Sweating to the oldies with Hugo Chávez

A tracksuit-clad Hugo Chávez is seen doing leg lifts, neck rolls, and some other mild exercises in a video recently released by the Venezuelan government. "Healthy government, healthy body, healthy mind," Chávez says between routines. Other members of his cabinet appear in the workout video as well, though from the snippet we’ve seen no one really seems to be working up much of a sweat. At one point, the group walks slowly around a circle at a snail’s pace, following Chávez. P90X, this is not (in fact, it doesn’t even look as vigorous as Jane Fonda’s routine), though, given Chávez’s cancer fight, the 57-year-old Venezuelan leader probably needs to take things slowly.

Chávez stars in exercise video (by Reuters)

Chávez, who celebrated his birthday on July 28, said he completed his first round of chemotherapy last month and will soon begin a second round. He is undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba, where he had a tumor removed on June 20 — though he has yet to say what kind of cancer he has.

In televised remarks last week, Chávez said: "I’m in the best mood possible.… My mood is unbeatable." Chávez has said he plans on running again for president in 2012. His approval remains at about 50 percent, according to a recent opinion poll — meaning there has been little negative reaction so far to his cancer. Analysts had said his initially cagey explanations for what he was doing in Cuba were because he feared looking weak and sick — which may be one reason for the recent exercise video. Chávez also said he had lost 30 pounds recently.

"I was too fat. I’m doing exercise, rehabilitation," he said.