I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for mother nature to bring some cooler temperatures our way because I’m tired of sweating from simply walking around campus. When I’m in class sweating from every pore in my body, I can’t focus in school. But don’t get me wrong! I love sweating…when I’m exercising.
Sweat is vital, according to health and fitness expert Stephanie Mansour. “Sweating is really good for you and it’s bad if you aren’t sweating,” she said. “Not sweating indicates that you are not hydrated or you aren’t working out as hard as you should be.”
Sweating helps control the temperature inside of the body. A form of bad sweating is excessive sweating, which is when a person sweats more than they should. Excessive sweating is also known as hyperhidrosis, which is uncontrollable sweating caused by high concentration of sweat glands.
Physical activity and sweating go hand-in-hand. Stephanie loves spin class as her favorite sweaty workout. “In cycling classes, everyone gets sweaty. Even though it is cardio, you are doing interval training as well, which is more intense.”
High intensity interval training (HIIT) has swept the nation as one of the most sought after exercises to do for health and optimum fat burn. Most HIIT involves the exerciser to cycle between periods of short intense anaerobic exercise. For an intense cardio HIIT workout, Stephanie recommends doing either one minute or 30 seconds of jogging, followed by one minute or 30 seconds of sprinting. Alternatively, try similar intervals on the elliptical.
Stephanie also points out that intense interval training helps the body burn more calories. “Constantly changing the speed and interval level helps the body sweat more,” she said. “Sixty minutes of cardio at the same pace is a waste of time.”
Though sweating can be a drag sometimes, Stephanie offered up some great tips on how to do so gracefully. “Wear a headband. The sports headbands come in cute designs and colors and they absorb sweat.” Another way to sweat like a lady is by avoiding wearing makeup to the gym to keep your pores open and able to breathe. “Makeup clogs up the pores,” she said. “And it also increases the chances for pimples to form during a workout.”
She also noted that DRI-fit clothes are the best clothes to workout in. “Nike, Lululemon, Target – all of these places offer DRI-fit workout apparel,” she said. “DRI-fit clothing doesn’t get baggy when you start sweating, and it’s less difficult to take off once it’s soaked in your sweat.” Sounds like a win-win to us!
In short, sweating might not be pretty, but it is good for the body. So next time you feel the salty perspiration trickling down your face, it’s just your body adjusting to the internal temperature change. Embrace the sweat – it’s not only vital, it’s beautiful.
Stephanie Mansour, CEO of Step It Up with Steph, is a nationally known health and fitness expert and body image and confidence coach. She’s a reality TV trainer on “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is,” helping her client lose 80+ lbs in 12 weeks. She combines yoga, Pilates, personal training, and body image coaching for a holistic approach to health and fitness, and her no diets/no guilt mentality is changing the way women everywhere view food and exercise.
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source: Details