Dick Van Dyke, 99, Goes to the Gym Three Times a Week. Here’s His Routine

Dick Van Dyke is a month away from turning 100 (on Dec. 13), and believe it or not, he still works out multiple times a week at the gym.

In a new excerpt from his latest book, 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life, shared by The Times, the entertainment icon described his workout routine, admitting, “I don’t know why this is something I still want to do, but it is.”

​Van Dyke continued, “I’m not a ‘wake up and go back to bed’ type just yet, unless it’s cold and rainy. If I miss too many gym days, I really can feel it — a stiffness creeping in here and there. If I let that set in, well, God help me.”

​The Mary Poppins star listed some of the rewards that help motivate him to start his workout: a big smoothie or a “frothy caffeine treat” afterward, feeling a “full-body tingly exhilaration,” sharpening his mind, basking in a sense of accomplishment, enjoying a well-earned nap and “limber dancing in the days ahead.”

Van Dyke said he usually does a circuit at the gym, “going from one machine to the next without a break, in a circle,” starting with the sit-up machine.

​“[My wife] Arlene says I could do 500 [sit-ups] but that might be exaggerating,” Van Dyke said. “Then I do all the leg machines religiously because my legs are two of my most cherished possessions. And then the upper body.”

​In September, actor and rock musician Rick Springfield, 76, was flexing his muscles at the gym while “filming an episode of Men’s Health,” he said on Instagram, when he saw Van Dyke “working out on every machine.”

​The “Jessie’s Girl” singer wrote, “Dick has lived in Malibu for about 30 years and is an awesome human being. I thought I was doing well at 76, but Dick got up from the chest press machine and did a little dance step before I left! Amazing!”

Regarding aging, the beloved Van Dyke said his optimism and refusal “to give into the bad stuff in life” has helped him stay on top. Among the bad stuff he didn’t give in to: “failures and defeats, personal losses, loneliness and bitterness, the physical and emotional pains of ageing.” ​

Van Dyke continued: “Instead, for the vast majority of my years, I have been in what I can only describe as a full-on bear hug with the experience of living. Being alive has been doing life — not like a job but rather like a giant playground.” ​

AARP provides many videos and  tutorials  for people aiming to stay fit after age 50, including five injury prevention strategies. ​