Dick Van Dyke, 99, is shocked he still goes to gym 3 times a week
Age is just a number for Dick Van Dyke!
The 99-year-old “Mary Poppins” actor revealed his secret to staying healthy on a recent episode of Ted Danson’s podcast, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” — and it includes several trips to the gym every week.
“I’m almost 100. This is insane,” Van Dyke told Danson, 77.
“Somebody said, ‘To what do you attribute your age and physical condition?’ I’ve always exercised three days a week,” he shared. “We go to the gym still, and I think that’s why I’m not stove up like my equals.”
Danson shared that he went to the same gym as Van Dyke and recalled being amazed at the “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” star’s workout habits.
“I would go to the same gym you did, and if I got there early enough, I would see you literally work out on some weight machine,” the “Cheers” alum said. “And then, almost like you were doing circuit training, you would not walk to the next machine, you’d dance. You literally danced to the next machine.”
Danson later remembered asking Van Dyke about his exercise routine, revealing the Oscar winner told him that he would swim laps after returning home from the gym and then take a nap.
“Exactly,” Van Dyke quipped on the podcast. “Good routine.”
Nowadays, the actor — who just had a birthday in December — said his routine includes a lot of stretching, sit-ups and yoga.
In 2015, Van Dyke shared that getting older meant “giving up the things that you enjoy doing.”
“I can’t handle the tennis court anymore. I can still run and dance and sing. You know, I made a habit of asking other people in their old age: “Of all the things you enjoyed doing when you were younger that you can’t anymore, what do you miss?” he told NPR at the time. “Some people mention golf or tennis. One woman said, ‘I miss having lunch with the girls.’ But the people who said I wish I had made smarter business decisions, I think they’re missing the point.”
While his health is fine, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” alum recently faced a scary incident when his home was threatened by the deadly Palisades Fire.
His wife, Arlene Silver, 53, revealed the pair did not evacuate their $8 million house despite the blaze destroying other celebrity mansions in Malibu and adjacent areas.
Silver shared that while their home was okay, their guest house caught fire but only sustained minimal damage. She also said they were living on a gas generator at the time as the wildfire continued to ravage the area.
The Palisades Fire broke out on Jan. 7 — the same day as the deadly Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County. The blazes forced tens of thousands to evacuate their homes and killed at least 28 people.
