The Good Life – March-April 2019

Steve Holand is an athlete in the
Rock Steady Boxing program,
and he learned about the program
about a year and a half ago from a
family friend working in the health
care field. Holand had been off his
exercise routine for about 5 months,
and he’d noticed his symptoms —
most notably tremors and balance
— were getting worse. Though he
wanted to do something about it
through exercise, Steve said he just
couldn’t seem to get himself to the
gym to work out.
In November 2017, Steve joined
the Rock Steady Boxing class
and quickly realized how much
he enjoyed the intense but fun
workouts. “Jake has a natural upbeat
coaching style, and it’s obvious that
he is passionate about his work,”
Steve said. “In class, he encourages
us to push ourselves but respects
each individual on how far they want
to take it.”
While Steve said getting to know the
other athletes in the class has been
an unexpected bonus of attending
the class, the tangible benefits
20 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
are much more powerful. Steve
said his Parkinson’s symptoms
are much less troublesome, he’s
in great shape and he rarely gets
sick. Plus, lingering shoulder pain
has disappeared and his feelings of
depression have dissipated. “I think
that is remarkable payback for a few
hours invested each week,” Steve
said.
That increase in self-esteem and
an improved self-image is exactly
why Jake enjoys his job. His first
experience with helping someone
realize how movement and fitness
could improve self-esteem was
more than 6 years ago when he
was working for Community Living
Services, an organization in Fargo
that provides support services for