Our Blog
Check out our most recent articles.
Check out our most recent articles.
“Managing Parkinson’s, ” a term often used by many organizations and companies targeting people with Parkinson’s. I’ve come to realize that managing a disease is simply not possible. Disease, means disorder, disconnect, disarray, dysfunction- all of it chaotic. Chaos cannot be managed. It can either be obliterated or you succumb …
You are at the Doctors office with unexplainable set of symptoms…. Your Doctor says:”You have Parkinson’s”! The next words out of your mouth, you ask: “What is the Cause?” and the Doctor, (protecting his own job), simply sais: “We don’t know” You’ve been there… And you know… You know, that …
Our facial expressions are an important part of who we are. Our face conveys emotion and helps us connect with one another. According to the FBI there are several Universal facial expressions that provide insight to a persons emotional state. They are: 1-anger,2-happiness,3-contempt,4-discussed, 5-fear,6-surprise,7-Sadness. Our Facial expressions uses mostly our …
What is one degree? 1° although a small number, a small change, can mean the difference between ice and water, or boiling or not boiling water. Differences between winning and losing is usually a very small amount of time, degree, or effort. The difference between the Indianapolis winning car and …
Coach Nick Saban of the University of Alabama football team, known as the most dominant dynasty in the history of college football is known for leading his team to win by what he calls, THE PROCESS. This same winning principle can be used to turn a Parkinson’s diagnosis into a …
Choking point, we all have something called a choking point. It can be physical and it can also be psychological. If you live long enough with constant conflict in your mind, and you arguing with yourself, it simply wears you out. So, if you received a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis you …
Training with battle ropes is a fairly new concept. It was developed in 2006 by John Brookfield, a multiple World Record holder in various strength and endurance activities. He used them to help pro-athletes – NFL players, who struggled to keep a constant pace, to develop both sides of the …
There are many exercise videos for people with Parkinson’s. Some are better than others, some longer, some shorter, but I think we can all agree on the fact that they are all quite different. Much of this difference depends on the teachers ability, background, education and creativity. I am no …
It’s 2023- and the word for the year is ELEVATE! Elevate anything you can think of, that you are doing well! Eliminate what is no longer needed a limiting belief- maybe negative thinking, self criticism, worry, doubt, fear, has been holding you back. With new thoughts you also get new …
The stutterstep is a peculiar gait feature in Parkinson’s. It is a hesitation before starting to walk from a standing or seated position. The hesitation is accompanied by a reduced stride length and irregular cadence. It could also have a component of hyper flexion of the knee and an asymmetric …
We are always training!!! Training doesn’t limit itself to a few hours per week. What you do most of the day, IS your training! So what are you training for? If you are sitting hunched over a computer desk all day? You are training Yourself into a perfect hunchback posture. …
The extent of your success is directly related to The extent of your excuses!!! We all have excuses for things that we see as difficult in our lives. The question is: what do you follow? Your excuses or your fire? When diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, do you start building excuses …
We are in a daily battle, whether you want to admit it or not. There are many battles in our lives. However, when you get a Parkinson’s diagnosis, this battle becomes one of the biggest and most obvious in your life. There are also many ways to face your battles. …
Have you heard yourself or a loved one saying “I am so burned out” or “I am about to crash”? If so, you are among many who are feeling the same thing! What exactly is a burn out? After listening to some Balance and Burnout coaches, I have learned, that …
Fighting back against parkinson’s disease or anything in life is not always easy. We can however, get some good ideas, from real life battles! NEVER GIVE UP- NEVER GIVE IN!!! When met with aggression from an opponent, the first thing you need to do is to get your weapons ready. …
On Thursday, July 28, the U.S House of Representatives introduced a bill entitled the National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act. (H.R.8585) This bipartisan legislation is aimed to Reduce the $52 billion it costs the government to help people with Parkinson’s. Of course This bill still needs to be introduced to …
And often overlooked and often under emphasized area of fighting against Parkinson’s disease is the importance of environment! I grew up in Sweden and Germany where a healthy environment was considered a necessity! We spent much time in the fresh air, for both physical health and mental peace. People who …
Walking is as basic as movement. If we cannot walk we cannot get around and will need assisted living support. To lose your walking ability is to lose much of your life, but how do you walk? Many people have never been taught to walk correctly. When we were children …
Having read more articles about “brain health and diet”, than perhaps should be allowed, I have come to one conclusion: keeping your weight down to under 25 BMI is essential for decent brain health, fitness and good looks! ( if you don’t know what your BMI is, just Google the …
It was in 1817, that the London surgeon-apothecary Dr. James Parkinson ( 1755-1824) described the shaking palsy in a 66 page long booklet entitled ” An essay on the shaking Palsy”. In 1865 the term “Parkinson’s” disease was coined by William Rutherford Sanders of Edinburgh. It was further used by …
As this year is approaching the end, a new year is right around the corner, I want to ask you to make some resolutions, and write them down. In preparation for the new year, I want you to ask yourself: what makes you come alive? What stirs your heart? The …
Core strength has become a buzzword in the last decade or so, yes surprisingly many people don’t know what this term refers to. Your core is the area around your trunk and pelvis comprised of three layers of abdominal muscles. It connects the upper and lower parts of your body, …
Shadowboxing – the practice of throwing punches without an opponent or bag. Often using boxing gloves or small weights. This allows you to focus on form, technique and proper movements while building muscle memory. Shadowboxing has many benefits even if you never intend to fight anyone in your life. First …
One of the fastest ways to get into a better shape is to jump. The “jumping” muscles are Also called “fast twitch” muscles and without them quick movements are not available to you. This is because there is a certain part of the brain that activates these and if not …
We all have our own race to run, and Our own struggles to bear, but we should remember that we are not lone wolves out there. Like wolves need their pack, We need each other- each other’s encouragement and motivation. We need to be accountable to each other. Surround yourself …
When you think of Back Street fighting, what movie moments come to your mind? Is it the Gladiator, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon? the brawl in Bourne Ultimatum, Is it Rocky? or the most famous back street fight ever…West Side Story? Back Street fighting is different from Boxing Ring fighting in …
Anybody who’s ever pretended to punch or kick somebody and not really gone through with it knows how much fun it is to get a reaction out of the other person! In a real fight to fake punch or kick Your opponent, could mean the difference between winning and losing …
Remaining physically active can be tough at any age, but adding a Parkinson’s diagnosis can make it even tougher. Two recent studies from England now add more evidence that We have more control over our muscles and immune system as we age than previously thought. Both studies looked at recreational …
There are four basic styles of boxing, that the professional boxers fall into. Even if you’re not a professional boxer you will quickly find yourself moving in one of these four styles. The style is largely dependent on your Height and weight, and your personality. The four styles are: the …
People often asked me, “why do you teach boxing classes for Parkinson’s patients? “. I haven’t either had Parkinson’s in my family, nor have I ever studied boxing, until now. My journey to becoming a rock steady boxing coach begin with a simple request from a woman who was a …
Many people have experienced, or heard that boxing type exercises are effective to counter the stiffness that is a side effect of Parkinson’s disease. However, many people do not know why it works that way. As a trainer with Rock Steady boxing for Parkinson’s for over four years now, I …
Feeling frazzled, anxious about the future, Down in the dumps? Then, this new study is for you! In a recent study from the University of Limerick, Ireland, Researchers looked at how weight training could improve mood and feelings of well-being. The study used simple weight training routines such as squats, …
Many people have heard this statement, “exercise is medicine”, Yet they translated to themselves as “exercises like medicine “, or “exercise is similar to medicine”. None of these statements are true, because they fail to describe how exercise really affects the body. Study after study has shown that exercise has …
Buying Boxing gloves may seem like a daunting task after signing up for Rock Steady Boxing. Having never boxed before, what should you look for? Here is some help to navigate this uncharted territory: In the beginning of Boxing Glove Manufacturing, the gloves where filled with horsehair, by hand. To …
While living on a permanent lockdown isn’t sustainable, many people are skeptical as to how much or how little to resume normal life. We have learned to live with social distancing, washing hands, facecoverings etc. to minimize risk of infection but we still need some more suggestions on how to …
While wearing a mask to reduce risk of infecting someone with coronavirus is becoming a common practice, researchers are now looking into how it affects our bodies while we are working out. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends we cover our faces while in crowded places, and in …
The physical movement modality developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1930’s, has been, and continues to be one of the BEST exercise forms for people with Parkinson’s. One of the reasons for this is that Pilates exercises all involve the use of mental activation and focus. The movements all address …
After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Susan asked yourself what you could do to keep the Parkinson symptoms at bay. Many people get tremors, followed by stiffness, slowness of movement, and coordination and loss of balance. There are many things you CAN do, and one of them is following a dopamine …
Biking has shown to reduce Parkinson’s symptoms by 35%. We are excited to be able to offer this program to people with Parkinson’s.
The way I see it, the best that we can do is to make sure we have a strong immune system.
Working out at home may be challenging and what equipment to purchase can be confusing and overwhelming. You want things that are effective and that you can use in a lot of ways. After many years of in-home training, this is what I have settled on: Mat- start with a …
The single most asked question I get about my classes is: Does it include stretching. When I say “yes”, there is a sigh of relief from the other end, with a “yeah, I am becoming so inflexible”. The sad truth is that as we age, no matter what we do, …
We are generally aware that exercise improves brain function and memory, but we haven’t been sure, how intensely or for how long one needs to exercise to get these positive benefits. A study from U of C, and Japan published in September 2018 in proceedings of the National Academy of …
I have for a long time been a proponent of working from the feet up when it comes to sports conditioning, such as in my specialties golfing, skiing, and skating. It is just starting to become in vogue. Yes, feet are not a fancy thing to work, but in my …
For the last couple of years, HIIT, or high intensity interval training has been the buzzword in fitness. Coming up on the scene is its gentler cousin LIIT, known as low intensity interval training. After doing HIIT training, many people sustained stress fractures and injuries. Mostly because they simply were …
There has become a magic number when it comes to health, “the 10,000 steps”! But does counting steps really make a difference in our health and weight loss? The 10,000 step concept was introduced in 1964 Tokyo Olympics when a Japanese company wanted to encourage people to move more. They …
After being diagnosed with Parkinsons, many people take up Boxing, and boxing conditioning, as it has been proven to decrease the symptoms of Parkins condition. Some choose to do it in addition to Parkinsons medicine, and some instead of. After working closely with Parkinsons patients for the last few years …
While teaching a fitness class for Parkinson’s patients, I noticed some very uncoordinated foot movements. I started observing this tendency more closely and started doing some research. I found out that delayed nerve transitions through the pathway from the brain to the foot and back can be one reason for …
Falling is the number one injury to Seniors. About 1/3 can expect to fall each year. The risk is greatly increased for people with Parkinsons – the imbalance, stiffness and festation that often accompanies this disease. I have seen that even after minor falls, people become fearful of doing the …