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How some of the busiest people in show business, politics and sports stay healthy and fit

FOR most of us, there are not enough hours to get everything done. Work. Home. School. Kids. By the end of the day, you're looking for the bed, and staying fit becomes the last thing you worry about. But if America's best minds, men and women who run media empires, medical associations, make our laws and manage chart-climbing singing careers, can find a few minutes a day to do something healthy, so can you.

We asked some of your favorite celebrities and politicians what they do to stay in shape despite a very busy work schedule. And their answers ranged from the high-energy to the calm and simplistic.

Oprah Winfrey, talk-show host, chairman and CEO of Harpo Inc., and all-around media mogul, meditates and practices yoga. After discovering the exercise technique, she dedicated an entire show to yoga, complete with renowned yogi Rodney Lee and a live studio demonstration. Winfrey now loves yoga so much she started a company-sponsored yoga class each week, giving employees the chance to relax, tone up and destress. "When I discover something good, I love sharing it with everybody," Winfrey says. "And I love yoga so much that I brought it to work. Harpo has a class every week."

For Tyrese, the 22-year-old singer whose sophomore album, 2000 Watts, is climbing the Billboard charts, running is the key, even if it isn't that often. Touring and promoting the new album has cut the singer's exercise routine from three to five times a week with a trainer to once, maybe twice a week.

Still, the former MTV "veejay" known for his rippling abs and topnotch physique says that running gives him a chance to get away and relieve stress. "I just get it in when I can," Tyrese says. "When I feel it, I stop."

Running is also an exercising staple of Dr. Rodney Hood, president of the National Medical Association. Dr. Hood, 55, has a 3.5-mile route that he runs with his wife, Robyn, an interior designer, whenever he's home in Washington, D.C. But with his busy schedule, running may amount to only one or two days a week. "Well, this year as president, usually every week I'm traveling," Dr. Hood says. "I'm here in my office for the first time in 10 days. Sometimes I'm not here at all. I'm usually on the road."

To combat the stress and fatigue of such a hectic schedule, the NMA president meditates twice a day for 15 to 20 minutes. He says he started meditating about 10 years ago, using a combination of breathing and relaxation techniques to keep him more attentive and less agitated during the day. "I think when I go without it, I notice it," he says. "I tend to want to drink more coffee. I get tired easy. It just makes it easier to get through the day. I feel much more at peace, much more attuned with what I'm doing."

Dr. Hood says his diet also plays an important part in staying healthy amid the ruckus. He eats multiple servings of fruits and vegetables and very little red meat. His inspiration is that of any father's: his daughter, Ariannah. The 8-year-old became a vegetarian two years ago after Hood hired a vegetarian babysitter. Since then, Ariannah has eaten chicken and fish only on rare occasions. "But she has never gone back and touched any red meat," Dr. Hood says. "Most of the time, she'll just eat vegetables. And this is totally on her own."

With a schedule that can change on a moment's notice and constant meetings with heads of state, Congresswoman Donna M. Christian-Christensen (delegate-Virgin Islands), chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus' Health Braintrust, stays in shape by eating healthy and walking every day. On some days, it's all she has time to do. "In terms of going to a gym, I'm really not consistent with it," she says. "But what I do during my workday is make sure I go out of my way to put in extra walking and not scrimping by riding on the capitol's train between buildings."

And how does one deal with that stressful a life? Prayer and spirituality. "When things get really crazy, I think turning to God and prayer is what really

helps me get through it," the congresswoman says. "And in thinking about walking, I would say that the best walk I do is the walk into church on Sunday morning."

Kelly Price, who is still knocking people flat with her second album, Mirror, Mirror, enjoys playing basketball with her family and working out to aerobic videotapes. But she found a new love in weightlifting in order to tone up her physique. "It's killing me, but I enjoy it," Price says. "I like the way it makes me feel. It makes me feel strong, different from the way I feel after an aerobics program." The weight training and the basketball practice will come in handy. Price will participate in a celebrity charity basketball tournament in July, hosted by fellow singers, N'Sync. "I'm trying to get myself in shape. I gotta brush up on my skills."

# posted by Medical Information : 2:41 AM