Does sweating a lot mean you had a killer workout & burned a lot of calories? Are you embarrassed to sweat? Do you sweat at all?
Some people believe that if they dont sweat, it isn’t a good workout, While others sweat so much they are embarrassed about it.
Funny story before we get into the myths and truths around sweating….
The point is sweating is absolutely 100% normal, and there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
Let’s start with some common myths when it comes to sweating.
- If you’re sweating a lot, it means you’ve had a killer workout
- Sweating a lot means you are out of shape
- Sweat is your fat crying (aka fat loss)
- Sweating means burning calories
- When you sweat, you sweat out toxins
Now let’s breakthrough those myths…
Sweating is your body’s way of cooling itself down. We start sweating through our glands when the body’s internal core temperature rises. When the sweat droplets are evaporated, it creates a cooling effect for our body.
Sweating is based on your genetics and a few other factors such as:
- Your body composition – the greater the body mass, the more effort is needed to lower the temperature, which results in more sweat being produced. Muscle mass also increases heat production, which means you may sweat more.
- Your age – As we get older our body becomes less efficient with regulating our bodys tempature, therefore we will sweat less as we age.
- Hormonal fluctuations – subtle changes in your core body temperature may affect how much you sweat throughout your menstrual cycle. This is just one example on how hormones can effect your sweating.
- Your fitness level – the more fit you become, you’ll likely start sweating earlier in a workout, as your body has become more efficient in cooling down and regulating its temperature.
Sweating is not an indication of a “killer” workout as every person’s body is different.
Many people think “sweat is your fat crying,” aka fat loss, which unfortunately is not true. Anything you shed during a sweaty workout session is most likely just water, not calories nor fat!
Another popular misconception is you sweat our toxins.
However, toxins in the body are broken down by the liver and released in the urine.
An example is saunas; while very enjoyable, you are just sweating out water, salt, protein and non-toxic urea.
Forcing yourself to sweat more than the body needs to can be dangerous, and artificially increasing your sweat rate can result in dehydration, dizziness and weakness.
So when you see the next fad ad for sweat belts, waist trainers, botox injections, creams, just take this into account.
With all that said, ladies dont sweat the small stuff; every human being sweats at its own rate & it is normal; don’t base the intensity of your workout on how much you sweat!