{"id":28536,"date":"2024-04-15T08:00:34","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T15:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=28536"},"modified":"2024-04-16T14:49:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T21:49:02","slug":"exercise-tips-for-people-with-parkinsons","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/exercise-tips-for-people-with-parkinsons\/","title":{"rendered":"“I never compare myself to anyone else\u2014including myself a week ago”: Exercise Tips for People With Parkinson’s"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Veronica Garcia-Hayes with Craig Phillips <\/strong><\/h5>\n

San Franciscan Veronica Garcia-Hayes, featured in the documentary <\/span>Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s<\/a><\/strong>, was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s Disease (PD) when she was only 39, and pregnant. But Veronica was determined not to let the disease stop her active lifestyle and wanted to share her love of fitness with others, which is why, in 2017, she became a certified boxing coach specifically for people with Parkinson’s. While managing progressing symptoms alongside co-parenting a now-teenage daughter, she’s become a staunch advocate for exercise for people with PD. Multiple studies have shown that exercise is one of the most powerful methods of slowing the progression of this neurodegenerative disease [sources: NIH: National Library of Medicine<\/a>; Johns Hopkins Medicine<\/a>; Parkinson’s Foundation<\/a>].<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Veronica updated us: “[Since the documentary was filmed] my life has completely changed. Last year at this time I could barely walk, and now I feel like I have almost full ability because I had Deep Brain Stimulation surgery a year ago. Getting back into the swing of things has been difficult for me because I was down for so long and I got into my own rut.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Here she gives us advice for others with Parkinson’s on keeping physically fit, plus she gives us her own routine, talks about how staying connected is integral for people with PD, and suggests activities for all ages that can help symptoms.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s? Here are some of Veronica\u2019s starter tips and recommendations about physical exercise<\/b><\/h4>\n

Veronica: <\/b>I work with so many people newly diagnosed, and others who have been in it for a long time in various levels of fitness. The number one thing I emphasize is <\/span>pick something you <\/b>like<\/i><\/b>, that you’re actually going to do.<\/b> It’s like a New Year’s resolution. We all shoot for the stars and never follow through. Start small, something you like and are going to do, that’s number one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Secondly: <\/span>Find a friend you would commit to, a workout buddy.<\/b> Make an appointment with someone else so they hold you accountable and vice versa. It’s almost like making an appointment with your doctor. You wouldn’t cancel and wake up that morning and say, “I really don’t want to see my doctor today. I’m just going to blow it off.”\u00a0 For me and those who struggle with scheduling and always wanting to do something above and beyond for other people: <\/span>Make the appointment and stick to it<\/b>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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“People generally can do a lot more than they think they can.”<\/strong><\/span><\/pullquote><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Most common misconceptions from clients or peers with Parkinson’s<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Most people that come to me have some fitness background, and those that don’t are pretty intrigued about the boxing program I work with. [Her affiliate at HitFit gym] Rock Steady Boxing is a non-contact boxing training regiment that challenges gait, balance, memory, defense, offense, multitasking. It runs the gamut. I let people know that, although our classes run anywhere from 75 to 90 minutes\u2014which makes them go, “Oh my God, I’m going to have a heart attack if I do 90 minutes of exercise”\u2014it’s not 90 minutes of intensive exercise per se. We do a lot of voice activation and getting-to-know-you conversation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[For example] People with Parkinson’s tend to lose the power of their voice, so we practice projecting over the noise of the gym. When people are expected to talk in public, in front of a class, the tremor starts to come out because the stress of that situation manifests itself in a physical way. People just think of boxing, “I’m going to be hit in the head, hit in the face.” That’s the misconception, we are a non-contact boxing program. We incorporate all kinds of different exercises, whether it’s circuit training, cardiovascular, cognitive games, or memory games. Everything. People generally can do a lot more than they think they can.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Veronica

Veronica Garcia-Hayes and her daughter<\/p><\/div>\n

We have orange balls covered with letters of the alphabet and numbers 1 through 12. We work in partners, or groups of three, tossing the ball back and forth. This is something you could do at home against the wall of your own house, or if you have a kid or your grandkid that’s with you and they could toss it\u2014make it fun for them and you. When you throw the ball and catch it, whatever your eye tracks and whatever letter comes up, you just call the letter out, back and forth. Or call the number out to take it up to the next level. You get the letter A, you say a word that begins with that letter.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You’d really be surprised that a lot of our volunteers, people who help out in the gym, that don’t have Parkinson’s, really struggle with this type of game, but it’s memory, it’s coordination, and it’s being able to project your voice over everyone else.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related<\/div>
A Cartoonist Talks About How to Be an Artist with Parkinson's<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n

Try to find virtual classes<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Look through the Parkinson’s Foundation. There’s a Parkinson’s Alliance, there’s PD Connect, and [the Bay Area-based] <\/span>PD Active<\/span><\/a>. There are many resources online where you can find virtual classes for people with Parkinson’s. Most of the time they’re free, and if they’re not, it’s a nominal fee to participate in activities like dance, ballet for people with Parkinson’s, singing, boxing, TRX [Total Resistance Exercises]. You could find lots of resources online.<\/span><\/p>\n

My boxing classes were always in person offering various levels [with] a couple of classes for those with more ability than others. But since the pandemic, we had to\u2014that favorite word of everyone’s\u2014pivot and figure out how to keep things afloat. We went from in-person to virtual, and then as we started to come back, we eked into the gym again. We have a lot of people who just don’t want to come back into the gym, who’ve had maybe some decline over the past few years, who physically can’t get to the gym. So we now offer classes both virtually and in-person.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n