Rock Steady Boxing, a program to provide therapeutic exercise to area residents with Parkinson’s disease, will be holding an event next week for those who suffering from the affliction and their caregivers.
Rock Steady Boxing’s Valentine’s Day Sock Hop will take place on Tuesday February 14th from 12:30 -2:30 p.m. at their gym located inside Ohana Karate in Genoa Township.
The Parkinson’s-focused boxing program, which was founded in 2006 by Parkinson’s patient and former Indiana prosecutor Scott C. Newman, offers patients a fun and sociable atmosphere to work their muscles utilizing the concept of intense “forced” exercise. According to the program’s website, clinical studies have begun to suggest that certain kinds of exercise, like that at Rock Steady Boxing, “may be neuro-protective, i.e., actually slowing disease progression.”
The non-contact boxing course is designed for participants at all fitness levels.
“They do box, but who wants to see videos of that?” says Virginia Larioza, Head Coach and Owner of Livingston County Rock Steady Boxing. “The drills are much more exciting! We do things to get bigger movement – bigger steps, higher larger arm movement, plus smiles on an often frozen face – it’s part of using external focus to create functional outcomes!”
A retired Detroit Fire Chief, who goes by the call sign “Blaze”, is among the group’s members and a recent video posted to their Facebook page shows him being put through drills like CPR and rolling out a hose that recall his life & skills, while simultaneously helping him fight the effects of the disease.
Details on the program, and the Valentine’s Day Sock Hop, can be obtained by calling Larioza (aka Coach V) at 517-293-5598.
