Dick Van Dyke revealed he ditched two common vices to raised his possibilities at reaching 100 years old.
The actor, who turns 100 on Saturday, December 13, said at a Vandy High Tea event held at his Malibu, California, home on November 30 that he once had an “addictive personality” that caused him to “overdo” things he grew keen on.
“I removed booze and cigarettes and all that stuff, which might be why I’m still here, the Mary Poppins star told the gang, per a report by People that was published on Sunday, December 7. “I believe I used to be probably in my 50s before it dawned on me.”
He also noted that he “smoked loads,” before reflecting on the lifetime of Walt Disney, revealing that he’s “probably the last person alive” to have worked with the enduring animator and film producer. “He was an exquisite guy,” Van Dyke said, per the outlet. “He just smoked an excessive amount of! Doggone.”
Van Dyke’s latest insight into his health comes on the back of his book, 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Blissful Life, released on November 18. Within the book, the actor states that he still tries to “hit the gym 3 times every week,” despite edging towards a milestone birthday.
“I’m not a ‘get up and return to bed’ type just yet, unless it’s cold and rainy,” Van Dyke wrote within the book. “If I miss too many gym days, I actually can feel it — a stiffness creeping in here and there in my joints.”
He also revealed insight into his current weight loss program, writing about what he tends to devour after each gym session. “[A] huge smoothie and/or frothy caffeine treat after my workout, full-body tingly exhilaration, sharper mind, sense of accomplishment to bask in for the remainder of the day nap time [that is] well-earned, limber dancing in the times ahead,” he wrote.
As for what he does on the gym, Van Dyke revealed that he was into “circuit” training, before detailing his regimen. “Going from one machine to the subsequent and not using a break, in a circle,” he wrote.. “I start with sit-ups on the sit-up machine.”
He expanded on his routine, adding that his makeup artist wife, Arlene Silver, also gets involved. “Then, it’s lower body — I do all of the leg machines religiously and repeatedly because my legs are two of my most cherished [parts]. After which the upper body. The sector ingredient to my gym time is the music. For some reason, our gym is sparsely attended within the early mornings — bad for the owners, but higher for me and Arlene. She knows learn how to get into the sound system, so she at all times brings my type of stuff, and she or he really blasts it.”
In September, Van Dyke was seen via Instagram in a photograph that showed him flexing his arm muscles amid a gym workout with Rick Springfield. Van Dyke was snapped sitting on a chunk of kit alongside the “Jessie’s Girl” singer, who captioned the post, “I went to the gym and who must be there but 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke understanding on every machine,” Springfield, 76, wrote. “Dick has lived in Malibu for about 30 years and is an awesome human being. I believed I used to be doing well at 76, but Dick got up from the chest press machine and did slightly dance step before I left! ❤️ Amazing!”