93 and raring to row

​You don’t want to run into or read about Richard Morgan. Not when you are just waking up after another online fitness session you dozed through. He can make you feel ashamedly unfit.

At 93, screams The Washington Post heading, he’s as fit as a 40-year-old. Typical media exaggeration, so thought my jealous self. Until I came to the research part of it.

Three researchers from Ireland assessed the “physiological, performance, nutritional intake, and training characteristics” of Richard Morgan, a “four-time master world champion indoor male rower”.

The good part was “the onetime baker and battery maker with creaky knees" didn’t take up regular exercise until he was in his 70s” and still trains mostly in his backyard shed.

Very like me!  Just substitute the corner room with all the junk in my apartment for the backyard shed. I am sure the creaks must sound and feel the same.

He was around once when his grandson was practicing rowing and the coach persuaded Richard to have a go at the rowing machine. He did. And just took off.

Maybe next time one of the youngsters persuades me to accompany them to the gym, I should. You never know. (Ouch!)

They called Richard over to the physiology lab at the University of Limerick in Ireland. While he rowed a simulated 2,000-meter race, the scientists monitored his heart, lungs and muscles.

The 165-pound “powerhouse” had 80 percent muscle and barely 15 percent fat. His heart rate peaked pretty fast at 153 beats per minute, suggesting excellent cardiovascular health.

Like me, Richard has no qualms about sharing the secrets of his good health.

• Consistency: Rows about 30 kilometers a week, averaging around 40 minutes a day.
• Mixes easy, moderate and intense training: 70 percent easy, 20 percent moderate and 10 percent intense.
• Weight training: Uses adjustable dumbbells for three sets of lunges and curls, two or three times a week.
• High-protein diet: Eats plenty of protein, his daily consumption exceeding the recommended 60 grams, given his weight.

Thanks to people like Richard, scientists now know that “the human body maintains the ability to adapt to exercise at any age”, and that exercise can help build and maintain a strong, capable body, regardless of age.

You are amazing Richard Morgan! And you have inspired me.

You started at 72, right? I have some calendars to flip through yet. As soon as I finish my next nap, I will read that study in full.

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Based on this report by The Washington Post.
Image: © www.row2k.com. Shows Richard Morgan at a 2018 event. Image published in The Washington Post.