When you have Parkinson’s, it’s easy to let your symptoms tell you that today is not a good day to exercise and let apathy set in. The truth is, every day you can do something and get over that hump or hurdle that stands between you and your workout. Even if it’s an injury, you can modify your workout, but getting started is a mental game.

People with Parkinson’s often develop stooped posture because of the neurological forward pulling and muscle tightening of the chest and shoulders. As a result, the back muscles become weak, and the shoulder blades become fixed and displaced. This whole process causes pain, breathing and swallowing difficulty, and balance issues.

Getting the news that you have Parkinson’s may be the scariest thing you’ve ever experienced. All the emotions come to the surface.

When I evaluate a new fighter for our boxing program, that is my time to learn more about them. I try to reassure them that this is not a death sentence, but you do have to think about your health in many different ways. You will have to train harder than you ever have before, optimize your nutrition and improve your gut health, manage your stress, and work on your cognition and balance.

So often when a person travels, has an illness or surgery, or experiences a family crisis, they take a little time off, intending to get back to class once things settle. But when their routine breaks and time goes by, apathy can set in. Apathy is a lack of motivation and interest in general. It’s not laziness, but rather a neurological symptom that can happen with PD. The biggest problem is it often keeps a person from attending their exercise classes. Targeted exercise classes are instrumental in slowing down the progression of Parkinson’s, but you must get to class and do the work, or your progression will happen faster.

Triceps exercises are very important but often get overlooked. The triceps group is on the back of your arm and its primary function is extension of the elbow. This means you need strong triceps for getting up from the floor or a chair, pushing items, pushing your body in a push-up, or lifting something over your head, among many other tasks.