If You’re Not Sweating, Don’t Sweat It!

I was finishing a session with someone on Wednesday night, and she commented about the fact that she was dripping with sweat.

She asked, “Does this mean I got a better workout than usual?”

There is a lot of confusion out there about sweat, so I'm going to try and explain it. Your body produces heat once in motion. The greater the motion or activity, the more heat is produced.

In order to prevent overheating, the body cools itself off by releasing sweat. Now, the amount that a person sweats can be attributed to their age, gender, fitness level, amount of body fat, geographic location and many other factors.

A person can do the EXACT same workout in two places on two different days. Day One they could workout in the park for an hour on a 90 degree day. Day Two they could workout inside their air-conditioned health club for an hour. On Day One, they may have been dripping, whereas on Day Two, they may have left the gym looking the same as when they walked it. So, which was the better workout?

It was the same workout! It’s like answering the question, “What weighs more, a pound of rocks or a pound of feathers?”

My client asked a follow up question, “But, if I sweat more, won’t I lose weight?” The answer is YES! You will lose weight by sweating, but you will gain it back the second you have a glass of water. Any of those “sweat suits” or “tummy belts” designed to make your belly smaller by “sweating away the inches” are a gimmick.

So, if you like to sweat when you exercise, then sweat! If you don’t like to sweat when you exercise, don’t sweat! The most important factor here is that you are exercising.

If you have a question that you’d like addressed in an upcoming blog, please email me at Chris@ChrisFitNY.com.