell you how many people have come in here struggling to walk or shuffling their feet,” he said. “When they’re done with the class, as they head out, they’re all moving better and faster.”

What’s next for the gym, members

Looking forward, Ammons said Rock Steady Boxing will remain a big part of the program at Ringtime Fitness.

The gym recently moved to its current location from a warehouse space in the West End of Santa Rosa, and Ammons said the new space is perfectly suited to continue Parkinson’s-oriented programming indefinitely.

Ringtime Fitness currently offers monthly Rock Steady Boxing memberships for $129 per person, a discount from the regular monthly membership of $159 per person.

The Rock Steady Boxing membership includes full gym access, five days a week, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m.

He added that the Rock Steady Boxing class works well in the morning, preserving a relatively quiet time of day for members with Parkinson’s to come in and exercise before the gym gets busy. Ringtime Fitness currently has members of varying ages and fitness levels; most of the serious boxers come in after 7 p.m.

Many Rock Steady Boxing participants have vowed to keep the class as a part of their daily routines.

Jerry Lerner, a 74-year-old Santa Rosa resident who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014, said he can “feel the difference” after the boxing fitness classes, and enjoys attending them with his partner, Theirrie Cook.

Cook, 75, usually helps Lerner during classes, holding the bag while he punches and offering support. She said she looks forward to the class because they do it together.

“It’s really nice to be here for each other,” she said. “This class is now part of our lives.”