Get hot and sweaty too quickly - mental block to overcome

floppybackend

Its not new but I seem to sweat so easily and when starting my exercise regime from start its the mental thing that puts me off - not sure if this is a common thing? Seems to be as soon as my back and nap of neck is soaking I dont feel as if I can continue. Im hot I want to stop. My starting from scratch again doing a Joe Wicks beginner workout. I was boiling and soaked. Any help on this one? Or am I weird?

JustSomeEm

I sweat a lot too... and I'm always super self-conscious about it. Women don't sweat, right? This one does. So, I have invested in some headbands to keep the sweat out of my eyes - maybe that would help with sweat running down your neck as well? And for torso sweat I use moisture wicking shirts - it keeps the sweat from running down my body and in spite of them being tight, the shirts help keep me cool.

springlering62

I sweat a LOT. So I embraced it. Hot yoga, baby!

Seriously, I try to group my workouts to minimize showering. This morning is a long dog walk while it’s cooler (relative, since it’s upper 90’s here today), two hot power yoga classes and maybe a hot Pilates, with a run in between classes. I’ll be drenched by the time I get but the rest of the day is sofa or errand time.

Or, I do a cardio or hiit class immediately followed by aquafit.

Btw, if sweat bugs you, aquafit can be a good calorie burn IF you put effort in and don’t stand around gossiping in the water like 75% of the participants do.

But then there’s that getting out of the pool, walking down the freezing hall to the dressing room, and struggling to take off wet clothes and get dry ones in a damp body. For that reason I now proudly go commando for the hundred yard walk to the car. Nobody knows and I hate putting underwear on when damp.

You’ll get used to the sweat and mat actually start to appreciate it.

Run laundry often. 😬

boilerdawg2009

Try to embrace the sweat! It's a sense of accomplishment for me. If I'm doing cardio and I'm not drenched by the time I'm done, I know I could have pushed harder.

JaysFan82

I sweat like a *kitten* in church. Who cares. It just means you're burning calories and working towards your goal.

yirara

Yeah, I sweat terribly, even when I'm just hiking in half warm temperature in flat terrain. Nothing I can do about it. No idea how people older and possibly less fit than me do it, but I'm not them.

AnnPT77

I'm totally Sweaty McSweaterson during any kind of workout, even fairly mild ones, even though I'm not terribly out of shape (any more). I'm actually grateful to be a sweating kind of person, because it suggests to me that I have a useful cooling system. I row regularly with a woman who doesn't sweat much at all (even at the same effort intensity), and I worry a little about her getting overheated when it's a hot day, honestly.

If you're doing video workouts, can you keep a towel nearby and swipe off the sweat now and then - would that help? Or even use a chilled cloth, one of those reusable soft gel-filled cold packs they sell for putting on sore joints, turn a fan on yourself so the sweat evaporates better/faster - would that help?

This may sound silly, but can you come up with some positive affirmations you can think to yourself when sweat happens, to remind you that you're working hard toward positive goals, and that the sweat is a good symbol of that? "Sweat is a sign of positive progress" kind of thing?

I admit, I like sweating when I'm earning it, so I don't really know how to reframe that. I do think it was more of a mixed reaction when I was first starting to work out, because it was easy to associate sweat with difficulty, or with acknowledging how out of shape I was then, or something like that . . . .

COGypsy

I hate that sweaty feeling too. When my head gets hot and damp.....SO GROSS and dirty! Other than walking my dog, I only exercise indoors (for several reasons) and make sure to have a fan pointed at me. Like Ann suggested, a cold pack for the back of your neck helps too. I absolutely cannot work out without a shower and hair wash afterward, so I like to start and finish the shower on the cool side. For some reason I feel like I can "save the cold" and not get so hot again when I have to blow dry my hair

Really, there's just not a lot you can do about how much and how quickly you start to sweat working out. I just try to focus on getting through the workout and try to forget about the way my body actually feels while I'm doing it, if that makes sense.

yirara

One big example why sweating really sucks: I was hiking last Saturday, hot and humid weather, some terrain. I was soaked. Oh well... then I sat down on the ground to have lunch. Well, that was the idea anyway. But my trousers got stuck on me and I heart and felt a tear form where I don't want a tear. Yeah. So I hiked another 10km with this, and once the tear got too big I wrapped a long-sleeve shirt I was wearing as sun protection around my hips.

snowflake954

I don't like being sweaty either. I swim and do acquagym so it doesn't bother me in the water. When I do stuff out of the water I always wear a headband to absorb the sweat. I can't stand sweat in my eyes, it burns. I won't give up exercising, so I just work around it.

Rotti548

Other than dropping the temp in your workout area, maybe moisture wicking apparel. Although generally the more you sweat, the more you burn.

JBanx256

Rotti548 wrote: »

Although generally the more you sweat, the more you burn.

If you're referring to calories, this is simply untrue.

If you meant something else entirely, disregard...

Carriehelene

Honestly, be glad you sweat easily, even if it’s gross. I don’t sweat easily, and by the time I start to sweat, I’m overheated to the point that I’m ill and on the verge of passing out. It puts me out of commission for at least 1/2 an hour, it’s terrible.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

I sweat so badly when running, cycling, or any other hot-weather activity that I've bought a thing called GUTR, which you have to see to believe. Without that, in hot weather, I sweat right into my eyes and I can't see anything.

https://www.sweatgutr.com/sweatbands

I also always carry a bandanna to wipe the sweat off my face. For indoor workouts, a sweat towel is essential!

sybillabryson

I just read this tid bit in a book where a therapist was helping a patient who sweated profusely and had all kinds of mental crap/anxiety associated with that. The therapist suggested to the man to announce to everyone that he sweats like crazy and it's incredible how much he sweats and then to say to himself "I'm going to show them how much I can sweat!" and then actually try to sweat more. Apparently doing this once cured him of his anxiety and he actually started sweating less too.

DancingMoosie

Can you do your workouts with a fan and no shirt? Then...just embrace the sweat. Once you get used to it, it probably won't bother you as much.

IAmTheGlue

I get absolutely soaked in sweat. I’ve got long hair and it gets wet. I could wring out my clothes. Sweat drops off my face, drips off my fingertips when I’m on the treadmill… and it cools you off. That’s your body’s cooling system. I think you just have to embrace it. Turn a fan on you and get in the zone?

That’s what I do. I sweat. I pant. Get those endorphins going… it’s lovely. When I’m super sweaty I feel like my body is working well and I feel like my fitness is improving because my body is doing better at cooling off.

My dad used to have headbands that had actual sponges built in to keep sweat from running in his eyes. Maybe try something like that or something I have seen on tourists at Disney is these little fans they wear on their necks to blow on their face to help keep them cool since they are not used to the Florida heat.

I like the suggestion of water aerobics and would like to add swimming might be something you enjoy as well.

AnnPT77

Would positive perspectives on sweat help? I just heard this episode of Science Friday that calls sweat a human superpower, and has lots of interesting facts about sweating in humans, and what other animals do instead. The podcast, transcript, and more are here:

https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/sweat-science/

This is not super-technical, aimed at regular non-scientist people; I'm not associated with it, except as a fan.

claireychn074

I also sweat a lot and I go an attractive shade of beetroot. I have rosacea so even after cooling down I stay bright red. Used to hate it, now just accept it. I use a towel to mop myself, wear waterproof mascara (as I train after work usually so don’t have to worry about removing work make-up before hitting the gym), am currently rocking a selection of dodgy headbands ala 1980s vibe, and - I pour cold water over my head. I figure I’m wet anyway, might as well be cooler and feel fresher 🤷‍♂️ Might be an age thing, I defo care less now than when I was younger and worried more about what people think.

tulips_and_tea

Same. I dislike the feeling of sweating as well, but I know it's important in keeping me cool while working out.

Also, whether it's true or not, I've convinced myself that it's a way to cleanse my skin from the inside out. Helps me get through a sweaty workout and then it feels SO good to take a nice, cool shower afterwards. My skin feels cleaner, although I'm sure it's not actually true. Whatever works!

kenziestabes

Nerdy perspective here. You know how during the training montage in any action-y show or movie, the hero is completely drenched in sweat? I embrace the sweat and the "action hero training montage" mind set. Also positive affirmations like, "Sweat is weakness leaving the body," to twist a common Marine Corps phrase. They even make workout shirts that have hidden messages which don't show up until the shirt is wet.

It's not easy to change a mind set, especially your own, but embracing the sweat as your body taking care of itself (logos), channeling your inner action hero (pathos) or looking at those you admire who perspire (ethos) to know you're not the odd one out, are all good strategies to help work through the sweat.

mrmota70

I have a pair of joggers for every day of the week since they more likely than not will be wet. If I do a 10k its guaranteed I’ll be wet from head to toe literally…. treadmill in 58 degree hotel workout room or outside before 7 @78 degree I’m sweating buckets. I’ve learned to live with it. Only disappointment is there is no way I could get a half marathon or marathon finished without having to run in drenched clothes and wet shoes. That is a killer on the piggies… So 10k 4 life it is…

These were my new white joggers so pretty…



5 miles later … doh 😖



5 mile indoor tread jog last Friday.



Ha ha