A Good Sweat = a Good Workout?

Here at Cardio High we love to talk about getting a good sweat going. We often discuss how great it feels to finish a workout and be drenched from the intensity of what you just pulled off. But it is important to remind you that sweat doesn’t mean you got a good workout… and the lack of it doesn’t mean you’ve been lazy.

A study at Colorado State University looked at a group of people who did a Bikram class for an hour and a half. Bikram is hot yoga and with the temperature in the room you are pretty much guaranteed to sweat. But when they looked at how many calories that sweaty group lost, it really wasn’t very high. They looked like they’d just run a marathon, but calories burned matched doing a fairly short workout.

As this article points out, “…studies have shown that people who are less in shape tend to sweat more than their fit peers. However, people who are more in shape begin sweating earlier during workouts as their bodies are used to the activity.” The article also points out that researchers don’t really understand why some people sweat more than others when doing the same activities.

So while your soaking clothes may feel like an indication that you gave it your all, and that fat is melting off you, we suggest keeping an eye on your heart rate and diet more than your after-workout towel.

-Shane M.