Working -- Jason Parillo

-- Story by Lolita Harper, photo by [tk]

HE IS

Skilled in the sweet science

NO PAIN, NO GAIN

Inside the small, modest boxing studio in Costa Mesa, the music blares

and fitness enthusiasts prepare themselves to sweat.

Boxing trainer Jason Parillo gets ready also, running down a list of

punishing -- yet rewarding -- tasks for his clients to accomplish.

Parillo, 27, said he likes his clients to warm up by jumping rope or

hitting the speed bag. Then onto shadow boxing for repetitive punching

motions, designed to train muscle groups to execute a powerful punch.

Once the heart rate is up, the real workout starts in the ring.

Parillo puts on punching mitts and leads his boxers through a series of

combinations for five to six rounds. With three-minute rounds, it doesn’t

sound like much of a workout, but the constant movement of the feet and

the quick pace of punches wears people out more than they expect.

The session finishes with sit-ups, he said.

Parillo has been a trainer at LA Boxing, on Newport Boulevard in Costa

Mesa, since it opened 10 years ago, he said. The Costa Mesa resident has

worked up a clientele of about 15 people, while training himself for

professional fights.

TAKES ONE TO TRAIN ONE

While most of Parillo’s clients box for recreation only, his true

passion can be found in the ring. Parillo’s training is designed not only

to help people let off steam, or decrease their waistline, but to deliver

pain.

“Real boxing,” he said.

Parillo said he can empathize with the fighters he’s trained because

he’s been in their shoes -- and in the ring professionally. The Costa

Mesa resident fought as a welterweight and has an undefeated record -- 5

and 0, with four knockouts, he said.

Although he’s proven his success in the ring, he doesn’t impose his

style on other boxers.

“Everyone has their own style. I don’t try to change it. I just add to

what they have and make them focus,” he said.

INEVITABLE INJURIES

In a sport designed to inflict pain, it is no surprise that Parillo’s

professional career was cut short by injuries. The boxer broke bones in

both elbows, causing fragments to fall into the hinges of his arms, he

said.

“I had trouble with routine things like washing my hair,” Parillo

said.

He underwent two months of physical therapy and has yet to start

boxing competitively again. He hopes to step into the ring again but said

it depends on how he holds up physically. If his own fighting career

doesn’t take off, he plans to manage or coach boxers, he said.