BY PAUL DAUGHERTY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

I don't know if Ki-Jana Carter is doing laps around the track or around the couch to the refrigerator. It's only April. By July, the running back the Bengals have decided is fat and out of shape may be buffed like Adonis. Maybe Carter will win the rushing title on a diet of little chocolate doughnuts.

As he said yesterday, ''I'm kind of laid back. When it gets down to training camp is when I turn it up.''

So, fine. For now, it's all talk. Even if the Bengals did pick a running back in the second round, Corey Dillon, they shouldn't have needed. It will be July before we begin to know who Ki-Jana Carter is going to be.

But you tend to get a little aggravated with these people.

It's not totally about the money. Though for the $19 million Carter is in the midst of making, most of us might greet each day by dead-lifting soda machines.

It's not even Carter's outlook on things, which is somewhat curious. Here's a guy with weight concerns who allowed Sunday that until recently, he didn't have a scale. Here's a guy who has played pickup basketball rather than run sprints this offseason, believing hoops would be easier on his surgically repaired knee.

''I didn't want to run all offseason, to save the wear and tear on my leg,'' Carter said. ''Maybe (the Bengals) didn't agree with that. I'm trying to save my body. I'm trying to be around for a while.''

Is it that hard to work out?

Here's a hint for Ki-Jana: In the NFL, being around for a while is not always a personal decision.

But if he says he'd rather shoot baskets than run sprints, fine. Who wouldn't? If he says he'll be ready in July, finer. But here's the thing: Why should someone in Carter's position have to be cajoled into doing his job?

That's being generous, because working out should not be confused with working. I think about this every February, when I'm writing the $450 check that furthers my YMCA membership another year.

What the Bengals would like Ki-Jana Carter to do is stay in good shape between January and July. This amounts to a few hours a day of lifting weights, stretching and running. That's it.

The team still has at least two players whose contracts contain a ''workout clause.'' That is, they are paid to show up at Spinney Field for 14 weeks in the offseason, to work out.

Forgive me. But do you have a workout clause in your contract, if you have a contract, which you probably don't?

And if you do, or if you are in the midst of earning $19 million over six years, do you think it would be a crushing burden on you to get to the gym a few hours a day to make yourself look better, feel better and, oh by the way, be better at your chosen profession?

This I do not understand. The Bengals would like Carter to work out. They believe that staying in sort-of football shape requires more than half-court three-on-three.

To this notion, Carter replied, ''Some people are different. I guess we'll just see how it goes. If it goes fine, maybe they won't say anything anymore.''

In NFL, extra effort needed

Ki-Jana Carter is a bright guy with a good head, who was a great college player. He also worked on a free pass last year. We said it often takes more than a year to recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. So Carter scored touchdowns while Garrison Hearst did the heavy lifting.

Now it's time for him to get serious. At the moment, Carter still seems unaware of the diligence NFL excellence demands. Hint: It ain't pickup basketball.

I was reminded of James Brooks, the best running back the Bengals ever had. In January 1989, Brooks played in the Super Bowl, then the Pro Bowl. The day after returning from the Pro Bowl, Brooks was back at Spinney Field, banging weights.

''He took nothing for granted,'' Bengals running backs coach Jim Anderson said. Words to live by, Ki-Jana Carter.

Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty welcomes your calls at 768-8454.

DAUGHERTY ARCHIVE