Are you one of those people that sweats A LOT when they work out? Do you ever look at other people at the gym who are BARELY red or sweating and wonder, “why don’t I look like that?” You are not alone!
When my fitness journey began, one of the hardest hurdles to overcome at the gym was being okay with how much I sweat. I am one of those people who turns beet red when they exercise and also sweats excessively. I always wanted to be like other girls I saw at the gym who NEVER looked red or had a drop of sweat on their foreheads.
Turns out that sweat response has a lot to do with genetics, meaning the number of sweat glands differs from person to person. So I guess that I’m one of those people who has a lot of sweat glands and am going to sweat more during my workouts than other people. Doesn’t mean that those other people aren’t working as hard at the gym. It’s simply genetics.
Let’s breakdown sweat a little more and why we leak fluid from our bodies when we workout.
Sweating is the cooling process your body goes through to help maintain steady body temperature. It is NOT an indicator of a good workout or bad one. "We have this association that sweating equals calories burned, and that’s actually not accurate," says Jessica Matthews, an exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. She goes on to say, “Everybody is different and sweats differently, and how much or how little you sweat doesn’t equate to the number of calories you burn."
There you have it! So stop comparing yourself to other people at the gym and EMBRACE your sweat because it is uniquely you and the number of sweat glands you have.