To Sweat or NOT to Sweat

The more you sweat, the better the workout, right? Um....nope, so NOT true.

We have all heard the more we sweat, the harder we are working and burning more calories, right?! This is NOT always the case. Some people may experience excessive sweating when completing small tasks, while others will barely break a drop from their forehead when running a few miles.

Is Sweat During a Workout a MUST?

The greater exertion you put out while training is often associated with an increase in sweat. However, no matter if you are performing cardio, strength, interval or weight-training exercises, sweating doesn’t always indicate how hard you are working out or how many calories you are burning. Sweating has physical benefits, such as helping you regulate your body temperature and eliminate waste. However, sweat is just water leaving your body, and you’ll put it back in as you hydrate throughout the day. 

Does Sweating Help Burn Calories?

Your caloric burn rate depends on the intensity and duration of your workout and is not based on sweat. Some people choose to work out in thicker clothing or a hot and humid room, and these conditions will make you feel more exhausted. As a result, your intensity will peak sooner, and it is the intensity and duration, NOT how much you sweat, that will indicate how many calories you lost. 

In comparison, if you exercise in an air-conditioned room, the length and intensity of your workout will increase, which will help you burn more calories.

Do You Have to Sweat in Order to Lose Weight?

Sweating has little correlation to how much weight you are losing. Your body sweats to regulate your body temperature and to expel waste during a workout. So, what will help?

Cardio training burns calories above the average rate of other exercises, but once you complete your session, your body cools down and returns to its normal state. Strength-training builds, sculpts and tones your muscles, as well as boosts your metabolism. While both forms of exercising are beneficial, interval training is what will help you lose weight the most.

Cardio includes things like running and spinning, while strength-training incorporates resistance exercises with weights, bands and your body weight like Pilates. When you combine the two at different intervals, you have interval training. It involves a combination of high-intensity activity followed by low-energy focused movements and recovery stages. Interval training increases your caloric burn rate with short, intense workouts compared to long and steady exercises.

Cardio and strength training are advantageous in different ways, and the power and regimen of interval training will deliver the most results in the least amount of time. Your workout will be the most efficient and effective use of your time.

BE STRONG

Since sweating has no link to how many calories you burn, and interval training is sure to get you in better shape and burn lots of calories, why not add interval training into your movement regimen? Don’t have a fitness regimen…come try it out! If you are looking for the quickest way to burn calories, sculpt your body and cultivate strength, check out our BE STRONG class. Our BE STRONG class is a mat Pilates and Yoga fusion class with light weights, resistance bands, HIIT intervals to sculpt and tone your body in just 45 short minutes!