Sweating is Normal

Sweating is Normal

The purpose of sweat is your body’s way of regulating your temperature. The sweat evaporates from your skin which cools you down. If you didn’t sweat (from a high intensity workout) then you might be in danger of overheating🥵.

How much you sweat is incredibly individualised. It’s down to your genetics, gender (women will find their sweat rate is different depending on where they are on their menstrual cycle, or if they’re menopausal), your body weight (if you’re heavier you create more metabolic heat to move than a lighter person) and from your health/any illness🤧.

It’s also influenced by the intensity of the exercise, the temperature and humidity where you are and how hydrated you were before you started your session.

What’s in Sweat?

When you sweat it isn’t just water you lose. You lose sodium, potassium and chloride. Plus lower levels of magnesium and calcium. These chemicals are electrolytes.

This is why a lot of sports drinks contain electrolytes, so you replenish them after a sweaty workout. Electrolytes are important for the fluid balance in your body, to regulate blood pressure and they help with muscle function (including your heart)🖤.

Milk is also great for rehydrating as it has some electrolytes. This is as well as being a good complete source of protein which will aid recovery. It’s high on the Beverage Hydration Index, and is more hydrating for fluid retention than water or most sports drinks.

Lastly how quickly you start sweating might not be why you’d guess. The common assumption would be it’s because you’re less fit. However it’s actually the opposite! It’s because your body is more efficient and you sweat faster to start the cooling process🥶.

It’s also important to note that the amount of which you sweat is not necessarily an indicator of an effective workout. (So piss off with your “if you’re not sweating you’re not working hard” enough bs…… Mike may of added this part 🙄)

(This post was one originally posted on the Silk Fitness Therapy Instagram account, and the bottom paragraph is courtesy of Mike)

Sweat Instagram Post via SFT
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