Seniors who box reap physical and emotional health benefits

On a recent Friday, professional boxer Johnathan Arroyo was teaching a class of seniors ranging in age from their 70s to mid-90s how to stay in shape — using their fists.

"Whoa! Take it easy, I’m a little nervous," Arroyo said to laughter, while lightly sparring at the Fountaingate Gardens senior living community in Commack. Arroyo, a professional boxer, was leading hitting drills during a boxing-inspired fitness class for seniors. After completing the circuit, Arroyo congratulated her. "There you go! Good job," he said.

The class is a new offering this year at Fountaingate Gardens, an independent living community that's part of the Gurwin Healthcare System. The class, participants say, offers seniors an energetic and unconventional way to boost movement, balance, coordination and confidence. Arroyo's class teaches chair boxing, a form in which participants who are able alternate between sitting and standing.

The seniors sparred with instructors using boxing gloves and participated in several light drills, like throwing hook punches. The class offers an upbeat social environment, participants say, where seniors can challenge themselves and cheer each other on.

"I’ve never done anything like it before," said Pearl Doctor, 87, who lives in the Commack facility. But Arroyo, she said, "is so energetic and he makes you come out of yourself to be with it. You want to try harder to do it. This is a good class. I want to try harder."

Arroyo, 40, of Brentwood, a professional boxer of 20 years and a certified nursing assistant, said he developed the idea after he helped at nursing homes during the pandemic. He saw that seniors were not getting many visitors during that period. "I connected my passions, my proficiency with boxing and my love of working with seniors, and it just kind of blew up," Arroyo said.

He added, "If they hit me, they get to feel good, and they get their confidence back, they have their independence, so it’s really about pushing that inner warrior that we all have inside of us."

Some of the benefits of boxing include improved heart rate, balance and coordination, along with better stamina, muscle memory and endurance, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Boxing can also boost mental health by "relieving stress and anger," according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Vanessa Baird-Streeter, CEO and president of the Health & Welfare Council of Long Island, said in a statement that accessible fitness programs such as chair boxing "can provide a meaningful way for seniors to incorporate movement into their daily lives while supporting strength, balance, mobility, and overall well-being."

"Supporting our aging population means more than addressing health needs as they arise; it means creating opportunities for older adults to remain active, connected, and engaged in their communities," Baird-Streeter said.

Edward Goldberg, 80, who moved back to Long Island from Texas to be near family, said he was a brown belt in tae kwon do in his 30s. At first, he thought he wouldn’t enjoy the class. But he was surprised, he said.

"I thought it would be kind of silly ... and now I don’t miss a single session," Goldberg said. "I love watching the people here; It’s fun to watch some of them older than I am ... and just watching them up there giving their all — I love that."

Annie Broyles, a resident personal trainer at Fountaingate Gardens, said seniors are able to build emotional connections while boxing.

"People are having fun and not thinking about the whole moving and aging process. They’re thinking about ‘Wow, I’m fighting,’ and moving forward in positive ways — regardless of their age."