Eighty-three-year-old George Takei is quite fit. He bangs on his taught midsection across Zoom video chat to prove as much.
"I have got very tight, hard abs," he tells CNBC Make It.
Those abs are a result of a morning routine that Takei says keeps him healthy and still working, even in his 80s.
Takei, who is famous for his role on "Star Trek" as Hikaru Sulu, the helmsman for the USS Enterprise, gets up every day at 6 a.m.
And every morning he does 50 sit-ups and 100 push-ups.
"It's the regularity that's important," Takei says. And the diligence is self-perpetuating: "You make time."
Along with his calisthenics, Takei goes for a 45-minute walk around his Los Angeles neighborhood. (In his younger days, Takei was a long-distance runner and says he has completed six marathons.)
Takei eats cereal without sugar with almond milk and fruit for breakfast. "We always have blueberries in the refrigerator, and I mix that with the cereal," Takei says. In the summer, he will have pears, peaches, apples, oranges.
Occasionally, an early flight or on-location shoot will affect his schedule, Takei says, but he tries his best.
In the years since "Star Trek," Takei has become an advocate for LGBTQ rights, he has a newsletter and podcast, is the author of a graphic memoir "They Called Us Enemy," is executive producing a film, and still takes on outside projects — Takei narrated two short stories by the award-winning author Ken Liu, "Saboteur" and "Summer Reading," which were recently released and are currently available on the audio and e-book app Serial Box.
He has also become internet famous. Takei has almost 10 million followers on Facebook, 3 million on Twitter and almost 1.5 million on Instagram.
"Participatory democracy means being engaged with democracy, which is people sharing ideas urging people in a certain direction," Takei says. "And technology here again is what provides us that opportunity to connect with the people."
Being in his ninth decade and still being vigorous and working means staying healthy, Takei says.
"Eat properly. Drink moderately. Get enough sleep," he says. And "most importantly," stay physically active to "keep the machine tuned."
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