Five years ago, U.S. Congressman Neil Abercrombie decided he would bench-press his age, plus 200 pounds.

He was turning 65.

He surpassed his goal by 10 pounds and decided to wait for another milestone birthday to try the feat again. Now that he's turned 70, he's thinking he might attempt a 270-pound lift after the November election.

"The problem, of course, is that every year you get older, you have to lift more, rather than less," he said.

So why do it? Well, why not?

"Bench-pressing has no social utility whatsoever, it's just for the fun of it," Abercrombie said. "Everyone needs to have a hobby."

As a politician, Abercrombie notes that much of what he does seems instrumental, but the gym is an "island of consistency" where everything is straightforward and there are no outside factors.

When it comes to weight-lifting, the truth is in the numbers. "It disciplines me because I can't kid myself or rationalize," he said, explaining that it's pretty clear-cut: He's either working out and meeting his goals, or he's not.

"The weights don't lie. They're always the same. They're consistent. They're indifferent to you," he said. "It's all up to you and you can succeed or fail entirely on your own."

That's not to say Abercrombie works out in isolation. He's proud of his YMCA memberships and the people he's worked out with: union leaders, police officers and even two-time Olympic champion Tommy Kono.

They're all there to work out, rather than play politics.

"Nobody is trying to get anything out of me. Everyone helps each other. It's a hugely cooperative endeavor," he said.

(And that "Abercrombie" on his shirt isn't part of his campaign. It's a T-shirt from the Abercrombie & Fitch clothing line.)

Abercrombie has been lifting weights for about a half-century, starting after he tore a rotator cuff playing football.

"I helped put together the very first weight room at the (University of Hawai'i), in an annex off Klum Gym," said Abercrombie, who did his graduate work at UH and was a professor before entering politics in 1974.

But as he's climbed his way from Klum Gym to U.S. Congress, Abercrombie has always made exercise a priority. Now he lifts every three days for endurance and tries to swim or use a recumbent bike for cardio every day of the week.

The training has its benefits. It helps with a curvature in his spine from falling out of a tree as a boy. His chiropractor and masseuse have done magic there, he said, but added, "the bench press helps me stand straight and keeps me from slumping and putting strain on my spine."

Traveling back and forth from his home in Manoa to the U.S. Capitol can make it hard to exercise consistently, so when his schedule gets unpredictable, Abercrombie lifts lower-level weights to keep his endurance up. Sometimes, he'll break his cardio up into a "15-round fight in three-minute segments."