WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a woman who meets with princes and prime ministers but never misses a date with her personal trainer.

She's learned that it takes work to stay in shape -- both mentally and physically.

This past weekend, Rice invited News4's Barbara Harrison for a workout at the State Department gym and showed how she manages to fit fitness into her busy schedule.

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Her trainer, Tommy Tomlo, is a former Marine. Rice said he is a tough coach but starts her workouts easy.

"We've got two minutes of easy spinning," he said during the start of Rice's workout with Harrison. "You don't have to break any speed records here."

Rice said her cardiovascular workouts are what she shoots for daily, no matter where she is.

"I'll work out with an elliptical and treadmill -- I have both at my home. I put in a little gym at my apartment," she said. "I'll go every morning for 40 to 45 minutes on that."

Rice prefers low-impact exercises.

"I'm ... a little bit over 50," Rice said with a smile. "I spent a lot of years as a figure skater, banging my legs and knees against the ice, and so I've decided that I'm going to speedwalk and walk hills instead of running."

Her trainer also favors walking over running.

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"I believe that walking is a very important tool that is underutilized for people," Tomlo said. "I'm a big believer in walking -- for the heart and the way it shapes the body and the lack of impact."

Rice gets up at 4:30 a.m. every day, and no matter where she is in the world, she gets in a workout.

On this day, she just got home from a 15-hour flight from the Middle East the night before.

"When I'm on the road, I absolutely schedule time to get in my exercise first," she said.

"I was very fortunate to have a father who was a really great athlete who introduced me to sports," Rice said. "He stopped exercising and had all sorts of health problems. It was a real lesson to me and showed me that you really have to keep exercising your entire life."

Rice said exercises not only makes her feel better physically, but mentally.

"I feel better when I exercise. I think I think better when I exercise," Rice said. "When I get up at 4:30 I'm like anybody. I don't want to face the day. I think, 'Oh, I have to do this, I have to do that.' And after 40 to 45 minutes of exercising, I'm ready to go. So for me, it's not just physical, but mental, as well."

She has resistance work with her trainer three days a week.

He said she's tough.

"I was a little surprised with her strength, but not her cardiovascular," Tomlo said.

She said working out gives her a little leeway with her eating. She said that she once struggled with her weight.

"I went through the college period," she said. "MY senior year of college ... I was a competitive figure skater -- not a very good one but I worked very hard at it. I continued to skate my freshman and sophomore years in college. Then junior year I worked out pretty hard. Then my senior year ... before I knew it I had gained almost 30 pounds."

Since then, she's always watched what she eats. She said she's gone through the diet phases like everyone else.

"I ate low-carb for a while, low-fat for a while," she said. "But I find that what works best for me is to eat a pretty balanced meal."