STOP WIMPERING. CUT OUT THE PHONEY EXCUSES. You know you must exercise to some degree if you want to remain alive. Walking is wonderful and you must do it every day, but there are ways you can sneak life-enhancing exercise into your everyday chores.

YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD TAKE THE STAIRS, instead of the elevator, when you can. And you’ve heard for years you should park your car as far as possible from your destination so you get the benefit of more walking.

DO YOU KNOW HOW VITAL EXERCISE IS? And how equally vital social interaction is? A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine tells us that the more people do socially, the better they do physically. An 11-year study followed 906 seniors and assessed their ability to balance, walk and grip. The fewer their social interactions the more rapid their loss of muscle control. Exercise and friends can intervene and delay aging.

FRIENDSHIPS HAVE OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS. Studies of older people, and younger adults, found that those with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die sooner than those of their peers with fewer friends.

SO THE FORMULA FOR A LONG, HAPPY LIFE INCLUDES social activity and exercise.

WAITING IN LINE AT THE MALL, BANK or anywhere, try standing on one leg without holding on to any support. At first it is difficult, but it works every muscle in your leg. From a second or two at first, you can work up to a minute on each leg.

STRENGTHEN ABDOMINAL AND CORE MUSCLES by tightening your abs as if preparing to take a punch. Hold and squeeze for 5 to 10 seconds. Release and repeat 10 times. You can do this while watching TV or while sitting or standing in your home, office or anywhere.

TONE AND STRENGTHEN CALF MUSCLES by rising on your toes and hold for 3 seconds, then lower. Repeat 15 times.

PRACTICE SITTING DOWN ON A CHAIR AND RISING UP without using your arms. This builds core support and makes it easier for you to get in and out of cars, chairs, etc.

KEEP MOVING. THAT’S WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT. Even small steps pay off big. So make a new friend, go to a different club or church, talk to your neighbors, volunteer at a charity. Be alive. Stay active. Life is what you make of it. Stretch, walk, lift, love.

WHO IS THE CAD WHO DUMPED HIS FIANCEE at a New Year’s Eve party and broke two of her fingers snatching back his engagement ring? Other guests were horrified as this young lawyer made his former love sob and fall to the floor in dismay. What a lousy way to start the year.

OPRAH WINFREY’S FORMER CHEF, Art Smith of Table 52, founded Common Threads, a charity that teaches low-income children to cook wholesome and affordable meals. The goal is to stop obesity and reverse the trend of generations of non-cooking adults. March 1 at Soldier Field will be the date of the fifth Common Threads World Festival featuring Food & Wine magazine’s Gail Simmons, plus world-renowned chefs Nigella Lawson, Graham Elliot Bowles, Gale Gand, Stephanie Izard, Michelle Bernstein, and John Besh. My mouth is watering. Call 312-329-2501 for more information.

RICK KOGAN INTERVIEWS CAROL MARIN on March 16 at Maxim’s, 24 E. Goethe. It is part of his series of celebrity chats.

WE’VE BEEN REPORTING TO YOU on the distinct possibility that media baron Conrad Black, who was convicted of stealing more than $6 million from the Sun-Times, may go free after the U.S. Supreme Court decides on the validity of a vague,

challenged law. It says “failure to deliver honest services” is a felony but doesn’t adequately offer a legal definition of “honest services.” It was used by the prosecution. Black, 65, and still a member of the House of Lords, must wait at least six more months for the court’s verdict.

PARTYING AT THE DRAKE HOTEL to support the Tour de Champagne, a benefit for the Healthy Foods Campaign for our public schools, were French Consul General Jean-Baptiste Main de Boissière and his wife, Beatrice.

HIS FIRST COOKBOOK, LATIN EVOLUTION, and his signing up as a contestant on The Next Iron Chef are making Jose Garces a household name. He is executive chef at acclaimed Mercat a la Planxa, 638 N. Michigan.

SONGSTRESS KAREN MASON has always made her hometown proud as she received accolades in New York City and elsewhere where her talents are appreciated. She added another honor when she received an award for her lifetime of work from the Chicago Cabaret Professionals at its Park West annual gala. Husband Paul Rolnick was there to give her a congratulatory hug.

TWENTY YEARS AGO WE MET AND MARVELED at Jack LaLanne, a health nut early on who advocated eating veggies, fruits, lean meat and fish, and being fit through exercise. Jack admitted to me that he hated to work out but got up each morning at 5:30 a.m. to do an hour or two. Now he’s 95 and recently survived a heart valve operation and was anxious to get back into the gym. You can see him on TV hawking a juicer he created. On his 60th birthday he swam the waters around Alcatraz Island while handcuffed and shackled. On his 70th, he pulled 70, yes 70, small boats across the long Beach Harbor to show his strength. Jack has a sense of humor. “I can’t die,” he declared before his recent surgery. “It would ruin my image.”

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA has raised the profile of fashion designer, French Sophie Theallet by wearing her creation to Sen. Ted Kennedy’s funeral. Sophie has been a protégé of Ikram Goldman, whose taste helps define the best looks for Mrs. Obama, a longtime client. Sophie, whose dresses are simple and elegant, has won the $200,000 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award. You should see more of her gowns on Michelle.

SHE’S NOT ONLY OUR MOST BEAUTIFUL PODIATRIST, but Gina Bakiares-Santori is a caring, generous philanthropist. With her husband, Richard, she has bankrolled a school for 80 students in Cambodia and will soon return to volunteer at the local hospital. Gina is an inspiration.

CHILDREN FIRST. THAT’S THE JUVENILE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION’S GOAL, and it has an enviable reputation of helping those in need. The organization has scores of devoted, longtime supporters on its board. They include: Doreen Rogers, Carol Hays, president James Sherman, Fred Tokowitz, Charles Bobrinskoy, Joo Boe, Allen Hamood, Bradley Holden, Malcolm Kamin, Aria Knee, Linda Yu, life director Susan Crown, James Stone, Robert Moore, Vivian Mumaw, Mark Osmond, B.W. Pattishall, Dr. Ronald Port, Robert Woods, Jordan Lamm, Dan Lechin, Jurdis Walton and Linda Jackson.

JPA’S AUXILIARY BOARD is headed by Susan Langan, and among the members are: Gemma Adams, Maureen Basak, Ann Cohn, Jan Farnsworth, Margaret Flanagan, Nancy Ford, Lisa Goosmann, Dorsey Gordon, Sharon Martin, Stephanie Hodge, Taylor Lindstrom, Tracie Michalek, Tracey Moore, Karen Navarre, Linda Neely, Becky Pontarelli, Leslie Reed, Joan Rose, Kathy Theis, Debbie Van Solkema and Carla Vick.

THE YUMMIEST BOOK OF THE YEAR, or any year, must be Jacques Torres’ A Year in Chocolate, which offers a monthly guide through his sweetest seasonal delicacies. It makes you salivate as you see and learn about everything from cream-filled chocolate doughnuts to blackout cake to bonbons, souffles and cookies. Jacques, born in Bandol, France, is a most successful pastry chef in New York City. His recipes allow you to make any or all of the most amazingly rich and decadent chocolate treats.

CAN AN IN-YOUR-EAR MAGNET get people to stop smoking? Miss America, Katie Stam, says yes, and she’s been promoting the Zerosmoke Inc. magnet, which is a form of acupuncture. A portion of the $39.95-each sales go to the Miss American Foundation. In China, this type of medical “intervention” is common and popular. Katie’s year reign is up this month. She vows to keep up her anti-smoking crusade.

WHO IS THE SVENGALI who has several intelligent, young, professional women hanging on his every word, every idea, every criticism, every word of praise? We fear they are trusting him with their finances. Aye, there’s the rub.

MONEY WOES for fashion designer Maria Pinto have hit her socialite investors hard. They all had big dreams after Michelle Obama wore Maria’s creations.

HOME FROM SWANK JUMBY BAY are Brad and Tiffani Kim Griffith.

THE LUXBAR ACADEMY AWARD benefit for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation begins at 6 p.m. March 7. Ginger Zee hosts. Call 312-642-3400 for more information.

GIBSONS WINE DINNER March 3 is $135 featuring Beaulieu Vineyard wines with six courses by chef Randy Waldner. Salmon, duck breast, rack of lamb, short ribs and scallops are in the feast. Yummy.

DEAR TIGER: Cheating? Faithful? Your fans still adore you but your sex life is your business, not ours. Shut up and play golf!

“HOW TO MAKE GOD LAUGH: Tell him your future plans.” — Woody Allen

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