sweat

[marni]

so my trainer put me through a very very challenging 2 hour workout today and by the end my towel was damp enough to wring out and my clothes were literally dripping all over the floor. I remarked "worship the sweat", to which he replied "sweat is your fat cells way of crying for mercy."

Funny but I think my fat cells are hysterically laughing so hard at the thought they are ever going to go anywhere that they are crying.

sigh....

[thekarens]

At least you know you earned that sweat!

[emily_in_nc]

Speaking of sweat, I take a yoga practice 3x a week here in Mexico. It's not "hot yoga" per se, but it's conducted in a room without A/C or even fans. Sometimes there is a bit of breeze through the screened windows, but not much. And I sweat HARD. I drip all over my mat (which I cover with a towel less I slip and slide everywhere) and I see sweat droplets in all sorts of odd places like the inside of my forearms and my shins. My hair gets soaked (I wear a band to soak up some of it) as well. I just never used to sweat like this! I'm not sure it's because I'm post-menopausal now, or just exercising in warmer environments.

I've read that heavy sweating can indicate good fitness, but I've also seen some obviously very out of shape people sweating heavily, so I am not sure if I believe that or not. I just know that it's a bit embarrassing, especially when I look around and most of the other participants are not sweating at all in an obvious way. Sometimes there will be a man in the practice, and they tend to sweat more, I've noticed.

So, I definitely feel your pain, Marni!

[Crankin]

I sweat a lot, too, and I've always seen it as a sign of fitness. I am a big "head sweater," which has been a serious issue for me, as someone who has horrible hair to begin with. But, I like my sweat. It means I am working. I've come to find out that there are a significant number of women who dislike sweating intensely! One of my friends, who is very overweight, won't even go for a more vigorous walk with me, because she will sweat. Another friend (this was about 10 years ago) came on a 5 mile mile shady walk with me on a summer day, when it was warm. She brought a bath towel draped around her neck, so she "wouldn't feel the sweat." It was embarrassing. My DH was working from home that day, and asked her why the hell she had a "shmatta wrapped around her neck?"
However, I couldn't do yoga in a room that had no AC. It has taken me a long to acclimate to riding in weather above 75- 80 degrees and any time I've ran, has been spring or fall. I almost fainted in my own house, because I ran on the treadmill and then did a vigorous set of functional fitness exercises, without putting on the room AC. My exercise room is up in the loft of my house, which is really the attic. We have central AC, but we had to add a room air conditioner up there, as it just does not cool down. I think my heat intolerance is from all of those years of living in AZ, where everything is climate controlled and I never exercised outside. But, I still love to sweat!

[Helene2013]

I just can't stand sweating and cannot stand heat. haha And this is as far as I can remember. I know I have no choice if I'm going to work out but I try to "minimize" it. In my home, basement is not heated in the winter, and you know our Canadian winters can be brutal. I used to open a window but not this past winter. I have 2 fans on. One is a standard one and the other one has 3 mini fans that can blow air differently. That keeps me dry during my bike training. I'm trying very hard to wait before turning them on so I can get used to riding outside in the "heat". But then, I turn it on as I hate dripping. I'm a head sweater too. It does not take me long for drips to fall from forehead.

Outdoor cycling is just around the corner now. But as soon as it is too hot, you won't see me on the bike. Nah....I'm staying cool inside the house doing something else that does not require too much sweating.

[emily_in_nc]

I don't mind sweating lightly, but I don't like the sensation of dripping as I do while doing yoga in our warm studio without A/C, or when running on a hot/humid day (i.e., pretty much every day here!) Cycling is not so problematic as moving fast through air helps with evaporation of sweat, though when I stop, I'm dripping.

I actually googled a bit on hyperhydrosis since I am sweating SO much, but it's not really the same since I don't sweat hard when I am not working out, in cool temps, or when humidity is low.

[Crankin]

One of my kids' teachers had hyperhydrosis. It was awful. It can be cured by the same experimental (although it's probably not experimental now) surgery DS#2 had for his Raynauds. Otherwise, the conventional way to cure involves cracking your ribs open and going in that way, to cut the vagus nerve.

[emily_in_nc]

One of my kids' teachers had hyperhydrosis. It was awful. It can be cured by the same experimental (although it's probably not experimental now) surgery DS#2 had for his Raynauds. Otherwise, the conventional way to cure involves cracking your ribs open and going in that way, to cut the vagus nerve.

Fortunately, I don't have it. From all the websites I checked, it involves sweating profusely at rest or in cool temps. My profuse sweating only occurs when working out. Obviously everyone sweats at different rates when working out , and I just happen to be at the high end of the bell curve. Being menopausal is one "risk factor" for heavier sweating in hot/humid weather and when working out, unfortunately. Check!

They are using botox for hyperhydrosis now, mostly in the armpits, but my sweat is all over, not just in select areas (which is much more common in hyperhydrosis, I've learned -- feet, hands, and armpits are very common areas affected).