Were you the inspiration behind the creation of antiperspirant? When you walk by the front desk of your health club does the staff always ask you if its raining outside? Do you avoid wearing white t-shirts when you workout because you resemble a 'Girls Gone Wild' video?
If you answered 'Yes' to any of the following questions... you don't just sweat.
You are a sweaty mess!
Guys are proud of the fact that if they ring out their shirt they could fill up a kiddie pool. On the other hand, ladies have told me that they don't sweat- they glisten.
So...
Does the amount of sweat you shed indicate how hard you are exercising, amount of calories you are burning, or how fit you are?
- If we made a spectrum of fitness (very fit to very unfit), both ends of this spectrum would be seen to sweat the most. The most fit and most unfit are likely to be soaking wet.
- Sweating is less an indication of your fitness level, but more of how well your internal thermostat is regulating your core body temperature.
- It's true, that as you become more fit your body uses the sweating mechanism to keep you cool at a faster and faster rate. Be prepared to sweat sooner than ever before!
- Sweating is not the best measurement for estimating how many calories you are burning. Don't only workout until you are shvitzing - your level of exertion, heart rate, and post-exercise tiredness are all better ways to tell if you are challenging yourself enough.
- Weigh yourself at the end of your workout to find out how much water weight you lost as the Mayo Clinic recommends drinking 16 fluid ounces of water for every pound lost from sweat.
