You sweat a lot when running in the gym

Excessive sweating while running in the gym is never a golden sign of "maximizing fat burning efficiency". It is essentially a normal physiological reaction that is a combination of environmental conditions, exercise status, and individual characteristics. There is no need to be complacent about this and think that you are training harder than others, and there is no need to worry about whether you are physically weak.

The Shangjian store I often go to is very typical. In the summer, the air conditioner in the aerobic area seems reluctant to be turned on. The air vents are all blowing towards the private area. The treadmills are crowded in rows, and the air brought out by people running is hot. I went for a run during rush hour last Wednesday night. After 40 minutes, I could squeeze out less than half a cup of sweat from my T-shirt. The water dripping from my hair left a series of small watermarks on the treadmill surface, and even the tips of my socks were wet. As a result, I went early on Saturday morning, and I was the only one in the entire aerobic zone. The air conditioner was turned on fully, and I ran the same pace and the same number of intervals. After running, I only had a patch of wetness on my back as big as a palm, and the sweat on my forehead disappeared after wiping it twice. You see, the amount of sweat can vary two to three times just because of the environment. It really has nothing to do with whether you practice well or not.

Speaking of it, this matter has been quarreling in the fitness circle for almost ten years, but there is still no accurate answer. One school of thought is that the ventilation in the gym is poor and convection heat dissipation cannot keep up. The body can only rely on a lot of sweating to cool down. To put it bluntly, the environment is stretching the hips. If you go for a run on the riverside with the same amount of exercise, there will be natural wind to dissipate heat, and the fat burning effect will not be compromised if you sweat half as much; the other school is that I’m not happy about it. They say that the tracks of the treadmill rotate automatically, so you have to tighten your core at all times to maintain balance. Many people wander around when running, and their core is so loose that they can’t exert force at all. The work done per unit time is much less than on the treadmill. Sweating more is a sign of high consumption. In fact, there is nothing wrong with both sides. If you are holding on to the handrails and paddling the whole time, and the pace is as slow as walking, then the sweat is most likely boring; if the core is tight throughout the whole race, the pace is stable at 180, and the pace is steadily upward, then sweating more is indeed a good result of your practice. There is no need to argue about who is right and who is wrong.

I had a fitness test with my fitness partner before. We are about the same height and weight, and the difference in body fat percentage is less than 1%. We ran exactly the same five kilometers. I didn’t even get wet on the sides of my sports bra, and he even soaked the waistband of his sports pants. After a physical examination, I found out that he was born with a density of sweat glands that is nearly 30% higher than mine. There is nothing wrong with him, except that he likes to sweat. There are also those who wrap up in three layers of sweat clothes as soon as they get on the treadmill. The photos they post on their friends circle are so wet that they look like they were fished out of water. They say that they lost three kilograms in one hour. Don’t envy them. Those three kilograms are all water. They turn around and drink two bottles of Pulse and they are back. Of course, the Sweat Suit is not purely an IQ tax. Many people in the industry also recognize its use: wear it for half an hour before taking fitness comparison photos to eliminate edema, and the photogenic lines are indeed much better. Athletes who want to control their weight before competitions will also use it to quickly lose weight. Just don’t use it as a "fat-burning artifact". I have seen people who were too tired and had electrolyte disorders and were admitted to the hospital twice.

Let me tell you about the mistakes I have made. Friends who sweat a lot should remember: Don’t run in a pure cotton T-shirt. When it’s wet, it sticks to your back like a cold rag. It’s easy to catch a cold when the wind blows. Buy two quick-drying clothes that cost dozens of dollars and wear them interchangeably. You can wash them overnight and they’ll dry. Don’t pour ice water when you run. I took a shower for 4 and a half minutes last time. At the same pace, I downed half a bottle of iced Americano. I squatted on the ground for half an hour to catch my breath. I had to take sips of warm electrolyte water, two or three sips at a time. After running, be sure to take a wet wipe to wipe off the sweat on the treadmill. I had stepped on someone else's sweat stains before, and I almost fell off when my foot slipped. My knees were bruised for less than half a month.

Anyway, when I run on the treadmill now, I never look at how sweaty I am. I just look at whether my heart rate is stable and whether I feel good after running. If you sweat a lot, bring an extra T-shirt. A little sweat doesn't mean I'm paddling. Fitness is all about making yourself comfortable. It's really unnecessary to have to focus on the amount of sweat.