City Lights:

I don’t have statistics available, but I’d guess that the kinds of resolutions we make most — and the kinds we break most — involve keeping our bodies in tip-top shape. It always sounds so doable: setting that alarm for 5 every morning and going for a two-mile run, fitting in sit-ups after work, and so on. Then the alarm rings on a winter day, the bed feels cozy, and we’re back to our old habits before we know it.

It takes dedication to stick with an exercise plan. But dedication isn’t even the word for Paul McKinnon, a Fountain Valley resident who turned 49 Wednesday and opted to celebrate it by doing 49 different exercises from sunup to sundown.

McKinnon, who sells medical devices for a living, made headlines 20 years ago when he roller-bladed from the Huntington Beach Pier to the entrance of SeaWorld. Last year, though, he felt out of shape, 30 pounds overweight, while recovering from knee surgery. He vowed to get back on track in January and set to work running, lifting weights, biking and more.

All that climaxed Wednesday, when McKinnon rose at dawn and drove to Mt. Whitney to go snowboarding. For the average mortal, that would be enough exertion for the day. For McKinnon, it was part one of 49. After driving back, he headed to Bally Total Fitness in Huntington Beach and got started on weights: 49 repetitions of bench press, shoulder press, squats, calf raises and more.

McKinnon’s workout schedule extended past the Independent’s deadline Wednesday, but I caught up with him at Bally as he ticked off items 26, 27 and 28. Still to come on the itinerary were climbing 49 floors of stairs, body surfing and roller-blading for 49 minutes each and playing 49 minutes of basketball with his 11-year-old son.

“You only have one body,” McKinnon said. “You have to take care of it. The body goes downhill rapidly if you don’t exercise it.”

In response to my inevitable question, he said he plans to do 50 exercises for his 50th birthday, 51 for his 51st and so on. But he had more pressing concerns in the meantime. The day after McKinnon completed his 49 exercises, he had a medical demonstration scheduled at work.

The HB Reads program is seeking volunteers for its 2011 program. Organizers need a webmaster to update their site as well as people with experience in marketing, community outreach and hosting events.

HB Reads is a fantastic program and well worth the effort. E-mail [email protected] or call Elaine Kuhnke at (714) 374-5307.

City Editor MICHAEL MILLER can be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at [email protected] .