THERESA: Summer's almost over. Tell us how you spent your summer vacation, fitness-wise! I have been pretty lazy, but did manage to do some canoeing in Montana while I was on vacation. That's so much fun. And yesterday, after a way-too-extended break from running, Yvonne got me out again and we checked out the new running path south of the Art Museum along the Schuykill. Great trail, very scenic, though the area seemed a little desolate at 7 a.m. It's safest to jog there with friends, I think.

JILL: I kept up with my exercise reasonably well, considering that it rained every day, but never did get to do my favorite summer workout: riding my bike on the Atlantic City boardwalk from end to end. And though I mourn the passing of summer, I'll be thrilled when my jazz dance class resumes on Saturdays. It's effortless because I love it and it keeps me relatively sane.

LAURIE: I have had a most lazy summer, and am looking forward to fall to rev me up and get me back to the gym. I've been working out at home and doing yoga twice a week, but not as much as I should. Ironically, though summer's the time when you bare more body and there's more opportunity to go outside, it's a season when I tend to NOT exercise as regularly as I do at other times of year. Then there's that ice cream temptation! I always seem to gain weight. Anybody else find that to be true?

THERESA: Yes, ice cream is a big summertime temptation for me too! I need to avoid buying it, and try to be satisfied with low-fat yogurt topped with fresh blueberries or strawberries. Not a bad substitute... Laurie: I love yogurt, but good as it is, it's no ice cream. I just discovered wonderful Philly brand Bassetts is being sold at Wawa! That is the best ice cream in the world. Since I have to have it sometimes, I just try to have a small amount.

APRIL: I have been very lazy this summer, I am looking forward to running outdoors this fall and to getting back into shape. One of the most depressing parts about my lag in exercise is loss of muscle tone. Ugh.

LAURIE: Well, April, you are making me feel better. I thought loss of tone I have noticed lately was a sign of age, not lack of exercise. But you're too young for age to be a factor. So maybe if I just start exercising more I can tone up again. A little, anyway!

KIMBERLY: I have kept up with my workouts all summer. The rain however, kept me in more than I would like. I don't do ice cream very often but I love water ice. I find water ice more refreshing than ice cream. Water ice (while fat free) has a ton of empty calories too. In preparation for the fall I have really revved up my routine and set some new benchmarks.

YVONNE W: My summer regimen has been pretty steady. My biggest concern is that I went to New Orleans and gained 10 pounds in June. I have managed to take off 5 of those pounds, but am struggling with the last five. I sometimes wonder if I have damaged my metabolism from so many years of intense exercise. However, this summer I kept a steady workout schedule of salsa, jumping rope at least 4 times a week, step class, eliptical training, circuit training, pilates and weights once maybe twice a week. I do a P.M. pilates tape for 20 minutes before I retire for the evening and it helps me to sleep. I use to use sleeping pills when I couldn't sleep, but I decided to try a more natural method. Works like a charm.

JILL: You have enough energy to do exercise at night before you sleep? Incredible. I too resort to pills sometimes and would love to know about this natural method of incuding sleep, but I seriously wonder if I'd have the discipline and energy to do pilates before bed. How do you do it???

APRIL: My personal trainer says jumping rope is even better and ues more muscles and energy than running. I have been meaning to get a jump rope!

LAURIE: Yvonne, you are amazing!! I've heard, too, that jumping rope is really good. April? If you'll try it, I will, too.

YVONNE W: Laurie, I watched one of Kimberly's videos and she said 5 minutes of jumping rope was equivalent to 20 minutes of jogging. I'm actually being quite lazy.

LAURIE: Then I want to be lazy like you!