90-year-old Harper College student works out 3 days a week

Jim Ostler spent the morning of his 90th birthday like he spends most other Wednesdays: he pulled on workout pants and a sweatshirt, grabbed his cane and headed to Harper College.

For 13 years, the longtime Arlington Heights resident and World War II veteran has dutifully done stretches, weight exercises and cardio routines as a student in the college's three-times-a-week Healthy Living Exercise Program, a course designed to build up and maintain core muscles and keep members - who range in age from 40-somethings to Ostler's 90 - physically fit.

Over the years, he's forged friendships with his classmates, and the Harper course has become such a big part of his life that he scoffs at the idea that age is any reason to stop moving.

"Being older is not a good excuse," he said. "Sure, it would be easy to stay home, but my family believes this is good for me, and so do I. I enjoy it."

Ostler's 8 a.m. Harper class rang in his ninth decade April 28 with cake, coffee and a congratulatory birthday visit from college president Ken Ender, who called Ostler an inspiration.

Amid a round of applause that followed a hearty chorus of "Happy Birthday," Ostler gave the credit to someone else: his classmates.

"Without all of you, I never would have made it this far," he said.

Harper's Healthy Living Exercise Program includes warmups that incorporate hand weights, stretches and leg work; students also use Harper's Fitness Center for cardio workouts.

Ostler, who favors the stationary bike, walks with a cane but doesn't exercise with it. In lieu of the class' traditional floor exercises, he sits in a special folding chair - a classmate had it embroidered with his name - for stretches and weights.

The folding chair was tied with balloons in honor of Ostler's 90th.

Impressed by his milestone birthday, instructor Vickie Scott scanned her roster and discovered that 16 of the roughly 50 students in Harper's Healthy Living Exercise Program are 80 or older. Ostler is the eldest.

"I could call everyone 'Junior,' " he joked, saying he's also among the students who've stuck with it the longest. He was referred by a doctor years ago and never stopped coming.

"He's very young at heart," Scott said. "He and the others are making a decision to stay healthy and stay active, and they do it on a regular basis."

A retired production executive for Time Inc. magazine publishing company, Ostler has seven children, 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Harper's Healthy Living Exercise Program is offered through Harper's Continuing Education Department, and is open to everyone in the community.

It meets three times a week, with 6:45 a.m., 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. time slots available. The class stresses movement and fitness, so that participants can, as they progress through life, continue to do the things they've always done.

"Being active is good for your cognition, your memory, and everything," Scott said.

For more information on the classes, call (847) 925-6300 or visit www.harpercollege.edu/ce.