Paul Scopetski, 59, has played 338 straight games of semipro football in 28 seasons -- here's the workout that makes it possible

Officially, Paul F. Scopetski is a Woonsocket Sentinel, a 59- year-old offensive lineman playing full-contact minor league football against men half his age and sometimes even a third of his age.

But, in reality, Scopetski is a shark, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound predator. "You've got to keep going, all the time," he says, laughing. "Keep going" is the perfect mantra for Scopetski. The talkative hobby shop owner from Marlborough, Mass., crackles with energy and could run circles around the Energizer Bunny. His workout regimen is designed to not only maintain his fitness level for football, but also to allow him to dabble in triathlons and race walking. He plays in the trenches for the Rhode Island-based Sentinels of the New England Football League, alongside and opposite men who sometimes outweigh him by 75 pounds. More than likely, none of them will ever come within sniffing distance of Scopetski's record for longevity. With the close of this year's 5-5 campaign ("We were in every game," he says, displaying his trademark competitive fire. "We lost four games by a total of 17 points."), the Holy Cross graduate has played in 338 games of semipro, minor league football, which is a national record. Despite playing for 11 different teams, he's never missed a game in 28 seasons, and was an inaugural member of the Minor League Football News Hall of Fame in 2004. He's also been inducted into the New England Football League Hall of Fame.

While he credits his longevity to good Polish genes and a faithful adherence to working out regularly, Scopetski isn't a strict gym rat. From the family's summer home in Wareham, on Cape Cod, Scopetski will swim in the ocean, often towing his wife, Theresa, in a float behind him ("My Jack LaLanne workout!"). He'll also row for an upper body workout, or pedal an old, single-speed tandem along the Cape's rail trails. The key, he says, is to keep moving. "I tried softball, but that was too sedate," he says.

Scopetski's current plan is to play until he's 62, and the Sentinels want him back next year. Scopetski says the game has changed. "With all the rule changes, it's a speed game now," he laments. "In the old days, it was all about blocking and tackling. Now it's
all chasing and grabbing." He admits he's more Old School than many of his teammates. Believe him, though, when he tells you that won't discourage him from taking the field. "I know how to get to the spot to make the play," he says. "I canoutsmart them, I'm still physical enough that I can play against the 350 pound guys, and I have the stamina to wear them down."

Here's how he stays in the game:

MONDAY
Scopetski and his wife head to the Wayside Racquet & Swim Club in Marlborough Mass., where he begins with a 15-minute cardio warm-up to get the blood flowing, using an elliptical trainer, stair-climbing machine, or step aerobics to get loose. Then he jumps into a circuit of seven to nine weight machines (a combination of Cybex and Nautilus), focusing on his arms, chest, shoulders and back. At all of the stations he uses heavier weights in a single set of between 10 and 12 repetitions, with each repetition featuring an explosive, active phase followed by a measured, resistance phase back to the starting point. "By bringing the weight down slow, the muscle stays tight all the time, so you almost get a double workout," he says. He eschews the "three sets of 10 reps" weightlifting format, saying he's not interested in definition "like Mr. America." Instead, he wants to maintain body mass, with useful muscles that are injury resistant. "I see these kids doing hundreds of reps on bicep curls," he says. "But they're always getting hurt. Heck, I've never had a groin pull in my life." After an hour with the weights, Scopetski cools down with a 15-minute swim in the pool, trying t maintain a minute-perlength pace. "I like to finish strong."

TUESDAY
Ninety minutes of full-court basketball at the Hudson Boys' Club from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Like his football counterparts, most of the players are younger, which keeps Scopetski on his toes. "It's all these youngsters, running and gunning," he says with a chuckle. "I tell them to take it to the middle. That's where they'll find me -- The Wall."

WEDNESDAY
Scopetski heads back to the Wayside club, with the same cardio warm-up. Then it's on to his lower body weight routine, focusing on leg curls, leg extensions, leg press, inside presses for his adductor muscles, and outside presses for his abductors. "For some reason, I always feel better doing my leg workouts the day after basketball," he says. Again, Scopetski prefers the single set of roughly a dozen repetitions on each machine, using heavier weights and the two same two-part repetitions (explosive burst, with a slow return) that he employs for his upper body workout. For example, he averages 150 pounds for the leg curls, and between 130 to 150 pounds for the leg extensions. But the machine that really showcases Scopetski's power is the leg press."My lower body has always been my strength," he says. "We had a leg press machine that maxes out at 450 pounds, and I've been doing 10 reps at that. But the club just got a new machine that maxes out at 500 pounds, so that's a new challenge." Following his lower-body weight session, Scopetski is back in the pool for another 15-minute cool down.

THURSDAY
An off day, workout-wise. But since Scopetski works at his hobby shop in Marlborough (called, ironically, the Spare Time Shop), he's still on his feet all day. "I get my thousand steps in," he says. "It's retail, so I'm always walking. I'm never sitting down."

FRIDAY
Another run-and-gun basketball session with the young hoopsters at the Hudson Boys' Club right after lunch. During football season, Scopetski will then take a breather, in anticipation of a game on Saturday or Sunday. In the off-season, however, he'll sneak in another upper body workout, or an animated game of WallyBall, a version of volleyball, at his fitness club.

SATURDAY/SUNDAY
Game day. Though Scopetski genuinely seems to enjoy every aspect of his workout regimen, it's during the games that he finally gets to hitpeople. That's when the fun starts.