No Time to Exercise? Tell that to the President

With the election this week, it should be comforting to know that our current President, and both presidential candidates, set good examples of leading healthy lifestyles, even with their busy schedules and high-stress jobs.

President Bush regularly exercises six times per week, including doing cardio, resistance training and flexibility exercises. At the recent Club Industry National trade show in Chicago, the keynote speaker was Dr. Kenneth Cooper, who also happens to be Bush’s personal physician. Cooper said that, when he asked Bush about his personal stress level, Bush replied that it is “moderate” (not “high” or “extreme”). Bush attributes his ability to keep his stress level in check to his regular workout.

Senator John McCain likes to hike and swim, and says that his worst health habit is coffee drinking. Senator Barack Obama is a regular runner, and was recently “spied” on while performing a full-body resistance-training workout.

While I’m sure we’ve had great past U.S. presidents who weren’t in the best of shape (any history buffs want to contribute here?), a healthy president is a great example for the rest of the country. If the president has time to exercise, most of the rest of us have no excuse.