If it's not cardio, does it count?

There are a host of potential problems with your weekend binges, ranging from drunken driving to weight gain to clogged arteries — plus any risks associated with those other mysterious things you're up to.

Take weight gain, for instance. We can consume calories a whole lot faster than we can burn them through exercise. So the calories from all that beer and junk food may pack on the pounds over time.

Sounds like a trip to your doctor is in order. Is your cholesterol in check? How is your liver holding up with all that booze? Are all the late nights of partying taking a toll in other ways?

Q: What are some really good exercises for getting rid of flabby abs, particularly that little pouch right under the belly button? I've tried a lot of things and nothing seems to work. Help!

A: First off, you'll need to work on reducing any excess body fat by watching your diet and exercising to burn calories, says Jeanette Jenkins, a personal trainer in Los Angeles. Shapely abs can be hidden by a 2-inch pinch.

As for toning the muscles below the belly button, here are a couple of exercises that Jenkins recommends doing a few times a week:

• Bicycle crunches: Start by lying on your back with your hands behind your head. Bend your knees and lift your feet off the floor, positioning your knees over your hips. Then lift your left elbow up toward your right knee as you extend the left leg away from your body at a diagonal to the floor. Keep your abs tight and your lower back pressed into the floor. Repeat on the other side. Do 15 to 25 repetitions on each side.
• Alternating leg lifts: From the same starting position as the bicycle crunch, with your knees over your hips, slowly lower your right foot toward the floor (but don't actually touch the floor). Keep your abs tight and your lower back pressed into the floor. Then raise your leg back up to the starting position. Advanced exercisers can try this with the legs extended instead of bent. Repeat on the other side. Do 15 reps on each side.

Throughout the day, Jenkins adds, it's also a good idea to regularly pull in your abs — think navel to spine, like a dancer standing tall.

"Ten minutes of abdominal exercises cannot reverse the damage of 10 to 15 hours of letting your gut hang out," she says.

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