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"For lessons on how to age well, we could do worse than turn to Richard Morgan.

At 93, the Irishman is a four-time world champion in indoor rowing, with the aerobic engine of a healthy 30- or 40-year-old and the body-fat percentage of a whippet. He’s also the subject of a new case study, published last month in the Journal of Applied Physiology, that looked at his training, diet and physiology.

Even though his fitness routine began later in life, he has now rowed the equivalent of almost 10 times around the globe and has won four world championships. So what, the researchers wondered, did his late-life exercise do for his aging body?

What made Morgan especially interesting to the researchers was that he hadn’t begun sports or exercise training until he was 73. Retired and somewhat at loose ends then, he’d attended a rowing practice with one of his other grandsons, a competitive collegiate rower. The coach invited him to use one of the machines.

“I started from nowhere,” he said, “and I suddenly realized there was a lot of pleasure in doing this.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/welln...ichard-morgan/

Rowing is the single best indoor exercise device you can buy, no ifs ands or butts. I used to have one, and loved it. I gave it to my nephew when I gained too much weight to use it.

No impact, it is phenomenally good for your back. Because you use so many muscles it is better than indoor cycling for overall fitness, and takes less time to get there. It has the same sorts of internet competition indoor cycling has.

The Concept 2, the one I had and recommend, has games that sound silly, but work well. I like the fish chase one, you chase small fish and then row like mad to get away from the bigger fish.

If I ever get back to where I can use one again, I'll get another. I loved mine, I have done or tried most of it, the only exercise indoors I like better involves, well, you know what that involves.

https://www.garagegymreviews.com/the...rowing-machine

Bald Paul

And here I thought one of the benefits of an indoor exercise device was to keep from gaining too much weight!

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I became clinically depressed after cancer.

Trakhak

I have a Concept II rower that I haven't used in years, because from one session to the next I never knew when I was going to row myself into feeling scary back pain.

Just searched Youtube for "how to use indoor rower without back pain"---and the first video showed me in less than 3 minutes what I'd been doing wrong. (Turns out that you're supposed to keep your spine straight and hinge yourself at your hips.)

late

Yes.

Stay aware of your back until doing it right becomes a habit. Done right it will give you perfect posture. That's not military posture. One of the many things I liked about it is that girls notice when you have perfect posture, not that it's a big deal, but not being invisible is nice. Another thing is the core strength that created that posture was good as a general thing. We need core strength and Modern life doesn't do much to build it.

Champlaincycler

I too sold my Concept 2 a year back. Great workout but also had a nagging lower back issue
Tried to correct position on rower but couldn't seem to get past it. Bottom line is that the rower and smart bike trainer took up too much room in my woodshop. One of them had to go. I do miss it but virtual cycling correlates more with my real lfe activity . Trying to throw in some squats, Planks and freeweights to make up for the lost rowing. It is a great all around exercise, much more leg dependent than most realize.