Millions of Meters for Ken Zaremba

Have a look at Ken Zaremba and try to guess his age. Then add this: he’s never competed in an indoor rowing competition. He’s never joined a gym. He’s a cancer survivor and he’s rowed more than 26 million meters on the same Concept2 Model B indoor rowing machine. 

Ken is 85. 

For the past 38 years, the Concept2 indoor rower has been a constant in his life. There’s no elaborate training program, no quest for the latest technology and no gym membership. Just the same machine, the same 30-minute workout and the same commitment to keeping fit. 

“I’ve always believed exercise is a critical element of good health,” says Ken. “I’ve felt all my life exercise is important for good health, if you don’t use it, you lose it and I want to keep fit so I can do things like walking and hiking.” 

Perhaps the secret to Ken’s success is that he has never really chased success at all. He has simply stuck to his routine even when motivation was low. 

Ken was a racquetball player until a torn ligament forced him to look for something else to do. He’d heard about indoor rowing machines and bought one. That was 38 years ago. 

He bought a Concept2 Model B. It was only the second iteration of Concept2 indoor rowers. First emerging in 1986, it featured a wire cage flywheel cover and the first digital Performance Monitor (PM), the PM1. 

Over nearly four decades, Ken has made a few repairs and upgrades. He’s replaced the shock cord several times, replaced dead monitor batteries and upgraded the monitor a couple of times to take advantage of technological advancements. That’s about it. 

Ken keeps his Erg in a separate building just off his house in Boulder Creek, California. He works out surrounded by photographs taken by him from around the world. Every bit of wall space is covered, including a huge map of the world with pins marking the places he has visited. Over the years the other gym equipment he once used has decreased. The Concept2 rowing machine has remained his number one go-to. 

“I put in my old CDs, I crank up the stereo and listen to 60s, 70s and 80s rock and roll. I do the 30 minutes (on the Model B), I rate about 30 strokes per minute and get off. I record what I’ve done and I’m usually ranked pretty high internationally when it rates me by weight and sex and age.” 

The damper setting was set “years ago”, and Ken has no idea what it’s on. 

Ken is careful in recording every workout in the C2 online logbook. While there’s a wide choice of times and distances to chase, Ken has stuck strictly to the 30-minute category, although he admits to very occasionally doing a 10,000 meter piece. 

Ken notes that as he’s gotten older, there are fewer and fewer competitors in his age group. At present, he’s in the top spot for 30 minutes. 

“I was number one in 5000m and 6000m but someone else has come in and taken it. Last year I was in 80–84-year-old age group and I was top 12 in the world. Now that I’ve moved into 85-plus category, I’m at the top.” 

Ken has been using the indoor rower longer than Concept2 has been keeping official records. Fortunately, he is a meticulous record keeper. Since he started rowing, he has recorded his workouts and his weight. That meant he was able to send Concept2 his early numbers when the online records were established. 

The result? 

“I’m now in the 26 million meter club.” 

He’s realistic about getting older. 

“As you get older your muscles atrophy, so you don’t have the strength that you used to. Back in the early days I’d do 7200 meters in half an hour. I now row 6200 meters. It’s a steady decline.” 

There are some days when Ken will say “no” to a workout. 

“Back when I worked, I’d do my workout before work. Now I do it in the afternoon as I’m not really a morning person.” 

It’s perhaps telling that even after 38 years, Ken doesn’t describe his rowing as an obsession or a gruelling challenge. It is simply something he does. The same machine, the same half-hour, three or four times a week.  

He just keeps doing what he has done for 38 years – 26 million meters, built one 30-minute session at a time.