In a Conejo Valley boxing club, a half-dozen people swing at punching bags as an instructor calls out tips.
But you won’t see any club members in a televised fight. The average age in the group is 70. They’re not here to battle other boxers in the ring but to fight Parkinson’s Disease.
“I’m coming up on my tenth anniversary in December,” said participant Bill Novick. "I gave up motorcycle riding. Something was wrong; I couldn’t do it safely. I found out it was Parkinson’s.”
Novick is part Boxing for Parkinson’s, a three-day-a-week class offered by the 101 Boxing Club in Newbury Park.
Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disorder, which affects movement. An estimated 1.1 million people have been diagnosed with the disease in the U.S., and about 90,000 new cases are discovered annually. There’s no cure, but exercise and some medications can often slow its progression.
The 76-year-old Novick, of Newbury Park, said he’s learned to live with it. “It is what it is, and I’m doing what I can,” he explained. “It’s not a fight. Parkinson’s is going to win in the long run. But, I’m doing pretty good for ten years.”
More than a decade ago, boxing trainer and instructor Josh Ripley’s business partner was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. It led to them creating the class.
Ripley said the three-day-a-week, hour-long classes feature the same training techniques he uses with the boxers he mentors.
“The biggest thing is the range of motion,” said Ripley. "Individuals with this type of disease have a difficult time doing everyday common things like reaching down and touching their toes, and fully articulating the movements in their shoulders.” He added that they try to do exercises encouraging those types of movements.
There are about 40 people in the 101 Boxing Club’s program. While it’s called Boxing For Parkinson’s, they also work with people with other neurological issues who can benefit from the program. They are now affiliated programs in Ventura and Santa Maria, with about 40 members each.
Ripley said it feels great to use exercise to improve the lives of people facing difficult challenges. He usually works with high-level athletes, but this is much different.
“These individuals are just trying to get to baseline zero, to be able to do things like enjoying time with their grandchildren,” he explained. “Being able to help individuals at that level is a whole other sense of reward.”
Some of the class members are pounding away at punching bags. Others are tapping. They’re all doing the best they can.
“It gets you up and moving," said Kevin Smith, another participant. "It gets you sweating. I’m making progress. I think I’m a lot more mobile."
He talked about the most significant issue he’s facing since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s four years ago.
“Mobility. It’s hard to get around without my walker."
The Newbury Park man was philosophical about what he could do to manage his Parkinson’s and felt this class was helping.
“Stopping Parkinson’s? There are a lot of people working on that. There’s medicines, there’s exercise. It all helps,” said Smith. “You’re on the (Parkinson’s) train, and you can’t get off, but you can slow it down.”
