Boxing Against Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s disease affects over ten million people worldwide. It attacks the nervous system and makes people stiff or causes them to shake and move uncontrollably. Jesse Fabela, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, says that’s exactly what happens to him.

“I’m shaking right now, just a little shake and you know, you can’t control your muscles,” Fabela said. Rather than accepting the conditions that come with Parkinson’s, Fabela is fighting back with the help of trainer John Bowers and the Rock Steady program.

“We want to get a variety of exercises in, make them use multiple muscle groups and get them to start making that brain and body connection to try to reinforce that signal,” Bowers said.

Sukhjinder Dhillon, another Rock Steady member, has had Parkinson’s since 2014. Boxing has changed her life. “Before it’s really, I was really stiff, but when I started coming here, the muscle is really good for me, and I’m working hard to keep myself walking and talking,” Dhillon said.

In this class, students improve their walking, talking, and work on their punching. They also box.

“It’s probably one of the most rigorous exercise trainings for the movements, the intensity that they box, people get lost in the boxing. They don’t realize how exhausted they are because they’re having fun while they’re boxing,” Bowers said.

At Rock Steady, they fight against Parkinson’s Disease one punch at a time, but it’s more than just boxing. It’s a fun social environment that helps keep one another motivated.

Ray O’Neil says that motivation keeps bringing him back to the gym.

“It is family. It is comradery, It’s support, and you feel that. And if you see these guys and gals outside somewhere, not here but maybe out, you immediately go to them because they’re part of your extended family and we understand each other,” O’Neilsaid.

Rock Steady Boxing is located in Fresno inside the Cen-Cal Fitness gym on North Cedar Avenue.