David Hasselhoff, who shot to fame in the babes-in-bikinis TV series “Baywatch” (1989-2001), will appear in the 2017 big-screen reboot starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (in Hasselhoff’s original role as California lifeguard Mitch Buchannon), Zac Efron and “Quantico” star Priyanka Chopra.
Hasselhoff, 63, shares his secrets to staying in shape for the movie and how he keeps fit despite his grueling travel schedule:
“I knew that I was going to be compared to the David Hasselhoff of 27 years ago [for the ‘Baywatch’ movie]. I do a lot of live theater, so I’m always in shape, even though I had an injury to my left leg this year, which I won’t go into. It was a knee infection that occurred due to minor surgery.
“But usually I work out three to four times a week, and I do cardio at least 20 minutes a day. If there’s not a gym around I’ll figure out how to [exercise] with pushups and situps and working my triceps with just a couch and doing dips.
“I travel with resistant rubber bands. They’re the greatest thing ever invented. You put the rubber band inside the door [on the handle] and you can do anything — lifts and chest presses.
“For the [‘Baywatch’] shoot, I was in Savannah, [Ga.,] and I said, ‘Find me a gym. I just need 30 minutes.’ And we found some gym in the backwoods of Savannah, and I walked in and lifted weights and said, ‘Let’s shoot this [“Baywatch”] scene before I lose my pump.’
“My daughter said, ‘Dad, you pulled it off. You look great.’ I trained for that. I knew that for three days I was going to be working next to the Rock and Zac, and they’re both in ridiculous shape.
“I stay away from junk food. I don’t drink [alcohol], which is a big deal, and I hardly eat any sweets. It’s terrible [eating] on the road. We travel a lot and immediately look for a restaurant where we can get a decent meal besides room service — but we’re always fighting that.”