For many people living with Parkinson’s disease, everyday movement can slowly become a battle.
Tasks that once felt automatic — walking comfortably, using your hands, maintaining balance — can gradually become more difficult as the neurological condition progresses. But one fitness coach is determined to help people fight back through exercise after seeing the impact the disease had on his own family.
Alastair Macfarlane, from Portishead, has launched free fitness sessions for people with Parkinson’s disease at Southmead Hospital following his mum Anne’s diagnosis six years ago, per BBC News.
Around 170,000 people in the UK are believed to be living with Parkinson’s, a progressive neurological condition that can affect mobility, speech, focus, sleep and independence. While there is currently no cure, exercise has increasingly become recognised as one of the most effective ways to help people manage symptoms and maintain quality of life.
For Macfarlane, the mission is deeply personal.
“Exercise makes a real impact and difference,” he said. “With Parkinson’s, there is no cure. The best thing that can be done is exercise.”
What began as a personal response to his mother’s diagnosis has now become a source of support for many others facing the same challenges.
Macfarlane explained that Anne continues to motivate him every day.
“It gives me more drive and passion to do what I do,” he said.
The fitness specialist believes movement can play a major role in slowing the progression of symptoms and helping people regain confidence in their own bodies.
“Classically, with Parkinson’s, movements get much smaller and we’re looking to reverse that,” he said. “A lot of people say to us they feel fitter and stronger than they did before their diagnosis because they are doing so much exercise.”
For Anne, the road to diagnosis started with subtle but worrying physical changes.
She said she first noticed issues when she began experiencing cramps in her hands alongside stiffness while walking.
“I was sent for a brain scan and, as a result of that, they diagnosed Parkinson’s disease,” she said.
Like many people living with the condition, the diagnosis changed her daily life — but it also unexpectedly opened the door to a stronger support network and a more active lifestyle.
Anne says the classes have helped both physically and emotionally, especially through the connection with others experiencing similar struggles.
“I find exercising with other people helps as you don’t feel quite as isolated, you meet people with the same condition,” she said. “I wouldn’t have done what I do now, or met the people I met now, if it wasn’t for the diagnosis.”
She also praised the energy and commitment her son brings to the sessions.
“He certainly gets a lot of good remarks from people with Parkinson’s who feel they are dong something for themselves,” she said.
The NHS has long encouraged regular physical activity for people living with Parkinson’s disease, particularly to help ease muscle stiffness, improve mood and reduce stress.
“There are many activities you can do to help keep yourself fit,” an NHS spokesperson told the BBC. “If you are newly diagnosed or your symptoms are mild, you could try vigorous activities like team sports, cycling and running. It’s about big, powerful moves.”
That idea is central to Macfarlane’s sessions, which focus on encouraging larger, more confident movements to combat the shrinking motion patterns often associated with Parkinson’s.
For many attending the classes, the sessions are about far more than fitness alone. They offer routine, confidence, community and a sense of control in the face of a condition that can often feel unpredictable.
And for Macfarlane, seeing participants grow stronger continues to fuel the passion that started with helping his own mum.
What began with one family’s diagnosis is now helping many others rediscover movement — and, in some cases, confidence they feared they had lost.
Featured image credit: Alistair Macfarlane – Exercise Specialist / Instagram
