Rice: Muscular, agile

Washington, March 1 (Agencies): Obsessive about staying fit, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice will share her workout tips on morning television this week, pumping iron and sweating on a stationary bike.

The top US diplomat was filmed last weekend at the state department’s gymnasium by a local affiliate of television network NBC.

It will be aired on the NBC4 Today programme tomorrow and Friday, the network said.

Asked whether the exercise segment Rice shares with NBC anchor Barbara Harrison signalled more muscular diplomacy, state department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli replied tongue-in-cheek: “Muscular and agile.”

Rice has a punishing travel schedule but usually rises long before dawn to do 45 minutes to an hour of exercise each day, no matter where she is.

Harrison said she invited Rice on her programme to show Americans that if one of the world’s busiest women could find the time to exercise, then so could they.

“She works out very hard, she is very strong and has a lot of endurance, perhaps more than one would expect with such a tiny frame,” Harrison said. “She looks good throughout the whole workout,” she added.

According to Harrison, Rice talks about managing her fitness regime when travelling and how, during official banquets, she manages to stay within her calorie range “and not insult anybody by not eating something that they've gone to great lengths to prepare”.