Sweat during exercise means....

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  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Sweating is neither good nor bad. Everyone is different. Someone who sweats more isn't necessarily healthier or more hydrated than someone who doesn't sweat as much. Someone who doesn't sweat as much may not need to work as hard to cool their body as someone who sweats more. Also, where someone sweats is different for different people. For some reason, when I work out my head sweats a lot and gets hot (which is made worse my noise cancelling headphones), but my underarms don't sweat very much.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Oh, and FYI, if you are wiping the sweat off or wearing those moisture wicking fabrics, then you will sweat more. Basically, if the body doesn't get the cooling effect it needs from the evaporation of the water from the skin then it will produce more trying to get that evaporation which is what actually cools the body. So, if you don't want to sweat as much, don't wipe off what sweat you are producing.

    That's not really possible when the sweat is running down your face...
  • chocolatnoir
    chocolatnoir Posts: 182 Member
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    Oh wow lots of responses!

    This is a friend's trainer, btw- I don't have one. Her trainer told her she must have been eating poorly that week because she was sweating so much during her work out. I told her it goes against everything I've ever heard.

    I'm going to keep on sweating away happily :)
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Sweat does not have any special significance. As others have said, it is a cooling mechanism, and you tend to get better at it as your fitness level increases. How much you sweat is often determined by your physiology-again, it is not an important indicator. Sweat is not an indicator of health, nor does it "detoxify".
  • ceh013
    ceh013 Posts: 3
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    I agree with everyone else :-)

    Perhaps, as a long shot, if your friend was sweating considerably more THAN USUAL for roughly the same workout, the trainer could think that (s)he had been eating too many chinese takeaways (for example) and was full of salt. But yeah, silly trainer, probably - as someone else said - looking to get hired to devise a "healthy" eating plan.

    Caroline
  • Hummmingbird
    Hummmingbird Posts: 337 Member
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    rediculous! for me my face NEVER sweats and never will so everyone is different!
  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
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    If you aint sweating you're not hitting it hard enough...

    So my friend who HIKED in the MIDDLE EAST and didn't sweat wasn't working hard enough? Do your research before you make such an assumption. Not every sweats a lot, or @ all. And other sweat buckets doing only mild physical activity. Every body is different.
  • MiloBloom83
    MiloBloom83 Posts: 2,723 Member
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    Sweat is how your body regulates temperature. Sweating during exertion is good! When my hands start to sweat on a run is when i know i've got a good workout going. Not sweating is a sign of dehydration.
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
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    I actually came on to post asking why I rarely sweat. Guess I somewhat got my answers. I consider myself fairly fit and eat very healthy. When marathon training this summer, I obviously used to sweat more s the temps were higher. But when I work out at home now in the winter, or run outside, I get warm but rarely sweat.

    I do notice that I'm always cold. I keep my office at work about 78, dressed in pants and a sweater. At home, I bundle up by my hands and feet (and nose) are always cold to the touch. I was wondering if body temp had anything to do with it. If I take my body temp, it's rarely over 96, typically around 94 on any given day.

    I'm glad to know that sweating doesn't many anything to fitness level. I know I'm well hydrated, I drink 24oz per hour all day long at work and at least 32 oz of water before work and after work, along with a glass or two of green tea in the AM.
  • fongjon
    fongjon Posts: 19 Member
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    I sweating like Jill Dando trying to get the key in the front door, seriously I come out of squash drenched! I then get the dehydration headache, but it goes after a few pints of water and some electrolytes.
  • SpleenThief
    SpleenThief Posts: 293 Member
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    sweating a lot is a sign that she is not eating healthfully.

    No, absolutely not.
  • Krista916
    Krista916 Posts: 258
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    OK, I know you're a girl, but I literally just read in Men's Health that excessive sweating means that you are more fit. I can't believe that would only apply to men.
  • fongjon
    fongjon Posts: 19 Member
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    OK, I know you're a girl, but I literally just read in Men's Health that excessive sweating means that you are more fit. I can't believe that would only apply to men.

    Yes I sweat loads so I hope it is true, I am sure I am just big boned really!
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
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    I've always been in fairly decent cardiovascular health and ever since I started running as a 15 year old I have sweat a lot.

    I have also read/heard that sweating is a sign that your body is cooling itself off effectively and that you are hydrated. At 31 I still sweat as soon as I start working out- whether it is running, stairs, or a rigorous yoga practice. I think it is good!

    However, a friend's personal trainer recently told her that the fact the she is sweating a lot is a sign that she is not eating healthfully. Really? Has anyone else heard this before?
    Wow, a personal trainer said that?? My trainer used to reassure me that sweating a lot was good for me when I'd become embarrassed about it. She said it is a way for the body to detoxify itself. I can't believe some of the stuff these people come up with! I've never heard anyone say that sweating a lot during exercise is a bad thing!

    Yes, a person's body rids itself of toxins through liver, kidneys, lungs and skin--mainly the liver, but also a small amount through the skin.
  • ayalowich
    ayalowich Posts: 242 Member
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    I am a very heavy sweater, and living in a tropical climate that means I suffer a lot during the warmer months when running outdoors. The idea that sweating a lot doesn't mean anything or is definitely good for you is false. I have to drink a lot more water than my co-running friends who have much more efficient thermostats than I. I am very fit and reasonably lean and have been a runner for 25 years and I've come to accept that my heavy sweating during runs is just the way it is.

    I have gone out for runs with my wife, who even with us being fairly similar in fitness levels, she has sweat very little while I am out there leaving a trail along the street and my shoes are soaked and take hours to dry out. If I go for runs in cooler weather, this is much less of an issue, but even then I still sweat a decent amount. In the summer, I probably can squeeze out an 6 inch circle in my singlet at water breaks. It's crazy.

    I have to believe everyone is different and knowing how conditions effect you should determine how much you drink, what type of clothes you wear (I wear the lightest shorts and singlets I can find) and how you recover. But I do not believe that being a heavy sweater is 'good'. It is just what you are. I would much prefer to sweat less.
  • Pzsmeemees
    Pzsmeemees Posts: 1 Member
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    Sweat is your fat crying.:)

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