Getting Kicked out of Gyms due to Sweat

ehimass
ehimass Posts: 92 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was wondering if anyone can offer advice....

36 y/o 6'0" 200 pound man. I am having an issue, mainly at hotel gyms/health clubs in Asia where there is an attendant.

So I do a 100 minute cardio workout most days, nothing crazy, an hour of elliptical intervals and 40 minutes of treadmill walking, heart rate averaging ~150 bpm.

I travel for work and in Asia I find they keep their gyms at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit (~25 C).

I do sweat a lot, I have weighed myself after my workout a few times without hydrating during, and I usually lose 5-8 pounds of weight, so a gallon of sweat.

I try to be courteous, I wipe down the machines thoroughly after I use them, both with towels and with the wet-sanitary wipes. It's usually not an issue in the States. However my clothes will be soaked (I wear stuff that isn't see-through or anything) and I will be dripping, despite wiping off as much as possible.

In Asia I find that they will send an attendant to follow me around, or stand next to me with a mop, and on my last trip they even came up to me halfway through my workout and told me I had to leave and go take a shower. I did what they asked, even though when I came back to finish my workout I was just as sweaty by the end.

Is there any solution to this? I would just jog outside but my knees can't take it.

Thanks.



Replies

  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Do you travel to areas where you walk and/or run outside instead of using a gym?
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    It’s a different culture but I would be so offended. But I would bring extra clothes, maybe go to the bathroom half way through, wipe down with a towel and change clothes.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    grinning_chick wrote: »
    Different cultural norms are different. No solution unless you can use the gym facilities in the dead of night (stateside, they all seem to close at 10 or 11 p.m.) and control the room thermostat, turning it way down an hour or more before you begin. Barring that, if they can accommodate, ask for a large (24"+) fan on a pole stand that can blow directly onto yourself on high and catches you from at least the waist up to evaporate the sweat faster. Trial and error will tell if that would work for you, if it's an option. Good luck,

    Yes, the hotel gym should be more accommodating. I'd ask if I could go during off-hours and they can turn down the thermostat ahead of time.

    Other options:
    1. Swim?
    2. Find trails to jog on? (I get the knees issue - I avoid pavement too but my knees like dirt.)
  • peggy_polenta
    peggy_polenta Posts: 310 Member
    wear black so the sweat doesn't show so much. wear a touque (that is a knitted winter hat for non canadians), esp if your head really sweats. you may also want to wear a sweat shirt over your shirt. yes it will make you sweat more, but it will mostly be caught by your tshirt and the sweat shirt will catch and hide a lot of the additional sweat.
  • DiscusTank5
    DiscusTank5 Posts: 333 Member
    Wear tech shirts instead of cotton: they help keep the sweat in check.
  • ehimass
    ehimass Posts: 92 Member
    edited April 2019
    erickirb wrote: »
    maybe have a towel with you and wipe your sweet as you are exercising so it doesn't pool... also, I would argue that 100 minutes is excessive cardio at one time, if that is your normal workout and a once a week long run. losing 5-8 lbs of water in one session sounds dangerous to me. Do you hydrate and do something to replenish your electrolytes?

    Have you asked them to turn the temp down... most gyms I go to range from 19-22 degrees, which is "normal" room temperature

    I probably average 4-5x per week on the 100 minute workout, and add in a 40 minute heavy weights routine 3x per week.

    Normally I will drink about 100 oz of water during the workout and I weigh about the same at the end. Only a few times I didn't drink anything to see how much water weight was lost as an experiment. Electrolyte replemenishment comes from a pretty salt heavy diet, some potassium supplements, daily vitamin, and muscle milk RTD's which have a lot of potassium, calcium, and magnesium as well.

    I have asked to turn the temp down but they generally aren't willing to change their temperature just for me. I have read that sweat glands develop when you're an infant, and if you sweat a lot at that age, you will generate a lot of sweat later in life. I can only speculate but since I was born in very hot and humid Houston and we did not have A/C at that time, maybe that has caused me to sweat a great deal during exercise throughout my life.

    Anyway, thank you to every for the recommendations. I am wearing Neleus Men's Dry Fit Athletic Shirts, which are polyester mesh, also polyester shorts and underwear. Part of the problem is that my shoes will be pretty soaked by the end of my hour of elliptical intervals, so I make a squishy sound when walking thereafter.

    One thing that is nice about Asian Hotel gyms is that at least they usually have barbells with plates or at least dumbells that go up to 30kg/65 pounds + smith machines whereas in the states I'm lucky if I can even get 50 pound dumbbells.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    Do any of the hotels have pools you could swim in instead? I'm sorry, that sounds embarrassing. Why do they keep it so hot?
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    I think it is completely unreasonable to keep a gym at 80 degrees and not expect people to sweat. My small gym is set at 65 degrees and has fans. I don’t have any new suggestions, sorry, I feel bad for you.
  • cbihatt
    cbihatt Posts: 319 Member
    edited April 2019
    Have you tried something like frog togs to keep you cooler while exercising? I don’t know how effective it would be, but it might be worth a try.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    edited April 2019
    hesn92 wrote: »
    Do any of the hotels have pools you could swim in instead? I'm sorry, that sounds embarrassing. Why do they keep it so hot?
    whmscll wrote: »
    I think it is completely unreasonable to keep a gym at 80 degrees and not expect people to sweat. My small gym is set at 65 degrees and has fans. I don’t have any new suggestions, sorry, I feel bad for you.

    @lonestarwings when you said "Asia" and that the thermostat was set on 80 degrees, I assumed you meant South Asia - am I correct?

    I was always hotter in Okinawa and Costa Rico than people who grew up there.

    My family has friends from Central American who visit us in Massachusetts for the 4th of July and they are always amazed that I am sweating when they are not.
  • ehimass
    ehimass Posts: 92 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    @lonestarwings when you said "Asia" and that the thermostat was set on 80 degrees, I assumed you meant South Asia - am I correct?

    I was always hotter in Okinawa and Costa Rico than people who grew up there.

    My family has friends from Central American who visit us in Massachusetts for the 4th of July and they are always amazed that I am sweating when they are not.

    Southern China (Shenzhen). It is getting pretty warm there and last time they just had windows open in still air with no real ventilation. I have also had these types of issues in Bangkok, Shanghai (in summer) and Seoul. Seoul they seem to always run the heater closer to 80 even in winter.

  • ChickenKillerPuppy
    ChickenKillerPuppy Posts: 297 Member
    Invest in fabrics that wick away sweat - you can do online research but there is some good quality stuff out there, I imagine higher tech then the polyester blend you are wearing.

    Otherwise I am sorry that is happening to you. I would hate that. Good for you go keep working out through that.

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