Madeleine Albright Is The Fitness Hero We Need In 2015

There are many reasons to admire Madeleine Albright: She's an accomplished diplomat, the first woman to become Secretary of State and a speaker of four (four!) languages.

According to at least one former pro athlete, her gym routine is yet another reason to look up to the stateswoman:

Any septuagenarian who wails on the elliptical during vacation is an inspiration to all of us, but what's particularly heartening about Albright's fitness prowess is that it's been a relatively recent lifestyle change: As she wrote on her personal trainer's website: "What I once dreaded I have grown to love."

Here are four reasons we have a new fitness hero in Washington:

She was an early adopter on heavy lifting.

Sure, we now live in a culture where it is perfectly common and admirable for women to undertake heavy weight lifting, but it wasn't so long ago that this was seen as the province of bodybuilders and men looking to bulk up. Not so for Albright, who bragged about her 200-pound (since increased to 450) leg pressing back in 2001.

She doesn't make excuses.

Trainer Margo Carper told The Washington Post that she is often reminded of why Albright has been so successful as a leader and negotiator -- she never makes excuses. Even if she's just stepped off a red-eye plane ride or is on vacation.

Consistency is one of the main contributing factors to a successful exercise regimen, according to The New York Times.

She proves it's never too late for a fitness makeover.

Albright didn't start working out until she reached her 60s. And while it's always better to exercise over one's entire life, starting late is better than never starting at all. What's more, the leader is proof that major changes can happen in later years -- she reportedly began working out after a 50-pound weight gain during her time in the State Department -- what she called "a very fattening job." She has managed to keep the weight off for nearly 15 years.

She knows that fitness excellence improves all areas of life,

Albright works out to keep up with her busy schedule, according to Carper. “She was able to put it together that working out was going to help her do that,” the trainer told the Post. That echoes study after study, each of which finds that working out can improve basically every area of working life, from stress management to improved concentration to enhanced creativity.

Beast on, Madame Secretary!

(h/t The Washington Post)