Bikini Countdown.

Bikini Countdown

You can practically hear the theme from Jeopardy winding down the weeks -- or days -- until you put on a bathing suit. There is, however, a shortcut to perfection.

For all the drawbacks to winter weather, its puffy jackets and heavy eight-ply sweaters do have advantages -- namely, the ability to hide a season's worth of sins. When the mercury rises, it's natural for anxiety to soar, too: "So many women come to me panicked that summer or a beach vacation is just around the corner," says trainer David Kirsch, whose clients at New York City's Madison Square Club include Sports Illustrated swimsuit veteran Heidi Klum. "A bikini is as close ...