HILLSBOROUGH: Woman discovers rowing at age 61; uses it to lose weight

By Peter Sclafani, Staff Writer
Barbara Hogan discovered rowing and used it as motivation to lose weight. Above left, she’s shown before concentrating on losing weight. Above right, she has a rowing medal she won last year at age 65.
She discovers rowing at age 61; uses it to lose weight
Rowing
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Peter SclafaniStaff Writer
Most people do not think it possible to be in better shape at age 60 than at age 20, but most people are not competitive rowers either.
Barbara Hogan, 66, of Hillsborough, was recently featured in MORE Magazine’s article, "A Better Body at 30, 40, 50 and 60 Than at 20."
"I started Weight Watchers in 1970, but with kids, I had trouble keeping the weight off," Ms. Hogan said.
After struggling with different diets and weight loss tricks, Ms. Hogan decided something needed to change.
"I would do things and lose 30 to 40 pounds at a time, but I would never be able to keep the weight off," she said.
Now she is down from 197 pounds to maintaining a weight of around 150.
Ms. Hogan said she was tired of not looking the way she wanted. She decided that in 2001, she was going to lose weight and make sure it stayed off. She started attending Weight Watchers meetings regularly and began to exercise more. Since 2001, she has not missed a monthly meeting.
Then, in 2006, while she was riding her bike around Carnegie Lake in Princeton, a rower approached her, and she asked where she could learn to row.
Determined to learn, she signed up for classes. In 2007, she started competing with the Carnegie Lake Rowing Association.
Ms. Hogan rows in single races as well as on four- and eight-person teams.
"It is a beautiful experience to go out at 5 in the morning and see the sun rise over the lake," she said.
A self-described couch potato, Ms. Hogan said she wanted to turn her life around. Rowing has helped her do that.
"When I’m out on the lake, it doesn’t feel like I am exercising because I love doing it so much," she said. "I row about six days a week. It is not uncommon for me to go out once with the team and then again by myself later in the day."
Ms. Hogan took home the silver medal at the World Indoor Rowing Championships when she was 65 years old. Last year, at age 66, she won the bronze medal.
"It is one of the hardest things ever," she said. "It takes a great deal of practice."
Ms. Hogan said Weight Watchers was the catalyst to her transformation.
"I owe this transformation to Weight Watchers," Ms. Hogan said. "Not only did the program give me the tools and encouragement to lose the weight, it also gave me the confidence to try something new. I got moving and found a whole new life."