Beloved actor Dick Van Dyke continues to defy the odds with his singing and dancing at the incredible age of 99.
How does he do it, you ask? The veteran star still hits the gym three days a week, determined to stay mobile and, in turn, keep his optimistic outlook on life.
Dick joined fellow actor Ted Danson on the Where Everyone Knows Your Name podcast, where the latter marvelled at the 99-year-old’s zest for life and probed for his secret to staying young.
“Somebody said, ‘To what do you attribute your age and physical condition?'” Dick began.
“I said, ‘I’ve always exercised.’ Three days a week, we go to the gym, still. Three days a week.”
He continued: “And I think that’s why I’m not stove up like my equals.”
© VarietyThe father of four revealed that he likes to begin with an hour-long workout, followed by laps in the pool and a hearty nap. He also enjoys incorporating stretching, sit-ups, and yoga into his routine.
Ted recalled the times when he would see the Mary Poppins star at the gym, noticing a surprising quirk of his.
“If I got there early enough, I would see you literally work out on some weight machine, and then – almost like you were doing circuit training – you would not walk to the next machine but dance,” he exclaimed.
© Getty Images“You literally danced to the next machine and I watched that for a couple of weeks.” Dick’s wife, Arlene Silver, chimed in, “He still does that.”
Dick, who is approaching his 100th birthday in 2025, revealed how he planned to celebrate the milestone. “When you think…I go back to [19]25, I’m almost 100,“ he laughed. “This is insane. I’m going to have a big party.”
This is not the first time the legend has offered insight into how he stays so agile in his 90’s. He also wrote a book in 2015, Keep Moving and Other Tips and Truths About Aging, and shared that it was essential to not give up “the things you enjoy doing.“
© Getty ImagesSpeaking to NPR at the time, he explained his secret to happiness was to do what you love in your twilight years.
“The point is to enjoy,“ he said in the interview. “You have to pick what you enjoy doing, what fulfills you, what interests you. And I realize that’s not possible for a lot of people.“
“As Thoreau said, a lot of people are living lives of quiet desperation. But almost anyone can find that one immersing hobby or pastime that they love to do.“
He continued: “I can’t handle the tennis court anymore. I can still run and dance and sing.”
Dick also shared how he wakes up each morning with a dose of joy to start the day. “It’s more in my nature to be optimistic, I think,“ he said.
“I’m one of those people who gets up on the right side of the bed in the morning. I get up and have a cup of coffee, and go to the gym before I talk myself out of it because I will, as anybody will.”
