The 99-year-old acting legend detailed how much his life has changed ahead of his 100th birthday on Dec. 13 \u2014 and the challenges that come with aging \u2014\u00a0in an essay published in The Times<\/a> on Nov. 13.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s frustrating to feel diminished in the world, physically and socially,\u201d said the Mary Poppins<\/a> star. \u201cI get invites to events or offers for gigs in New York or Chicago, but that kind of travel takes so much out of me that I have to say no. Almost all of my visiting with folks has to happen at my house.\u201d<\/p>\n He explained some of the \u201cphysical deterioration\u201d that he has experienced in recent years, which he compared and contrasted to that of the older characters he has played in movies.<\/p>\n \u201cLike my old characters, I am now a stooper, a shuffler and a teeterer. I have feet problems and I go supine as often as is politely possible,\u201d Van Dyke said in The Times.<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cThose fake old-timers smacked their dentures. I chew nicotine gum, all day long \u2014 still, decades after I quit smoking! My sight is so bad now that origami is out of the question.\u201d<\/p>\n Disney\/Randy Holmes<\/p>\n Dick Van Dyke on \u2018Jimmy Kimmel Live!\u2019 in December 2024<\/p>\n He said other things that he struggled with included \u201cfollowing group conversations\u201d and troubles with his hearing aids, which he said he would \u201ccomplain frequently\u201d about. Another thing made difficult with time is eating meals.<\/p>\n \u201cAt mealtime I spill stuff, and when my wife, Arlene [Silver]<\/a>, asks me to put on an unstained shirt before we go out, I get impatient. \u2018It\u2019s got blueberry all over it,\u2019 she\u2019ll say. \u2018Polka dots are in again!\u2019 I\u2019ll reply.\u201d<\/p>\n However, The Dyke Van Dyke Show alum said that he didn\u2019t let those things try to get in the way of keeping healthy. He revealed that he still tried to \u201chit the gym three times a week.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know why this is something I still want to do but it is,\u201d Van Dyke confessed in The Times. \u201cIf I miss too many gym days, I really can feel it \u2014 a stiffness creeping in here and there. If I let that set in, well, God help me.\u201c<\/p>\n He noted that he would dangle \u201ccarrots\u201d \u201cin front of myself to get out the door\u201d including things like a \u201chuge smoothie and\/or frothy caffeine treat\u201d after a workout or a \u201cwell-earned\u201d naptime. He also said that heading to the gym gives him more internal treats like \u201csense of accomplishment to bask in,\u201d a \u201csharper mind\u201d and \u201cfull-body tingly exhilaration.\u201d<\/p>\n JC Olivera\/Variety via Getty<\/p>\n Dick Van Dyke at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in September 2024<\/p>\n He detailed his gym routine, which included doing \u201ca circuit\u201d between machines around the gym \u201cwithout a break.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI start with the sit-up machine. Arlene says I could do 500 but that might be exaggerating. Then I do all the leg machines religiously because my legs are two of my most cherished possessions. And then the upper body,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"Disney\/Randy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/4151838230e4b06cbdec8147056d6f43.jpeg\"\/)
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