Everyone agrees that the abdominal part - where you box while doing sit-ups, then freeze with exhaustion - is the hardest.
Healey developed his workout regimes after recovering from a broken back from an industrial accident. Doctors told him that even after surgery, he would either be in a wheelchair or have to use a walker and suffer from arthritis.
He chose to believe the worst would not happen, went private and focused on rehabilitation after meeting occupational therapist Diana Henare.
"Diana focused on improving my basic motor functions and reasoning abilities through rehab, hypnosis and learning how to release endorphins to reduce pain," he said.
Now Healey has legs of iron. He frequently leads an early-morning training session, does a full day's work, then does another workout after dinner. He reckons he needs only three or four hours sleep a night and prefers pounding the pavement to a Sunday morning sleep-in.
Many Ports of Auckland workers used to play rugby or league when younger but have stopped exercising.
Stevedore Anton Tipere said the worst situation was where - as is sometimes necessary - people had to work double shifts and had only a short break in between. "With shift work, the weight just piled on ... the only food available is McDonald's, pies and all the stuff that's bad for you," he said.
"Our body clocks had gone haywire."
Tipere had raised blood pressure and high cholesterol. He realised he had to change his lifestyle after he suffered a mini stroke.
The programme, which is available to everyone, not just the late shift, was a workers' initiative and management saw its merit. Stevedore Willie Maipi knew what Healey could do and approached management, who agreed everyone needed to improve their physical fitness.
Now everyone is shedding excess pounds. Tipere and Maipi say they have lost 10kg in five months.
There's no doubt this programme, called Kia kaka Kia Maia (Give your best, be confident of your ability), is a win-win. People arrive at work an hour or two early so they can work out before they start driving a crane or a gantry. Sometimes families come, too.
Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson is among the regulars. Used to working out alone, he noticed how group training brings people together. The barriers are broken when workers and the boss spar together. "We've got some big boys here [but] no one's clipped me round the ear yet," he said.
Dealing with old sports injuries is a frequent challenge for the 30-plus folk on the programme. Sore knees and backs are common. Healey said he incorporated many of the ideas from his own rehabilitation into the fitness programmes.
He trains people to tape up their hands and to spar carefully so you don't biff the other guy. "I'm trying to create a safe environment, friendly enough for the average mum," he said.
It is also mind over matter. Training runs are done with your head down, at the pace of the slowest person, sometimes walking if necessary. When people look up, they are blown away by how far they have run.
The sparring is far from easy - some first-time boxers have left the room to vomit.
Now Healey is so busy he has to turn down people who ask him to set up programmes in their workplace.
One day perhaps, his voluntary work might replace his day job. But he hopes that the firms he is working with will be able to help with sponsorship to overseas events such as the New York Marathon, which he is aiming to attend next year.
