Obama joked regularly on the campaign trail that he's "skinny but tough." Organic foods, workouts and basketball are all part of presi-dent-elect's lifestyle.

歐巴馬這次一路競選常開玩笑說，他「雖然瘦但可是條硬漢」。有機食品、健身和打籃球全是總統當選人日常生法方式的一環。

Snacks of fruit, pistachios and Fiji water. Grueling cardio sessions at the gym. And ruthless five-on-five games on the basketball court. Sounds like an obsessive health or fitness nut -- or Barack Obama, who just fin-ished a marathon 21-month cam-paign to win the presidency.

他吃水果和開心果當點心，喝來自斐濟的頂級好水。在健身房做消耗體能的運動以加強心肺功能。再到籃球場打五對五的幾場硬仗。聽起來好像得到健身強迫症或是個健身狂，或者是歐巴馬，他才結束長達21個月馬拉松式的競選活動並順利當選總統。

Since the end of one of the most combative elections in American his-tory, the president-elect is routinely caught emerging from his daily gym workout in his trademark black White Sox cap and white Asics sneakers.

自從美國史上纏鬥最激烈的選戰結束後，經常有人看到總統當選人每天穿戴註冊商標的芝加哥白襪隊黑色球帽和亞瑟士白色球鞋，在健身房運動後現身。

Some headlines -- "Barack Obama Shames Americans With His Elitist Body" -- charge his exercise regi-men is obsessive. Or that the man who was so organized and in control on the path to the White House needs a physical outlet.

有些媒體的標題，像「歐巴馬精瘦結實的身體使美國人相形見絀」，指他密集健身運動已經走火入魔。又或者說，這個男人邁向白宮之路是如此有組織和在掌控之中，他需要有個發洩體力的管道。

Still others, such as Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who played basketball with Obama on Election Day, say his be-havior on the basketball court pro-vides positive insight into the new presidency. "In some ways he plays like he leads politically -- even though that sounds contrived," Casey said. "He's quietly confident and qui-etly competitive."

其他人，像賓州民主黨參議員凱西投票日還和歐巴馬打籃球，他說，他在籃球場上的表現使他對新總統有正面的認識。凱西說：「雖然聽來有點矯情，但就某些方面看，他打起球來有如他在政治上的領導統御，沈默自信但悄悄展現他的競爭力。」

Recently during the Governor's Conference in Philadelphia, Obama visited a favorite local gym and worked out alongside the regulars. "He always does cardio, usually the treadmill first for 20 to 30 minutes and then elliptical for the same amount of time," said William Nelson, 32, assistant manager of the Philadelphia Sports Club. "I didn't see an ounce of fat on him. He's lean and he looked like he's in great shape." One jogger at an adjacent treadmill couldn't keep up.

最近在費城開州長會議時，歐巴馬到當地一家他最愛的健身房和一些常客一起運動。「他常做心肺適能運動，通常先在跑步機上跑個20到30分鐘，再到橢圓機上運動20至30分鐘，」費城運動俱樂部32歲的助理經理尼爾森說。「我在他身上看不到一丁點肥肉，他很精瘦，看來體格很好。」在歐巴馬隔壁跑步機上的跑者根本跟不上他。

The president elect usually com-bines cardio with strength training, lat pull-downs and back exercises. "For a thin guy, he's muscular in the chest," he said. "He's never out of breath and the amount of work he does for a man his age, he is above average."

總統當選人通常結合心肺適能運動和力量訓練，滑輪下拉和背部運動。「他很瘦但胸部肌肉發達，」他說。「他從來不會喘不過氣來，而就他這種年紀的男人來說，他的運動量在水平之上。」

Reporters covering the transition say Obama never misses his daily workout. "The main reason I do it is just to clear my head and relieve me of stress," Obama told Men's Health magazine. "My blood pressure is pretty low and I tend to be a healthy eater." "Most of my workouts have to come before my day starts," he said. "There's always a trade-off between sleep and working out. Usually I get in about 45 minutes, six days a week. I'll lift [weights] one day, do cardio the next. I wish I was getting a 90-minute workout."

採訪白宮政權交接的記者指稱，歐巴馬從不錯過每天的健身活動。「我之所以如此，主要是要保持頭腦清醒及紓壓，」歐巴馬告訴「男性健康雜誌」。「我的血壓相當低，我多半吃健康食物。」「我通常在一天活動開始前先健身，」他說。「睡眠和健身之間總要做個取捨。通常我去運動45分鐘，每周六天，一天舉重，第二天做心肺適能運動。但我希望能做90分鐘健身運動。」

Obama's passion is basketball, which he often plays at the East Bank Club with his old friend Arne Duncan, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, and his brother-in-law Craig Robinson, basketball coach at Oregon State University. "What the public doesn't see is how competitive he is," Duncan said. "He plays to win. He's an athlete. This is an important part of who he is." He said he and other players don't hold back for fear of hurting the president-elect.

歐巴馬熱愛籃球，他通常在東岸俱樂部和老友芝加哥公立學校執行長鄧肯，及擔任俄勒岡大學籃球教練的妹婿羅賓森對打。「外人看不見他有多拚，」鄧肯說。「他打球時求勝心切。他是個道地的運動員，這對他這個人是很重要的環節。」他並表示，他和其他球員絕不會因為怕不慎使總統當選人受傷而放水。

Aides expect Obama to replace George Bush's beloved baseball field on the White House's south lawn with a basketball court. Obama's pre-decessor was no slouch when it came to fitness: Bush was known to jog on a treadmill aboard Air Force One, cycle, weight lift and stretch six days a week.

幕僚預期歐巴馬會以籃球場取代布希在白宮南草坪最愛的棒球場。談到健身，歐巴馬的前任也不是泛泛之輩：據了解，布希還在空軍一號上的跑步機上慢跑，每周六天騎單車、舉重和伸展四肢。

Obama's focus on exercise may actu-ally bode well for the country. "It gives you more mental endurance and more energy to think clearly," he said. "For a president, that's not a bad thing."

歐巴馬把重心放在運動上可能還真是國家之福。「它可以讓你更有心理耐力和能量釐清思緒，」他說。「對總統，那未必是件壞事。」

Obama does, however, have his temptations. And there is also the much-reported on-and-off battle with cigarettes. "I was never really a heavy smoker," Obama told Men's Health in November. "Probably at my peak I was smoking seven or eight a day. More typical was three. So it wasn't a huge challenge with huge withdrawal symptoms. There have been a couple of times during the campaign when I fell off the wagon and bummed one, and I had to kick it again," he said. "But I figure, seeing as I'm running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack."

但歐巴馬也有抗拒不了的誘惑。媒體經常報導他戒菸時斷時續。「我其實並不是真正的菸槍，」歐巴馬在11月號「男人健康雜誌」說。「最多可能每天抽個7、8根，但基本上大概3根。所以並不是太大的挑戰，也不會產生太大的戒斷症狀。競選時，有幾次我曾下車哈一根菸，但又戒掉，」他說。「我想，從我競選總統看來，我得放自己一馬。」

And, said Nelson, Obama sets a good example for other Americans. "There are so many health issues now, and it's good to see a president in-volved in fitness and look so youthful in comparison to others," he said.

尼爾森說，歐巴馬為美國人做了良好的示範。「目前健康問題很多，看到總統身體力行注重健身運動，而且相形之下，看起來這麼年輕，真好，」他說。

【詞解】

Gym Rat 健身鼠、健身迷
fitness regimen 健身養生術
pistachios 開心果
grueling cardio sessions 高度消耗體力的心肺功能
elitist body 精實的身材
obsessive 強迫症、走火入魔
treadmill 跑步機
elliptical 橢圓機
strength training 力量訓練
lat pull-downs 滑輪下拉
hold back 放水
slouch 等閒之輩
Achilles tendon 腳跟腱
withdrawal symptoms 戒斷症狀