{"id":456224,"date":"2026-02-03T18:43:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T18:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/456224\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T18:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T18:43:09","slug":"why-this-80-year-old-ghostbusters-actor-does-100-push-ups-a-day-without-ever-setting-foot-in-a-gym","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/456224\/","title":{"rendered":"Why this 80-year-old Ghostbusters actor does 100 push-ups a day without ever setting foot in a gym"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"e4e4f073-4571-41dc-a62c-3a8e346f8594\">Staying strong into later life doesn\u2019t always require a gym membership, heavy weights, or complicated training plans, and Ernie Hudson is living proof.<\/p>\n<p>The 80-year-old actor, best known for his role in Ghostbusters, recently appeared in a USA Today video where he discussed his surprisingly simple daily workout routine.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"e4e4f073-4571-41dc-a62c-3a8e346f8594-2\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Despite his age, Hudson says he completes at least 100 <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.t3.com\/active\/learn-to-do-push-ups-in-just-four-weeks-with-this-simple-and-effective-workout-plan\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.t3.com\/active\/learn-to-do-push-ups-in-just-four-weeks-with-this-simple-and-effective-workout-plan\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.t3.com\/active\/learn-to-do-push-ups-in-just-four-weeks-with-this-simple-and-effective-workout-plan\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">push-ups<\/a> every day, without ever setting foot in a gym.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">He typically knocks out a set of push-ups first thing in the morning, then spreads the rest across the day in short bursts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">In the interview, Hudson mentions that it takes him the whole day to do 100 push-ups, not minutes or hours. Even so, it&#8217;s incredibly impressive for a man his age (or even half his age) to complete that many each day.<\/p>\n<p id=\"6ddc3606-7670-4e45-b31a-9bb4c3c661b1\">And it&#8217;s not just push-ups, either. Hudson also incorporates bodyweight squats to keep blood flowing through his legs.<\/p>\n<p>His emphasis isn\u2019t on numbers, load, or progression, but simply on moving regularly and keeping his body working.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this age, it\u2019s more important to be flexible,\u201d he explains, adding that his focus is on staying capable and presenting well for the work he continues to do.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-e3edd728-d70a-4140-a528-f956fc51c585\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/>An argument for consistency<\/p>\n<p id=\"0cec0e28-e210-43ab-805c-652c9e919fc8\">It&#8217;s not the first time Hudson talked about his workout routine and philosophy.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2024 Men\u2019s Health profile, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/fitness\/a60382853\/ernie-hudson-workout-diet-78\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/fitness\/a60382853\/ernie-hudson-workout-diet-78\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">he outlined<\/a> a weekly schedule that included coordination and balance work, Pilates for mobility, and strength training with a trainer three days a week, plus walking on non-training days.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that the actor&#8217;s aim isn&#8217;t to have Chris Hemsworth-like muscle mass.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, he frames exercise as daily maintenance to support independence and quality of life, rather than aesthetics or performance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Mzzk9DeGR4Y4JruCc6irHY.jpg\" alt=\"NOVI, MI - MAY 16: Ernie Hudson attends the 2014 Motor City Comic Con at Suburban Collection Showplace on May 16, 2014 in Novi, Michigan. (Photo by Monica Morgan\/WireImage)\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Mzzk9DeGR4Y4JruCc6irHY.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Mzzk9DeGR4Y4JruCc6irHY.jpg\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>Ernie Hudson attends the 2014 Motor City Comic Con at Suburban Collection Showplace on May 16, 2014 in Novi, Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Monica Morgan\/WireImage\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p id=\"967b0fc4-a539-401b-aeb5-3d8a2836f212\">In the interview, he references working with a close friend who relies on a walker, describing it as a wake-up call. \u201cAgeing is inevitable,\u201d he says, \u201cbut in the meantime, let me do what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hudson also points to discipline as the real secret behind his routine. He argues that setting achievable goals (and actually sticking to them) reinforces a sense of capability.<\/p>\n<p>Miss them too often, and something starts to erode. \u201cJust being consistent is really important,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>From a health and longevity perspective, that philosophy lines up neatly with expert advice.<\/p>\n<p>Regular bodyweight training helps <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC9969476\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC9969476\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">preserve muscle mass<\/a>, joint function, and bone density, all of which tend to decline with age.<\/p>\n<p>Short, frequent bouts of movement are also <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC7050352\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC7050352\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">easier to recover<\/a> from than longer, more intense sessions, lowering injury risk while keeping the habit sustainable.<\/p>\n<p>[via <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.today.com\/health\/men-s-health\/ernie-hudson-workout-routine-rcna255945\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.today.com\/health\/men-s-health\/ernie-hudson-workout-routine-rcna255945\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Today.com<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Staying strong into later life doesn\u2019t always require a gym membership, heavy weights, or complicated training plans, and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[64,63,538,137],"class_list":{"0":"post-456224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}