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Sweat as an indivation of calories burned?

derek1237654
derek1237654 Posts: 234 Member
I know it is said that sweat is not tied to calorie burn....that i think is only a half truth.
Its simple....given the same conditions (same excercise ,same person,same hydration, same temp and humidity ) that person will sweat more at an increased excercise intensity than at a lower one. So ya sweating is correlated with energy expenditure (calories burned). Of course if one of the other conditions (ambient temp , hydration etc) changes then the sweat rate may not be correlated with calories burned. I know
this from personal experience too. The harder i work the more i sweat in almost all cases. So who else thinks these kind of claims are half truths?
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Replies

  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,379 Member
    For me usually true. Now and then I have workouts where it sways one way or another some though, for no logical reason.

    Biking in the summer is the worst. The wind keeps the sweat buildup down....until you stop!

    And for me personally it seems almost directly tied to HR / cardio base. With our elliptical indoors, I now have to be pushing some fairly solid pace/wattage to get the sweat going. With no wind it's easier to notice.
  • 2011rocket3touring
    2011rocket3touring Posts: 1,346 Member
    Both today and yesterday I did 1 hour treadmill. Yesterday's caloric reading was 399 and today's 549. Only difference was yesterday I had a fan on and did not sweat nearly as much.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
    Let's go back to your original claims - you said you live in a warmer climate area of the US. You said you work in a non air conditioned factory or something of that nature.
    If you really believe you are burning that much more because of those two factors then I would suggest adjusting your calories accordingly And see how it goes .
    If your looking for a debate then I would find some studies to support your claims and post them. Without studies or proof to back up your claims, I doubt you will be taken seriously
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
    I sweat a lot laying on the beach. Do you believe I'm burning a significant amount of calories because I'm sweating more ? I also sweat a lot while in a tanning bed. I will get out and the entire bed is soaked in puddles of sweat. I seriously doubt I am burning that much more because I'm hot. But like I said, please support your claims with some scientific backing and I would be glad to debate it.
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
    Both today and yesterday I did 1 hour treadmill. Yesterday's caloric reading was 399 and today's 549. Only difference was yesterday I had a fan on and did not sweat nearly as much.

    How did you determine your calorie burn for those? I have a step counter and a counter on my treadmill, and neither differentiate the calories based on how much I sweat.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Not true for me if comparing different exercises. I sweat more during resistance training than I do during cardio, but I know for a fact I'm not burning even half the calories I burn on a run. For resistance training it's random and does not correlate with calorie burn. I know squats burn more calories than planks, but it's buckets for a 30 second plank and and only small droplets for 5 sets of squats. For the running specifically, it's kinda sorta true for me all other things equal, although time has more to do with it than intensity (I sweat more the longer I go even if I taper my intensity at the end). As soon as I stop running, I produce more sweat in 5 minutes than I did in my entire run!
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    edited May 2016
    My gym buddy is drenched after the warm up sets, I rarely break a sweat outside of running in 30+ degree heat.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    edited May 2016
    Certain individuals sweat a lot less than others for the same intensity of exercise. It's a mixture of genetics, body size, and efficiency of sweating. Smaller people sweat less because they lose heat more efficiently by radiation than larger people since smaller people have a higher surface area to volume ratio, and because they have less fat as an insulator.

    And, for heat exchange, a very thin layer of sweat is much more efficient than large beads of sweat. Some people tend to oversweat, while others don't. That seems to be genetic - there's a huge variability in how densely packed people's sweat glands are, and how much sweat each gland produces.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    I also have a friend who never sweats and she works out hard!
  • derek1237654
    derek1237654 Posts: 234 Member
    http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/sweating-exercising-burn-calories-17583.html

    Check out this article. I guess the point i was making is that if you could accurately control for all other factors that contribute to degree of sweating and intensity of excercise was increased then you would sweat more at the higher intensity of the same excercise.
    So if all factors where exactly equal in the same person then higher intensity excercise would produce more sweat because the body would have to cool itself more from the increased energy production. In this case higher intensity excercise would be directly related to energy expenditure. I guess my overall point is dumb though because its not practical.
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
    rankinsect wrote: »
    Certain individuals sweat a lot less than others for the same intensity of exercise. It's a mixture of genetics, body size, and efficiency of sweating. Smaller people sweat less because they lose heat more efficiently by radiation than larger people since smaller people have a higher surface area to volume ratio, and because they have less fat as an insulator.

    And, for heat exchange, a very thin layer of sweat is much more efficient than large beads of sweat. Some people tend to oversweat, while others don't. That seems to be genetic - there's a huge variability in how densely packed people's sweat glands are, and how much sweat each gland produces.

    Ah, but insulation works both ways; to keep heat in and to keep heat out. I grew up in a hot climate and when I was obese I was less sweaty. Took longer for the external heat to penetrate is my theory.

  • paulgads82
    paulgads82 Posts: 256 Member
    http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/sweating-exercising-burn-calories-17583.html

    Check out this article. I guess the point i was making is that if you could accurately control for all other factors that contribute to degree of sweating and intensity of excercise was increased then you would sweat more at the higher intensity of the same excercise.
    So if all factors where exactly equal in the same person then higher intensity excercise would produce more sweat because the body would have to cool itself more from the increased energy production. In this case higher intensity excercise would be directly related to energy expenditure. I guess my overall point is dumb though because its not practical.

    I think your example could only really apply in a lab setting. It's interesting but as an individual there are other ways to know how hard you've worked out.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    paulgads82 wrote: »
    http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/sweating-exercising-burn-calories-17583.html

    Check out this article. I guess the point i was making is that if you could accurately control for all other factors that contribute to degree of sweating and intensity of excercise was increased then you would sweat more at the higher intensity of the same excercise.
    So if all factors where exactly equal in the same person then higher intensity excercise would produce more sweat because the body would have to cool itself more from the increased energy production. In this case higher intensity excercise would be directly related to energy expenditure. I guess my overall point is dumb though because its not practical.

    I think your example could only really apply in a lab setting. It's interesting but as an individual there are other ways to know how hard you've worked out.

    This is what I was thinking. It's never true that everything else is equal, and there are much easier ways to know how hard you've worked than sweat.
  • derek1237654
    derek1237654 Posts: 234 Member
    Yah i agree it is only relevant in the lab setting. But i have noticed that 9 times out of 10 i sweat a lot more as the intensity of my excercise increases . For example doing kettlebell swings with a 25lb kettlebell vs a 53 lb in the same environment. The only time i noticed less sweat with same intensity is when i was dehydrated.