Sweating while working out???

sweating is your body's way of coping with temperature increases (either from climate temperature or exercise).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspiration

when you work out, your body uses calories for energy and that produces heat, thus your body's temperature rises. if it rises enough, your body will begin to sweat so that the evaporation of your swat on your skin relieves some of the heat your body is producing, and thus you cool off. generally, if you are not sweating, it means you are burning calories so slowly that the rise in temperature of your body is negligible. if you want to sweat/burn calories at a quicker pace, you need to increase the intensity of your workout.

It's true that sweat levels vary from person to person. Personally, I wonder if I have a mild medical condition because I don't think I sweat enough and sometimes I have the tendency to over-heat. The amount of work it takes for me to noticeably sweat is pretty big--I'll run an entire 5k and show about as much sweat as the average person does at 1 mile. I've never had those big sweat stains on my lower back like you'll see people get when they're working out. I might get a little forehead drip and some dampness under my arms and bust, but again, that's after a couple miles of running. As long as you are hitting your target heart rate and not getting dehydrated and/or overheated, you should be fine.

You're good. Everyone's different. Just stay hydrated!!!

sweating is your body's way of coping with temperature increases (either from climate temperature or exercise).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspiration

when you work out, your body uses calories for energy and that produces heat, thus your body's temperature rises. if it rises enough, your body will begin to sweat so that the evaporation of your swat on your skin relieves some of the heat your body is producing, and thus you cool off. generally, if you are not sweating, it means you are burning calories so slowly that the rise in temperature of your body is negligible. if you want to sweat/burn calories at a quicker pace, you need to increase the intensity of your workout.

That's true though it's not a rule for all. As mentioned above my son doesn't have as developed sweat glands. He can be burning as much calories as everyone else but instead of sweating he overheats. It's very dangerous. So just lack of sweat does not automatically mean lack of effort. Everyone has a different set of sweat glands.

Why don't you think anyone should wear a body suit to help you sweat? They sell these at all sporting good stores, walmart, Meijer for this purpose. I realize items are sold that might not be the best for someone, but I'm just curious. I've definetly decreased my sodium intake on most days. maybe I will increase the water more and see how that works. I'm also gonna try and take up a few notches and see how that works. It's so interesting to see every ones beliefs/opinions. Thanks!

As mentioned above the sweat suits can actually be quite dangerous. They trap in your body heat not allowing your body to properly cool down. This can cause an artifical heat stroke which is rather dangerous as well as dehydration. Don't focus on the sweat so much as how your muscles feel when you're done. If you feel the burn, if you make your muscles sore, you're getting a good workout.

There is a great deal of variation in how much people sweat. Sweating in and of itself does not indicate how may calories you are burning. Just make sure you aren't filing to sweat because you are not hydrated enough. NO SUIT - these are very dangerous as noted by several people here.

Also a note to those who are heavy sweaters, and I am definitely in this catagory, you are also at higher than average risk for heat complications if you do not drink LOTS of fluids. If this is how your body works just make sure to drink enough to keep sweating heavily, because if you stop sweating it means you are very dehydrated and your body temperature is rising rapidly. I drink four times the amount my husband (a minimal sweater) does.