Story and photos by Mike Grundmann, contributor
Let me introduce you to some friends of mine.
We start in a circle, punching an oversized, ultra-light rubber ball to each other, sometimes getting a bonk on the head and laughing.
This ends when Stephanie steals the ball, puts it away and starts leading us in stretches. Then she splits us into groups to begin our circuit training, covering all the fitness elements.
This is Rock Steady Boxing (RSB), a medically endorsed regimen for people with Parkinson’s Disease. The exercises slow and even reverse the progression of symptoms such as tremors, weakness, rigidity, imbalance and stooping.
We meet for one hour at 9:30 Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at Middle Ground Martial Arts on Acorn Drive in Harrisonburg.
“One thing we see a lot is tremors going down,” says Randy Simpson, owner and trainer at Middle Ground. “People are more capable, they go out and shop, do the kind of self-care we take for granted. … One guy in his 90s pretty much told you he sat down all day, couldn’t get up. After training for six months, he was doing yard work, cutting down small trees, taking his wife to medical appointments.”
“Some of my most proud moments, they did something they didn’t think they could at all,” says Stephanie Higgs, co-trainer: ” ‘Well, Herb can’t walk backward.’ Well, ‘Herb CAN walk backward.’ “
“The vast majority of people either stay at the level they came in at, or improve,” Randy says. “The brain responds to exercise like Miracle-Gro.” Moderately intense cardio and strength training boost neuron formation and connection and blood flow, and also reduce anxiety, he adds. “RSB’s model has been shown to have a stronger impact on Parkinson’s progression than other forms of exercise.”
The fee is $100 a month, which works out to about $8 a session. Roughly eight or 10 people participate. Ages have ranged from 55 to 92, with impairments mild or severe. Rock Steady Boxing is a national nonprofit, with about 900 local gyms in all 50 states participating. It certifies trainers and provides suggested workout regimens. Middle Ground gets Parkinson’s patients who are referred by neurologists and does an intake assessment.
“Programs like RSB ae a safety net that fills in where medicine might not be as effective,” Randy says, “or insurance too dysfunctional to fully cover physical therapy.”
Randy, who’s been running the RSB program since 2016, studied neurological and mental benefits of exercise for his master’s degree in kinesiology. He also teaches judo, as a first-degree black belt, and holds a 3rd-degree black belt in karate. He’s been a personal trainer for 16 years.
“I’ve trained everyone from SWAT teams and firefighter candidates to special-needs kids and MMA competitors,” he says. “The Rock Steady population has been my favorite.”
His father, Mike, and father-in-law, Ben Melton, help lead the RSB workout drills as volunteers.
“It’s a sneaky way to get them to exercise,” Randy says.
Randy looks not particularly muscle-bound, but in a free moment when no one is looking, he hoists a 71-pound kettlebell over his head with one hand.
Stephanie, at 5-foot-0 and 115 pounds, is a six-time triathlon contestant and recently completed a 50-mile group run. She just earned her brown belt in judo and leads Women’s Combative, a self-defense class at Middle Ground.
Sadie the rescue dog is the gym’s mascot, with a severe underbite and a sweet nature.
The gym is entirely rubber-floored, with American and rainbow flags on the wall and scary-looking martial arts paraphernalia stacked in corners and used in other classes, like judo, kickboxing and muay thai.
In the one-hour sessions, the Parkinson’s patients move among the stations guided by a beeping timer. Randy drills us on boxing. We hit the heavy bag, speed bag, “headache bag” and other bags, also smacking mitts held by the trainers. We switch to stationary bikes, coached by Mike to “speed up … slow down … speed up.” At Ben’s station, we use the resistance bands, hand weights and medicine ball. A toss of the rubber dice will determine whether we do pushups, lunges, squats or jumping jacks.
On the big blue mat, Stephanie puts us through all manner of balance drills, which feature rope ladders to tiptoe through, orange pylons to weave through and standing on the rubber half-sphere. One of the toughest is the rubber balance beam, the same 4-inch width that Olympic gymnasts use. But if we fall off, it’s a 2-inch drop to the mat.
At the desk, we’ll practice dexterity with a game of Jenga, stacking coins, Scrabble or just squeezing some hard plastic putty.
Some days it’s a treat: Frisbee in the parking lot. Hey, that’s dexterity, balance and eye-hand coordination.
“While my balance isn’t great, it’s improved,” says Frank Boyd, 79, a retired salesman. “It’ll help prevent a fall.” His favorite is the speed bag. “I wasn’t any good at it at first, but now I’m getting better at it.” The hardest is the balance beam.
“I get tired near the end of the session, because of that slavedriver, Stephanie.” She laughs nearby.
Richard Bergeron, 75, is a caretaker for three family members. “Without Rock Steady, my body would go downhill. I’d lose my strength. It’s fun and it keeps your reflexes going.”
“My symptoms have progressed more slowly,” says Francis Beers, 75, a retired homebuilder. “I enjoy coming to class early to interact in a non-structured setting.”
“I am surrounded by people who are doing their best to not be defined or limited by PD,” says Carmen Schrock-Hurst, 67, a retired pastor and instructor at Eastern Mennonite University. “Randy is a rock, and steady.”
So, what’s the reward for Randy?
“I see people kind of get their life back. One guy a few years ago couldn’t dress himself. After three months, his wife said he was up and dressed one morning.”
The reward for Stephanie?
“Joy,” she says, with tears suddenly flowing. “I can see them happy, with a great sense of purpose.”
Mike Grundmann is a retired JMU journalism professor who previously worked as a reporter and editor for eight California newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times. He has produced 10 award-winning documentaries.
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