Only Cathe on weekend-what to do?(cross post)

[gonnabthin06]

I bought lots of Cathe equipment this summer and have loved it. I have the step, medicine ball, bands, stability ball and varying dumbbells. Now I'm going to college and I want to keep from gaining the dreaded "Freshman 15" and in fact would like to shed some weight and firm up. I plan on coming home most weekends and thought that would be when I can use Cathe. I plan on taking advantage of my school's fitness facility during the week, but I really like how Cathe targets areas. I might as well plan this way as I already have all the materials. So presuming that I come home after my last noon class on Friday, what would be the most effective workouts to do Friday, Saturday and Sunday?? What would be the most effective gym workouts to do during the week in correlation with my Cathe weekend workouts? Thanks so much!
This summer I've been doing the stretch max, core max, beginning step, low max, and a shot at Imax 2. Those are the workouts I have in addition to being able to switch on fittv. Recommendations for other dvds are welcome! I'm still getting used to the step. I have the one that goes 4-6-8 (pretty sure) that is green and pink, but I hope to upgrade once I really devote myself to this. I really like core max!

At school, first of all it's a really big campus and I'm on the 11th floor of the dorms and I plan on really taking advantage of the stairs. Because I think of college as "me time" kinda, I also plan to use the state-of-the-art fitness facility every single day. In it they have various classes (yoga, pilates, cardio mix, one step class/week, kickboxing), elliptical trainers, treadmills, all the weightlifting stuff a girl could want (which I really am looking forward to!), a 1/6th mi. track indoors, indoor and outdoor pools, 6 raquet-sport courts and some amount of basketball courts.

As opposed to gaining like some people, I really want to lose weight. Thanks again so much. I'll be reposting this in the open discussion forum.

 

[kathryn]

One thing to watch out for to avoid gaining the "freshman 15" is cafeteria food, which is often quite high in fat and processed carbs. And beer consumption! Students can drink down a lot of calories (and then eat even more when they get the munchies) on Thursday nights and weekends---though it looks like your weekends will be safe!)

Also, it's a good idea, that you have already mentioned, to walk whenever you can.

For fitness center workouts, vary the cardio equipment you use (treadmill, elliptical, stepper), but don't ignore weight training. It will help you burn more calories, and give you a nicely shaped smaller body rather than just a smaller body. A circuit workout (moving quickly from one weight machine to another with little break in between) is a time efficient form of weight training. Kickboxing and step classes sound good as well.

For Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when you have more space at home, I suggest an interval workout (like IMAX2), a full-body weight workout (or a cardio/weight circuit workout), and a steady-state cardio workout.