Concept2: Senior Rowers Prove You are Never Too Old to Row

SENIOR ROWERS PROVE YOU ARE NEVER TO OLD TO ROW!

Senior Rower

Read about.....

John Lewins

Paul Randell

The Ancient Mariners

Indoor rowing has seen a huge resurgence in recent years and the senior market is no stranger to this fantastic, total body exercise. Many turn to rowing for the fitness aspect yet even more turn to rowing for the social aspect: both in indoor rowing clubs at the gym and online virtual rowing groups. There are even virtual teams composed entirely of rowers over 60! At the YMCA North Shore in Auckland there is a large group of indoor rowers including the legendary Stan Brierly, who at 76 years old, who has rowed over 28 million meters.

There are a number of reasons that rowing is good for seniors:

The seated exercise minimizes impact on the legs and feet - yet there is still large involvement of all the leg muscles, and they are put through a wide range of motion - so rowing offers a great way to keep your legs fit, strong and flexible even if you have issues with knees, ankles or feet.

The seated exercise can also be a great choice for a person with balance issues.

Rowing offers cardiovascular conditioning, builds strength and develops flexibility - one exercise that does all three things for the whole body.

Rowing is a great choice for someone with vision loss or impairment. The monitor features a 'Large Print' display options, among others.Concept2 also offers free software called ErgChatter that gives a voice to the Performance Monitor, enabling vision impaired rowers to hear their elapsed time, pace, meters rowed etc, throughout their workout. Visit concept2.com/ergchatter for more information.

Rowing can be done as hard or as easily as you like, the intensity is completely user controlled. The harder the rower pulls, the more resistance and the harder the workout will be. This is why our machine can be used by everyone from cardiac rehab patients to Olympic athletes. There is no danger of being forced to pull too hard.

Rowing offers a vibrant community for seniors to join. They can join a challenge at their club or an online virtual team.

Why did I fall in love with a Concept 2 Rowing Machine at 70 years young?

John Lewins is our newest Million Meter Club member and when we asked him what motivated him to use the indoor rower he kindly sent us the following:

I am very competitive, so the chance to pit my rowing output against others was all the inspiration and motivation as well as perspiration (I.M.P) I needed to row 1 million meter's. Before taking up The Challenge I had only rowed 1,000 and 2,000m with the odd 5,000 thrown in, therefore to build up to row 22,000 and 25,000 at a time gave me a real buzz.

I have always tried to keep fit, running 10k, ½ marathons and the odd marathon for fun! A few years ago I had a total knee replacement which stopped me from running, but gave me the opportunity to do those ‘we must do it next year’ walks that we had been putting off - the Milford and the Queen Charlotte Tracks were the most enjoyable and challenging.

Joining and working out at the YMCA helped me to reach and maintain a reasonable level of fitness. Unfortunately I suffer from neuralgia caused by a severe bout of shingles and this restricts what exercising I can do in the gym - no lifting weights for example but rowing is perfect, it doesn’t affect the damaged nerves in my back.

It is a good feeling to be cruising along on the rower with perspiration pouring off knowing that there goes another ½ kilo. I have lost 5 kilos since starting in June this year and now down to a trim 76 kilos.

I just love a challenge and set myself a new one for each year.

Going Strong at 91!

Paul Randell got started in rowing in 1987. He was 71 years old at the time and entered a rowing competition with very little rowing experience under his belt. He ended up winning the competition and that was the beginnning of a wonderful 'career' of training, competing and travelling the world.

I figured I had run 16,000 miles and I just needed a new challenge". he says. Through competitions on a Concept 2 rower and via the Concept 2 website, Paul is finding the thrill of competition satisfying. "The air at competition time is electric," he says. "I feel like I'm walking among giants in the fitness industry!"

Paul takes great interest in his competition throughout the year "I'm always asking them what they hear about my competition and they tell me there is no one in my age group and weight class that is my competition!"

Paul rows about 4,000-5,000 metres almost every day at his local YMCA. On sprint days he does closer to 3,000m. "I've already won a 5 million meter t-shirt and I probably have enough to be closer to 10 million." It's just a matter of adding up his many logbooks to be sure.

What does he love about rowing? One thing is that you don't wear out very many shoes! Another is how young he feels. But, in the end it's the thrill of competition that keeps Paul going.
"Yesterday I took the day off and went fishing, but today I've got to get in to the Y and get rowing!"

The Ancient Mariners

Bill Keating started rowing about 62 years ago and is now part of The Ancient Mariners Organization (TAO), an online community of senior citizens, at Concept2. "To know that we are, in our own small way, encouraging other men and women in our age group to believe that the best is yet to come and to make sure our bodies and minds are ready when it does come," is a great inspiration for him and his group, he days. "In the meantime, it also feels great to just plain feel great! The Concept2 people are always there for us and the site they have created also helps keep me going. It is an amazing company and I would have to say they are UNIQUE!"

Bill visits the Concept2 website several times a day to see how his four team boats (the Ancient Mariners, Tasmania, Tierra del Fuego and Timbuktu) are doing. "I also check on my own progress within the boat and where I am on the particular Honor Board which I have at the time earned a right to be listed on." he says. "A few times a week I also visit the Rankings to see where I stand in one of the recognized distances and times compared to other people in my age range worldwide. Hopefully I can then take another stab at improving my time or distance during that week. This is a great way to bring some diversity and real physical and mental challenges to my regime."

The Ancient Mariners has had about 120 members over the past four plus years and continues to reach out to seniors. "I am continually amazed at the sense of community which each of our boats has been able to create. When you consider that the only thing we initially share is rowing, it does speak well for the world when people from several points on the globe can suddenly come together and create an amenable community."

"But it is actually about so much more than rowing. Just doing it also encourages one to do some weight lifting and other practices which improve strength, flexibility and endurance. Several of our people also bike ride extensively, swim and run. Many of our members also actually row on the water and compete in some of the major rowing/racing events. Most important of all, we have many members who just quietly row regularly and enjoy it. Indeed, that is the only rule we ever put on paper for our members. Just row regularly and enjoy it!

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