The boxing club that’s ‘punching out Parkinson’s disease’

Punching bags hung down from a rig, boxing gloves laid on the ground. There was no ring in sight, but boxers ages 40 to 95 were getting ready for class, excited to see their fellow fighters.

“This is the best part about having a diagnosis of Parkinson’s,” Joann Dempler said as she walked a lap around the gym, referring to the Fit 4 Boxing Club with its strong, supportive community.

Fit 4 Boxing Club, founded in 2014, offers classes for people of all ages and abilities in two locations: Hampton and Murrysville. They have exercise-based, non-contact training classes for kids, senior citizens and people with Down syndrome, but they specialize in classes for people with Parkinson’s disease.

The club is affiliated with Rock Steady Boxing , an international program designed for boxers with Parkinson’s disease. It is one of Rock Steady’s largest affiliates – ranked 32 out of over 800 worldwide, according to the club’s owner Rich Mushinsky.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that lowers dopamine production, affecting movement, balance and dexterity. In addition to the physical effects, Parkinson’s can also cause people to lose their confidence and independence.

Not much is known about what causes Parkinson’s. Theories include genetics, environmental factors or simply aging. There is no cure for the disease, and the worsening of symptoms is inevitable, but there are ways to slow its development and maintain quality of life. Boxing is one of the most popular forms of exercise shown to delay the disease’s progression.

Boxing activates neurons that reconnect the brain and the muscles, getting them to communicate again. It strengthens mental cognition and muscular responses. It can also help people regain their confidence.

Marti Renkes, 73, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a year ago. The month after her diagnosis, she started taking classes at Fit 4 Boxing Club, per her physician’s advice, and she hasn’t stopped.

“You can barely tell she has Parkinson’s,” Mushinsky said of Renkes. He said Renkes has made “tremendous” progress as a boxer since she began, and her symptoms have been kept at bay.

Renkes’ experience aligns with current medical thinking about the role of boxing in managing the disease. Kimberly Klein, a nurse practitioner for UPMC and a volunteer with Fit 4 Boxing, said that while Parkinson’s treatment research is still relatively new, many physicians recommend that their patients exercise about five to six times a week.

“There is research out there saying how physical activity, especially boxing, can be helpful to help with symptom progression, and actually can oftentimes help them reduce their need for medication,” Klein said.

‘I’d better do something’ about Parkinson’s

Pittsburgh has a rich history of boxing . Iconic boxers such as Billy Conn and Bob “The Grinder” Baker have called this city home. Pennsylvania has approximately 43,760 people living with Parkinson’s, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation , placing it among the top six states with the highest prevalence of the disease, according to the National Institutes of Health .

Mushinsky was inspired by his friend Dr. Mike Bell, a neurologist who passed away from bladder cancer about seven years ago. Mushinsky and Bell boxed together for years, and even when Bell was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, the two continued to train together. Five years went by before they thought of opening their own gym, but in that timeframe, Mushinsky saw Bell’s symptoms improving.

“It was just me and him, and I didn’t realize why it was helping him till we learned about the Rock Steady [program],” Mushinsky said.

Mushinsky and Bell opened the Fit 4 Boxing Club in 2014 with the vision of teaching classes for those with Parkinson’s, and they quickly got their Rock Steady certification. Since then, more than 1,000 fighters have come through their doors to “punch out Parkinson’s.”

Fit 4 Boxing Club has connected with neurologists in the city, many of whom send their patients to boxing classes. Mary Ann McQuade comes to Fit 4 Boxing Club three times a week.

“I was diagnosed in 2022, and I found out about this place from my physician,” McQuade said. “It took me five months to get up enough nerve to come here. I actually knew I had a month before I was going back to the doctors and thought, ‘I’d better do something.’ So I made an appointment, and I’ve been coming ever since.”

The club offers two levels of classes for fighters with Parkinson’s based on their severity of symptoms, but everyone’s symptoms can display  differently, even within one class.

‘Movement is medicine’

No one would be able to guess that Dean Julian is 70 years old. He looks much younger, and he can pack a punch. That’s despite the Parkinson’s his doctors say he’s likely had for more than 10 years, though his diagnosis only came a few years ago.

Early in the pandemic of 2020, Julian, a lifelong educator, began to notice his handwriting becoming illegible,  he was falling more frequently and his speech started slurring. He even fell and cracked his skull once. After receiving his diagnosis, his neurologist told him that he was on “death’s doorstep” because the dopamine levels that control his nervous system were not high enough to keep his organs functioning.

“I was actually held prisoner for 12, 13 years because I didn’t know I had it,” Julian said.

Julian explained how Rock Steady has helped him and his fellow boxers, or “fighters,” though the program doesn’t involve actual sparring or matches.

“It all helps people to live a better quality of life,” Julian said. “And not only for them, but their families. They’re a little bit more self-sufficient. … And that’s what keeps people coming back.”

For years, Julian said, physicians would simply give Parkinson’s patients medicine and let them on their way. But within the past few decades, the narrative has begun to switch, placing a larger emphasis on exercise, according to Klein.

“We know that Parkinson’s is a decrease in dopamine, and any physical activity for Parkinson’s is good because it helps stimulate that dopamine production,” Klein said. “Boxing in particular is good for these types of patients because it deals with balance, it deals with hand-to-eye coordination — which can stimulate your brain — and it deals with helping your proprioception, or your body awareness.”

There are ways to treat Parkinson’s medically, including through the process of deep brain stimulation , which involves implanting electrodes in the brain to stimulate brain activity. But medications and operations often come with side effects that can cause problems down the road.

Many of the fighters at Fit 4 Boxing do not take any medications. Over time, the human body can become more tolerant to medications, so many prefer to hold off on taking anything until their symptoms are less manageable.

“Movement is medicine; I believe that,” said Brett Burkhart, general manager and instructor at Fit 4 Boxing.

The only medicine Julian takes, he said, is Pepto Bismol to soothe Parkinson’s-related stomach issues. Other than that, he chooses to stay active for as long as he can.

Julian teared up talking about how much he loves the Rock Steady Boxing program.

“It’s just wonderful,” he said. “That’s my most favorite thing, is to see everybody working hard and knowing that this is a program that’s giving them hope.”

Accepting help isn’t easy

Maurice Cerul, 87, has been active his entire life and hopes to return to one of his favorite sports: tennis. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about 10 years ago, around the same time he retired from his job as a psychiatrist, and he started boxing seven years ago after finding this gym with his physician’s encouragement. He now boxes at Fit 4 Boxing three times a week and goes to a different gym to exercise twice a week.

Cerul’s Parkinson’s symptoms mostly affect his legs and knees, making balance an issue. When he first came to Fit 4 Boxing, he could barely walk around the perimeter of the room without taking a break. Now, he can usually push through his hour-long classes without resting.

Falling is not uncommon for those with Parkinson’s, so the staff teaches the fighters how to fall safely. There may be an average of one fall per class, a major improvement from previous years, when four to five people would fall each class.

Cerul appreciates the staff, volunteers and fellow fighters at Fit 4 Boxing, expressing just one downside to his involvement with the gym: “My least favorite thing is that I have Parkinson’s disease.”

Cerul doesn’t let his condition deter him from living an active lifestyle. But he does have bad days when he may need a little extra help.

Cerul said people can have mixed feelings about accepting help. Once, he said, “Somebody saw me with a walker and said, ‘Can I help you across the street, sir?’ Sometimes, this makes me feel weak. In the past, I was strong, but it’s very nice that he asked me that. … Some of us don’t want to accept help. Anybody that offers to help me, I say, ‘Yes, thank you.’”

It’s more than just a boxing gym

Burkhart has always loved boxing just like his uncle, Mushinsky. When Burkhart’s parents were going through a divorce, Mushinsky thought he needed an outlet to get his emotions out, so he took Burkhart under his wing at a young age. Now he often teaches the Rock Steady classes, in addition to managing the gym.

“My mom always told me when I was growing up that I needed to find a career someday in which I could use my outdoor voice,” Burkhart said. “I think I found that. I just enjoy being able to meet so many people and connect with so many different people and help them, motivate them and inspire them.”

The community at Fit 4 Boxing is strong and tight-knit, so it hits hard when they lose someone.

“When a championship fighter dies before a big fight, they honor them by giving a 10 Count, which means they ring the bell 10 times, so we do that every time somebody passes. And unfortunately, we’ve done it a lot,” Mushinsky said.

Each year, the boxing club hosts an annual fundraiser in Bell’s honor: the Dr. Michael Bell’s Punching Out Parkinson’s Amateur Fight Night . Last January, at their seventh annual event, they raised over $80,000, and more than 1,000 people attended. Next year’s fight night will take place in February at the Pittsburgh Shrine Center.

The money Fit 4 Boxing raises each year mostly goes toward funding their boxing programs, and to pay for boxing classes and equipment like walkers and wheelchairs for those who can’t afford it. While many physicians and neurologists recommend or even prescribe boxing to Parkinson’s patients, classes are not covered by insurance.

Nor does insurance cover transportation to rehabilitation sessions or boxing classes. Klein said she has seen too many people miss opportunities to take care of themselves because they cannot find a form of affordable transportation and lack support.

Parkinson’s disease is hard to deal with alone. But these fighters say they are far from alone with this family-like community. “My favorite thing,” said Julian, “is that it’s wonderful to see people trying to help themselves stave off the effects of Parkinson’s with exercise.”

Jess Daninhirsch is a PublicSource summer 2024 photojournalism intern. She can be reached at jess@publicsource.org .

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