No sweating a lot - is that OK?

[MonarchX]

I see some people sweat a LOT, and I only sweat around my head/neck area even though I do cardio faster and longer.

Does it mean anything if I don't sweat as much as others (as far as weight loss) ?

[radar717]

up the resistance. You'll find a level that'll have u sweating.

You want to start sweating 15 - 20 minutes into
your workout.

I've been using ellipticals for years - i have to set the
resistance to 15 to get a decent workout - run at a
pace where you've got the gas turned on just a bit.

Not too much but you always want to be a little
agressive in you running. if you're passively passing
the time just going through the motions - you will get
results but it will take much longer.

If you've done it right - you'll actually have more
energy and be going faster toward the end.

[MonarchX]

I do have it set to 15 as well. My head and neck sweat, but not too much...
See, if I set the resistance higher, I would be doing 500 calories forever (not doing 500 calories at resistance of 15 in about 35 minutes).

[jonnyb]

Sweating doesn't = fat loss

Some people sweat up a storm and some don't. I don't see how a person can say "you should start sweating 15-20 mins into your workout." Everybody is different. ****, I start to sweat after the first two sets on leg day!

In the winter when I go joggin in the freezing cold I don't sweat very much, but I burn MORE calories than if I go joggin on a hot summer day! That's because my body is burning calories warming me up from the cold.

[cobra1414]

Yeah sweating means nothing. I sweat walking down the stairs to the gym. Buddy of mine sweats not at all, even during heavy cardio.

[radar717]

i disagree with the no sweating posts.

The goal of exercise if to raise your metabolic rate.
If you do - you're body will attempt to cool you - thus sweating

I sweat faster after weights and it makes sense because weight
training increases metabolism.

Heat exchange is also one of the primary by-products of
increased metabolism. So as a result you *should* sweat
more if your exercise level is intense enough and you are
properly hydrated. Of course this advice is a bit general
but intense exercise (especially long-form cardio) should
result in sweating.

I would be interested to hear from anyone that lost
*more* weight doing a non-sweating workout program
compared to one that leaves them dripping.

In my experience I always lose more fat when I sweat.


Cardio: LifeFitness Elliptical: 60 minutes - 1,000 to 1,100 cals - 9.3 to 10 miles

[VegasLife]

Yeah you have to know your body. Are you someone who does alot of sweating like the guy who sweats walking down stairs or are you like the friend of the guy who doesn't sweat during heavy cardio?

Have you tried drinking more water?

[taffer]

i dont sweat alot, sometimes i do when the temp is up, or when i do medium intensity cardio
i hardly sweat with HIIT, and belive me i do it properly

[radar717]

If you're doing HIIT them maybe you don't sweat until *after*
you're finished. I guess if I did a short enough and intense
HIIT I would sweat very little or not at all.

Truthfully I'm not sold on HIIT - My experience has always
been the longer you do cardio that more fat you burn.

Shortening the time always lessens the effect.

45-60 minutes at the maximum intensity that you
can still breathe fairly easily has always been
hands-down!!!! winner on keeping myself in shape.

When friends follow this advice they have their best
results but....

It's never long before some gym know-it-all corrects
their form and they have difficulty maintaining weight
from that point onward.

I wish that 20 minutes was enough and I know you
probably hate cardio but for maximum benefits you
should just get used to the idea that 45-60 minutes
of cardio is what it takes to see real results.

[Thardus]

I think the amount of sweat people produce at increased heat levels is genetic. When you exercise you're definately increasing the amount of heat produced by the body, and then the body tries to reduce that temperature back to normal. I think it's based on genetics how well that is accomplished, and how well the other mechanisms are (like breathing) in getting heat from your body. I sweat like crazy, the other day I went out for a run at 6pm and the temp was probably only around 85º-90º. After the jog I took off my shirt and squeezed it and sweat just poured out. The shirt couldn't have been any wetter if I had taken it out of a swimming pool. My shirt does the same even if I run on a treadmill in the AC! People like me are inefficient sweaters because we produce far more sweat than can possibly evaporate from the skin; in other words it's overkill. The side effect of this is that I lose water content and walk around wet when exercising. It doesn't surprise me that others exist on the other end of the spectrum, and the side effect of that is probably a tendency to overheat and possibly pass out. I think I'm more tolerant of heat than most and I wonder if that has to do with the ease at which my body will pour saltwater. Just out of curiousity, are you bothered by the heat?

[taffer]

Truthfully I'm not sold on HIIT - My experience has always
been the longer you do cardio that more fat you burn.

Shortening the time always lessens the effect.

I wish that 20 minutes was enough and I know you
probably hate cardio but for maximum benefits you
should just get used to the idea that 45-60 minutes
of cardio is what it takes to see real results.

if we have learnt anything else in the past decade, its that more doesnt mean better, if we went by that logic, we could sit on a bike for 24hours and lose tons of fat
research has shown that HIIT raises your metabolism for a 24-48hour period, and you actually burn more fat over that time period as compared to regular intensity cardio

im not saying 45-60mins of medium intensity cardio is useless, im saying that HIIT is a very useful tool, and variety is the key here, discarding HIIT like that is foolish, as there are many more benefits to HIIT than just plain fat loss

[radar717]

If I do 45 - 60 minutes of cardio - I *KNOW* that
when i wake in the morning i'lll be slimmer -
It's that simple!!!

I make improvements EVERY DAY
I do 45 - 60 minutes of carido. More than when I
tried HIIT or any other variation.

If anyone else has tried both and lost more fat
from the shorter form I'd really like to hear about
it - in my experience the results aren't even close!