INDIANAPOLIS — This fight isn’t about agility and speed. It’s about winning a battle.

“Jab, cross, hook, right, all right…nice job Lee,” says a trainer as 70-year-old Lee Peters of Carmel punches the trainer’s mitts.

Two or three times a week, they lace up in a war against Parkinson’s disease.

“The tremor in my hand isn’t as bad and my foot feels better, too. Oh, I’m supposed to be doing this,” said Laurel Thompson of Indianapolis.

Rock Steady Boxing has been turning patients into boxers for the past decade. Co-founded in Indianapolis by then-public safety director Scott Newman, himself diagnosed with the neurological disorder, the gym now has branches in 40 states and three countries.

“We’ve seen miracles here. People come through our door battered and broken, thinking they’re not going to be able to do the things they love to do anymore and they come in here and they start working out and suddenly they’re going back out golfing and they’re going on vacations,” said Kristy Follmar, a former professional boxer and Rock Steady co-founder.

The 90-minute workouts include weight training and cardiovascular activity.

“We’re going to do another three-minute round on the bags and then we’re going to speed bags,” said the trainer, who pushed participants to keep going.

But there’s something about the intensity of the no-contact boxing that sets this therapy apart.

“There’s lots of research now showing that exercise improves Parkinson’s disease symptoms and animal model research suggests that it may even slow the decline and help protect the brain cells and keep them healthier,” explained Dr. Elizabeth Zauber, an IU Health Neurologist and Rock Steady Boxing board member.

Lee Peters needs no research.

“This is the way you fight it, is through physical activity. You build strength,” he said.

He came here the day he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s six months ago.

“I’m definitely in better physical condition and getting stronger each time. I can see a difference each time I come,” said Peters.

Here, they’re not giving in to tremors or lack of mobility, they’re showing their body who’s boss.

“The metaphor here is you fight Parkinson’s and we fight Parkinson’s,” said Peters.

Learn more about Rock Steady Boxing

Source: WTHR