When life decides to throw you curve-balls, it really can really throw them big! In October last year, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, on top of my melanoma battle, which I have written about previously! Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder caused by the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. There is no cure. Since that time, I have been learning how to live with the disease that most people associate with actor Michael J. Fox. What I have learnt from talking with people, reading and researching about Parkinson’s is that keeping fit and active can play a big part in helping to ‘live’ with the disease. A few months ago, I came across Lisa Roach, who seems to be leading the way in this part of the world with ‘Counterpunch’, a boxing fitness initiative for people with Parkinson's disease. I now attend two of her classes a week, which I really enjoy. These are run from the Shane Cameron Gym on Onewa Road and Lisa’s own Unruly gym, which she shares with her husband, Alexander, at Hobsonville. I love highlighting people doing great things in our community. Lisa is certainly doing great things for me and others with neurological motor disorders. I talked to her for this Channel Mag interview in May, just after they had celebrated 10 years of Counterpunch Parkinson’s boxing.
Lisa Gombinsky Roach qualified as a conductor in Conductive Education (CE) in Birmingham, England, through the Foundation for Conductive Education and the University of Wolverhampton in 2000. CE is an intensive, holistic learning system developed in Hungary in the 1940s. It was designed for individuals with neurological motor disorders. It treats movement difficulties as a learning challenge rather than just a medical condition.
Lisa has worked with people of all ages in various conductive settings worldwide, including centres in New Zealand, England, Canada, Norway, Australia and Indonesia. She has written extensively about CE for adults and has presented at several conferences. Lisa is also a REPS-certified personal trainer, with qualifications from the Australian Institute of Fitness. She is passionate about bringing movement and exercise opportunities to all people regardless of age or ability and focuses on making exercise fun, accessible, and customised to each individual's needs.
"It's simple; we like to see that spark in people’s eyes when they put on a pair of boxing gloves," explained Lisa when asked about her ‘why’ in what she does. "We love to watch people start to transform right before our eyes, watch them open up and move into what they’re really capable of. Most of all, we absolutely love the way the most unassuming person can walk up to a boxing bag and let a grin spread across their face.
"A fire is lit, frustrations are pounded out, beads of sweat start to form as the heart starts pounding. That’s the life our team craves, and that’s the opportunity we like to provide. Walk in with Parkinson’s and walk out standing tall, knowing that you are doing everything in your power to show Parkinson's who is boss!"
Lisa Roach built Counterpunch Parkinson's from inspiration and experience. Her excitement grew from reading more and more research, which clearly shows the benefits of exercise for people with Parkinson's disease. But failing to see anyone implementing this research in New Zealand, Lisa took it upon herself to put her years of experience working with people with neurological conditions to work.
Gathering a small group of keen participants to try out a Parkinson's-specific boxing class in a little room at the local YMCA, New Zealand's first boxing-based Parkinson's exercise group was born. The participants immediately felt the benefits, and they told their friends about it.
“After a few short months running our little boxing group, we started to receive phone calls from around the country. There were health professionals, Parkinson's community educators, and fitness facilities wanting to offer their members the same thing. To help, we developed the Counterpunch Parkinson's Coach Certification Programme. This is open to all coaches, so we can teach everything we know about running a boxing-based exercise group for people with Parkinson's. We are excited to see our national network growing!”
Now with 17 groups throughout the country, with around 100 trained coaches, Counterpunch Parkinson's offers high-intensity non-contact boxing-based exercise specifically designed for people living with Parkinson's. Boxers take part in purpose-built exercise sessions crafted to improve posture, balance, gait, size and speed of movement, strength, agility, and flexibility in a fun and supportive group exercise environment.
Shane Cameron is recognised as a leader in New Zealand boxing. When Lisa first looked at expanding her boxing programme for those with neurological motor disorders, she gave Shane a call. Lisa was thrilled that Shane got behind the programme from the beginning and continues to be very much in their corner.
“I was curious but didn’t know what to expect when Lisa asked if I’d come by to see what she was doing with her group of boxers with Parkinson’s,” said Shane when he was first introduced to the concept. “What I walked into was a room of enthusiasm and potential. I saw people transforming in an instant and couldn’t help but grab a pair of pads and jump in! If we could get these results in a room with minimal equipment, imagine the possibilities if we ran this programme at my fully functional boxing facility.”
Lisa says that Counterpunch is specifically for people with Parkinson’s. “Although boxing-based exercise can certainly be done by people with a range of other motor disorders, for people with Parkinson’s, boxing allows us to directly address many of the main movement issues people with Parkinson’s have: power, strength, forward reach, rotation, walking and gait, balance, agility, speech, multitasking, etc. It offers opportunity for intensity, which is really important for brain health, and it is fun and energising and doesn’t feel clinical.”
I asked Lisa what advice she would offer to those in my position who have been diagnosed with PD in relation to learning how to live a 'best life' with the disease.
“Exercise is literally medicine,” advises Lisa. My strong advice is to commit to movement and exercise and make sure you get your daily dose. This will make your long-term journey with Parkinson’s an easier trip to take, will help you push back against the disease, and will help minimise impairment. Find things you like so that you are more likely to stick with them."
Lisa adds that in the 20-plus years she has worked in the Parkinson’s space, lifestyle has emerged as a stronger focus in living well with the disease.
“There is now a much bigger focus on the role of ‘lifestyle medicine’ in Parkinson’s management. Exercise, nutrition, stress management and sleep are all imperative to living well with Parkinson’s. There is a lot more Parkinson’s around – or at least it feels that way – an increased prevalence of Parkinson’s plus conditions. There is an increasing use of treatments beyond just medication, such as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and pumps. The world is also gaining a better understanding of the multi-systemic neurological complexity of Parkinson’s and of the associated non-motor symptoms."
Lisa and Alexander have been operating their Unruly Gym in Hobsonville for five years. They had the opportunity after the Covid lockdowns to take over the existing studio space to create a permanent home for the services they offer, allowing them to create a space where they could make exercise accessible to many people with a wide range of different chronic conditions and build that into a fitness community.
“We are a boutique fitness studio offering a wide range of typical exercise classes – strength, boxing, high intensity training, etc., plus a wider range of classes for people with disabilities and chronic conditions,” adds Lisa. “In addition to Counterpunch Parkinson’s, we offer classes for people with cancer, MS, older adults and brain gym classes. We also have a team of specialised trainers who can help people with everything from high-performance sport, prehab and rehab, muscle rebalance, corrective exercise, and pain and injury management, condition-specific personal training and general personal training.”
Quizzed on what she enjoys in her time away from work, Lisa asks, “Is away from work a thing? Work is pretty full on at the moment, but I like to hike and camp, to play bridge, to bake, to read and to travel.”
From my perspective, Lisa is fantastic. Her bossy enthusiasm for what she is doing is a Godsend for people like me who are living with Parkinson’s disease. I now couldn’t do without my weekly Counterpunch boxing classes!
Visit counterpunchparkinsons.com or unrulycompany.co.nz
