NEWS HERO OF THE MONTH
Darrell Jack’s Fast Forward Fitness KICKBOXING INSTRUCTOR TACKLES PARKINSON’S, TEACHING MOBILITY AND CONFIDENCE BY ERIN BLOODGOOD
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welve years ago, Darrell Jack opened a small fitness facility called Fast Forward Fitness; driven by his love for athletics, he understood how fitness could help people take on the challenges of everyday life. According to him, getting fit requires a deep dive into one’s mindset and the day-to-day concerns that affect one’s psyche. “If we don’t have the mentality, the physicality doesn’t matter,” he says. Years later, that approach to fitness led him to his work with Parkinson’s clients. In addition to personal training and group classes, Jack now offers regular kickboxing classes for those with Parkinson’s disease that teach improved mobility, agility, and other functions. The idea for kickboxing classes centered around Parkinson’s came up when a friend of Jack’s developed Parkinson’s disease
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about six years ago. The friend knew Jack was a certified kickboxing instructor and told him about Rock Steady Boxing, a national organization that assists coaches around the country to build kickboxing curricula that improve the quality of life of those with Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder that may cause motor skills, balance, sensory function, and speech to deterioration over time. More than 60,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year. According to the Rock Steady Boxing website, studies have shown that intense exercise, especially rigorous targeted movement, may slow the disease progression and protect neurological functions.
Photo by Erin Bloodgood.
