WORKOUT WONDER BOY AT 97.

Byline: Matt Cooper The Register-Guard

It's time for New Year's resolutions and here in America, approximately 279,999,999 of us are standing forlornly in front of full-length mirrors, mulling whether to pitch the jeans in favor of something a bit roomier, like a shower curtain.

Ask yourself this question: "What Would Harry Do?"

Harry is one Harry Carlson, of Springfield, and he gives new meaning to the expression, "fit for life."

He's been working out since the days of mood rings, lava lamps and pet rocks. To say he likes exercise is to say Bill Gates can probably break a fifty. At the Oakway Fitness Center they can set their watches by Carlson's thrice-weekly workouts.

And then there's his age: Carlson is 97, born just four years after Orville and Wilbur took to the skies. Fitness guru Jack LaLanne is a Johnny-come-lately, compared to Carlson.

His advice for getting fit?

"Start today," Carlson said in between sets at the club earlier this week. "Just never think of quitting. Enjoy what you're doing up here. It's better than sitting on your tailbone at home, playing solitaire."

A South Dakota native whose parents immigrated from Sweden, Carlson got roped into working out in the 1970s by his wife, Irene, who was recruiting new members to get a break on her club's fee. She created a monster.

Carlson figures he's worked out three times per week virtually ever since, moving from club to club and joining Oakway more than six years ago.

His workouts last at least an hour and he's all business, no chit-chat. In an undershirt and hot-pink sweatpants, he moves methodically through the bench and leg press, leg lifts, curls, pulldowns, cable crossovers and the stationary cycle.

After 25 repetitions at 100 pounds on the leg-press machine, Carlson said, "I can do about twice as much as that, but what's the use?"

After two sets of curls, 20 pounds per arm, he added, "I want to work up to 20 (reps), but this is 17 - that's about all I can do right now. "He strains a bit at the bench press, 20 reps per set at 90 pounds.

"I was just totally amazed at his energy level," said member Joe Mancuso, 40. "His sense of mental drive, to be as bright as he is, as disciplined as he is - that's what we all need, someone like him to be a motivator."

"And he pushes up a good amount of weight," Mancuso added - "that's pretty impressive, too."

The club caters to an older crowd, generally 45 and up, and some members are in their 70s, 80s or 90s, general manager Kris Christensen said. But even among Oakway's 4,300 members, Carlson's age makes him the patriarch.

This is a population that appreciates the importance of being vigilant about staying active and optimistic as they fight the impact of aging with every step on the treadmill. One member, for example, praised another aspect of Carlson's health: "Reads the newspaper, doesn't need glasses."

Carlson's workouts give him double benefits, Christensen said.

"You see it emotionally and physically," she added - "he's upbeat, he's not negative and depressed. A lot of seniors, that will happen to them."

Carlson's mind is as sharp as his white hair is close-cropped. To pass the time on the stationary cycle, he recites, from memory, the final paragraphs of Lincoln's second inaugural address, Chief Joseph's famous surrender speech and the Gettysburg Address - the latter in Swedish. "Just to measure the time and keep it fresh in my mind," Carlson said. "Otherwise, you forget them."

Carlson revealed no magic formula for staying fit and living long. A hobby helps, he said - he's still a pretty good shot at the rifle range.

"I've been asked, `How do you get to 97?' ' Carlson said. "I just tell them, `You just have to live that long.' '

HARRY'S HEALTH HINTS

Aphorisms from 97-year-old Harry Carlson, who has been working out three times a week for a quarter-century:

"Use it or lose it."

"Never think of quitting."

"Overdoing it doesn't do any good."

"Don't drink, don't smoke."

"Live one day at a time."

CAPTION(S):

Harry Carlson works out regularly at Oakway Fitness Center, in Eugene, where he has been a member for more than six years. The Springfield man, who began working out in the 1970s, tries to visit the health club three times a week for one-hour sessions of weight training and aerobic exercise.