Boxing workout fights Parkinson’s
It was one client that got Gabriele Campbell thinking about Parkinson’s disease and it’s catastrophic effect on the body. Campbell, a personal trainer certified through the Athletic and Fitness Association of America, started researching ways to help her client.
Campbell was already specializing in clients with chronic disease and disabilities. She was trained with classes ranging from “Prehab vs. Rehab” to “Foam Rollers 101.” Her new research brought her to Rock Steady Boxing.
According to the website, rocksteadyboxing.org, there are more than one million people in the United States with a Parkinson’s diagnosis. Parkinson’s is a degenerative movement disorder that causes motor skills, balance, speech and sensory function to deteriorate.
While studies have supported rigorous exercise for Parkinson’s patients since the 1980’s, more recent studies find benefits with intense “focused” exercise. The Rock Steady Boxing method uses drills adapted from real boxers, but without the contact with other boxers.
It started in 2006 by a man diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 40 who had a friend with a background in Golden Gloves boxing. When the boxing workout helped that first patient, the two men opened a nonprofit for Rock Steady Boxing. They developed classes for everyone from newly diagnosed patients with limited fitness experience to those who have been living with the effects of Parkinson’s for decades.
Campbell, who had worked in several fitness centers regionally, including some of the Bella Vista fitness centers, spoke with her sister-in-law who is a neurologist about the program. She learned that her relative had been recommending it to her patients, so she invested in the training to teach the program at her own facility in Rogers.
She also became an ambassador for the Aware in Care Program which helps educate people about Parkinson’s. She helps distribute Aware in Care kits to patients and to medical staff.
“It takes people out of their comfort zone,” Campbell said about RSB workout. But it also helps them control some symptoms of Parkinson’s. She encourages clients to use force during their workouts. A rigorous workout encourages the production of dopamine, she said. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that works in the brain as a chemical messenger.
She had 10 to 12 members in 2020 when she had to temporarily close the facility because of covid. Now, she’s reopened and is adding new clients. The Rock Steady Boxing classes are held three times a week with various levels based on experience.
“People don’t know much about the disease,” she said. New patients don’t have all the information they need, so she took it one step further and organized a support group of patients with Parkinson’s. There are always many questions during class time and the need for a separate support group was evident, she said.
The group will start to meet in April and Campbell promises it will be fun, because, she said, laughter is also important when combating a serious illness.
Campbell still does personal training at her facility, Focused Functional Fitness, located in Rogers. Those clients help her pay the bills so she can continue working with RSB clients. She has another trained coach on board to help teach the classes.
Helping others reach a better level of fitness is her passion, Campbell said.