Iron strength and spirit

Elia Powers

Michael Kane shut his eyes, let his body go limp and said a prayer

Wednesday morning before attempting a Herculean feat.

“I asked the Lord to give me strength,” said Kane, a Newport Beach

resident.

And then, he used all of it he could, grabbing hold of two

100-pound dumbbells, reclining to a horizontal position and

completing 10 bench-press repetitions.

When he had finished, Kane lifted his knees, rested the weights on

his thighs and popped up like a see-saw.

Happy 65th birthday to him.

Kane had trained a year for this day, when he demonstrated to

workout partners, Newport Beach Athletic Club staff, his wife and

himself that he could still reach a weightlifting milestone.

“I’m trying to prove that just because you are older, it doesn’t

mean you cannot stay strong,” he said.

This was more than a publicity stunt, Kane said.

“The object isn’t to show off my strength. It’s to motivate

others.”

To motivate himself, Kane keeps track of each lifting milestone

with a note on his workout belt.

He keeps a list of his other athletic achievements, as well. Kane

was a swimmer, a boxer and a golfer at the University of Notre Dame.

He has completed marathons, has sailed from New York to South America

and finished first in the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht

Race.

Weightlifting has been more of a pastime, and the Newport Beach

Athletic Club has been Kane’s home base since it opened 33 years ago.

It took eight years of training for Kane to bench press 350

pounds. And it took him nearly two years to sail around the world,

which he did from 1967 to 1969.

“He’s an inspiration,” said Judy Kane, Michael’s wife. “Watching

him do these challenges motivates me.”

Kane is heavy on motivational phrases and is quick to dole out

praise.

He gushes when speaking about Earl Peterson, a muscular

83-year-old Irvine resident who works out at the athletic club and

can bench press 185 pounds.

“You see Earl,” said Kane, speaking softly and pointing to toward

a treadmill. “That’s what can happen to people if they exercise.”

Kane is not a workout nut. He lifts weights twice a week and rides

an exercise bicycle on the side.

He is adamant that staying fit has increased the quality of his

life.

A Chicago native, Kane relocated to Newport Beach in 1965 after a

short stint at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

After a career as an insurance broker, Kane studied to become a

pastor. Last summer, he and his wife opened Orange County Amazing

Grace Ministries, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit organization.

One of Kane’s main objectives is to bring strength and

spirituality to people in nursing homes throughout Orange County.

“People there can be desperate and lonely,” he said. “We want

people who have faith to be strong, and we want those who are

uncertain to feel comfortable learning more.”

Kane and two other pastors visit 11 locations in the county.

The organization also administers burials at sea and pastoral

retreats at a home in Big Bear.

“To do this you have to stay fit,” said Judy Kane. “That’s our

motivation to stay healthy.”