Bauer credit rowing with overcoming his back pain -- and getting him active again

At 73, Dave Bauer has garnered seven age-group world championships in indoor rowing, the last coming this past February at the CRASH-B Sprints in Boston. That title, in the Veterans Lightweight 70-74 category, came on the heels of Bauer's first European Championship, which he won with the U.S. national indoor rowing team in Dresden, Germany, in December 2007.

"I firmly believe that rowing is the very best single workout there is," he said. "It works all the major muscle groups with no impact, and it is a great cardiovascular workout as well."

Nearly two decades ago, when he was 55 and living in California, Bauer was a top-flight age-group runner with one obstacle he couldn't overcome -- debilitating back pain. Rejecting surgery and chiropractic visits, Bauer, a retired aerospace engineer, decided he could figure out how to align his back. He started rowing "with a vengeance." After moving to Colorado, Bauer started competing and qualified for the Boston event.

An indoor rowing race is fiendishly simple. Hop aboard a Concept2 Model D ergometer rowing machine, and rip through 2,000 meters as quick as you can. Long and lanky (6-foot-1, 165 pounds), Bauer has the power-to-weight ratio often found among elite cyclists. The same lean body type clearly excels at rowing.

Today, the father of three (and grandfather of four) says his back feels so good that he has resumed his running. He runs the Pike's Peak Ascent (a road race that gains 7,185 feet in 13.3 miles). "I've done that five times, and I've finished as high as third in my age group," he says. "And I'll continue running it until I win it."