Stef,
Yes, I actually do walk quit a bit. On the days when I don't get to the gym, or would rather be outdoors, I walk for 40 to 60 minutes. I live in a very nice neighborhood, with lots of trees and big houses, so it's a great place to walk. I check out all the houses that I hope to someday afford!
It's also a 15-minute walk to the gym, so I'm able to get in a little extra workout on my way there and back. I'm a pretty quick walker and I notice my time is improving - walking into town (I'm not exactly sure how far it is) used to take me about 17 minutes, the other day I did in 9 minutes. For a fat chick, I'm an amazingly fast walker - very few of my friends can keep up with me. I love passing skinny people on the street, hee hee!
Also, I'm between jobs right now, so I walk to the bank once a week to deposit my unemployment checks. I think it's about 3 miles round-trip.
So, long story short, I do walk - I guess I should have mentioned that in my first post!
I have a question, though - I know you can't spot-reduce one area, but if you wanted to get your quads in shape, you would bike, for your butt, you could do the elliptical on the gluteal program, etc. Is there really no exercise that would target working the abs and back?
Thanks for all your info. I really appreciate it.
Ally