Rowing and menopause
Teamwork, great exercise, pulling together instead of falling apart. Masters Rower Rebecca Caroe tells us why rowing is the perfect sport for women over 40.
Rebecca Caroe and her crew rowing (while in menopause).
Thanks to Jill Angelo who is working hard to enable conversations about #midlife so there are fewer surprises as our bodies change. Here’s the opening anecdote from the article. Follow the link to read more
The sport of rowing is seeing a giant growth in membership from women over the age of 40. Why? What is it about mid-life that makes a traditional water sport so attractive?
Let me start by telling a story.
I have been privileged to meet an amazing group of women through rowing. Women who wouldn’t describe themselves as “sporty”; women who have suffered loss; women who have families and those who do not; women with life partners and women who are single; and of course, women in menopause and beyond.
What we all have in common is a shared purpose — to conquer the challenge of learning a new skill — the sport of rowing.
And we succeed because we do it together.
Rowing is a really challenging sport to learn as an adult. Nobody can “just row” just like nobody can just ride a bicycle.
When you first get into a boat it feels unstable — like you’re sitting on a pencil on the water that’s about to tip over and dunk you in the water. And so you have to learn how to balance the boat; how to handle the oars — which are 3 meters long — and also how to propel yourself BACKWARDS around a river or lake.
Learning to row is a bit like rubbing your head and patting your tummy at the same time.
