Indoor rowing at any age

American Eric Osborne is one of these. He has never lost the competitive drive. For Osborne it has led to a World Record, a culmination of a return to the sport after a 40-year gap.

Owner of the 80 – 84 year old age division set earlier this year at the World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston, the United States, Osborne came to indoor rowing via his passion for rowing that began at university.

When Osborne took up rowing as a sport at university, indoor rowing machines did not exist, so when he spotted the machines for the first time 25 years ago, Osborne immediately took to them.

“I tried it once and realised how much I liked rowing,” says Osborne. “I bought the machine then and there.”

Osborne has also returned to the water-version of rowing regularly taking out a single in the summer and rowing up to 10km a day.

“I row every day that it’s possible,” says Osborne. “Generally six times a week.”

In the winter when rowing on the water is not possible, Osborne turns to his indoor rower and works his way through a six-day schedule. When he noted that the times he was doing on the indoor rower were up there with the best in the world in his age group, Osborne’s competitive instinct kicked in.

Osborne’s strategy for breaking the World Record: “I got on the machine and rowed as hard as I could.”

Osborne has noticed the impact of age. “I just get slower. I have less energy than I did 10 years ago. I used to do 7:12 on the erg now it’s 7:58. I also find I need more time to recover.” Osborne also admits that the drive row hard gets more difficult, but has found that listening to books on tape helps him get through the workouts. “I like histories and mysteries.”

The other secret is Osborne’s diet. “I eat three eggs and four slices of bacon every day for breakfast after I’ve rowed. I used to worry about my cholesterol but my doctor is uninterested.”

Osborne gets his inspiration from simple enjoyment. “If I don’t row I start to feel terrible in a couple of days.” Quoting his brother, who took up the sport in his 70s, “Erging is a leaching of the sludge.”