Sweaty Bodies - Beginners - Runner's World

Fiona M

04/08/2002 at 14:44

Haven't seen this subject come up in any previous threads, so can I do a straw poll on how much people sweat and how they work around this?

I sweat buckets during physical activity and have always known this. Doesn't seem to be related to my fitness level and I've come to just accept it and even convince myself it's because my body is SOO efficient at cooling itself down. :) But it really can be a pain in the neck sometimes. I've had my hair cut in an attempt to remain slightly less scary-looking whilst soaking wet (hasn't had an impact on how much I actually sweat though). Also, reading the article in RW this month about how to make more time for running - hah - most of them don't allow for the time factor required to have a shower etc. after. And running for 10 minutes at lunchtime etc. just isn't an option for the same reason.

Anyone else have these sorts of problems?

Fiona

Garylad

04/08/2002 at 19:04

Crikey - 32 club members and sweat bucket members alike :-)

I know what you mean and i'm afraid i've had little joy at finding anything that can curb this uncomfortable and inconvenient problem.

As you mentioned, I try to comfort myself with the likelihood that I will never overheat - I'll probably just dehydrate instead.

Ultracat

04/08/2002 at 19:56

Hi there Fiona, I too sweat buckets when exercising, its worst when I run on a treadmill hence I only do 30 mins max indoors. Its fairly common around the gym I go to apart from those who could probably walk faster around Marks & Spencer shopping.

Velociraptor

04/08/2002 at 20:41

Count me in too, Fiona - I sweat until it drips off the end of my nose. Not much you can do about it, although if (pardon me for being indelicate) your feet and armpits sweat a lot and get niffy, using aluminium chloride based anti-perspirants can help a bit. But you can't cover yourself in the stuff. if you blocked all your sweat glands, you'd die (think of the girl in "Goldfinger").

Cutting the nerves that control the sweat glands on the worst affected areas isn't the answer either, because other parts of your skin just sweat more to compensate.

Take comfort from that sportswear ad that was around last year - ladies glow, men perspire, and winners sweat their chugs off. Now, can anyone tell me what chugs are?

Cheers, V-rap.

weeble

05/08/2002 at 09:02

Same here. The most annoying thing I find is when the sweat starts getting in your eyes - this is quite painful.
I've been told that putting vaseline on your eyebrows gets around this but have yet to try it.

fraggle

pirate

05/08/2002 at 09:07

I don't get that sweaty - I think I just get hot! My face goes very red (and stays that way for a couple of houres after an intense workout!), I've thought about getting a paint colour chart instead of a heart rate monitor - slightly pink = slow jog, fuchsia = steady tempo and beetroot = full on sprint!!

Fiona M

05/08/2002 at 10:16

Tee hee fraggle, like that a lot! And I also have the problem of the sweat-in-the-eyes thing. It's stopped me wearing my contact lenses, because sweat trapped behind one of those is EXTREMELY painful! So everything is nicely fuzzy and if I'm getting any odd looks I'm oblivious to them! :) Might try the vaseline on the eyebrows thing.

I know I'm not going to stop myself sweating, but was just curious about other people's experiences with this particular problem! It's lovely to know that (1) there are people out there who know what I'm on about and I'm not a sweaty freak, and (2) that there really are people who don't sweat that much and that I wasn't imagining it.

Fiona

Minks

05/08/2002 at 12:17

You're definitely not a freak: well, if you are, I guess there are quite a few of us! I can actually feel my face burning when I exercise, and I too sweat buckets. Running at lunchtime isn't an option unless I bring a whole arsenal of stuff which frankly I'm not prepared to lug around with me.

I seem to 'selectively sweat' too: I have to constantly wipe sweat off my face, the back of my neck is like a mini Niagara Falls and I have difficulty in removing my sports bra afterwards as it's usually wringing wet. There's a very attractive v-shape of sweat down the back of my shorts, from the small of my back pointing downwards (remind me not to buy light grey running shorts next time!) and my t-shirt is usually dripping down the back and front. That said, my feet remain reltaively dry and my arms and legs the same.

I'm sure I look a complete state when I'm running but frankly, I don't care!

Velociraptor

05/08/2002 at 12:56

No consolation for the short-sighted sweatheads among us. I wear specs and they've got pockets of verdigris in all the nooks and crannies. They're a real pain in the rain too. I was thinking about giving contact lenses another try, but the sweat-trapped-on-cornea thing sounds too painful for my taste. Never got the hang of doing that flicky thing with my eyelids to take them out anyway.

Cheers, V-rap.

Bean Counter

05/08/2002 at 13:04

It's not the SMELL of the sweat itself that bothers me when running indoors - it's the amount of deodarant that some people (usually seems to be ther person on the 'mill next to me)put on to try to hide the smell - and when the two start mixing......YUCK!!!!!

Nessie

05/08/2002 at 13:54

I have actually managed to get my kit so wet with sweat that I can wring liquid out by hand. I don't even bother putting my kit in the wash basket in the summer - it goes straight in the machine.

I like Fraggle's colour chart, but dark plum would have to be added for hill reps, just to complete the picture.

I've got used to the soaking-wet-purple-face-dripping-ponytail look, but when it freezes in winter, it's a bit uncomfortable.

Fiona M

05/08/2002 at 14:18

Anyone else do the Lick-Your-Thumb-To-Wet-The-Gear-and-See-If-It-Goes-Darker-When-Wet test when shopping for T-shirts etc.?

Fiona

fraggle

pirate

05/08/2002 at 14:27

haven't tried that yet - but then my philosophy is always black-is-the-new-black anyway so you don't notice!

MartinH

05/08/2002 at 15:59

I have always sweated copiously and - I have to say - its more than a little annoying at times. Even drinking a cup of tea can set me off. In fact eating a curry in a restaurant is a definite no, no for me (I can only eat them at home in my shorts and sourrounded by towels - perhaps thats why people never come back once they've been to my house for dinner!).

I have recently had my hair cut extremely short, which helps, but I always wear a cap whilst running (sport variety) and I find this tends to soak up the sweat and then drain it down through the peak - largely avoiding the sweat in eyes scenario. Running in a cap is also great for keeping out rain and/or sun (or in recent weather both at the same time!!).

Anyway profuse sweating helps clear the pores so don't worry.

fat girl slim

06/08/2002 at 21:58

I'm another one for the sweaty camp!
I'm always soaked after a gym workout especially. I console myself with the thought that the ladies coming out of the gym who look as if they haven't done any execise, probably haven't! (or at least not nearly as much as me!)

TheDingle

08/08/2002 at 00:28

I know this is a bit late but I sweat quite a bit too, & the only two things I can suggest are:

Try the tech tees & shorts, I started running in old t-shirts & shorts & was soaked through but now depending on weather I either run in running vests or tech-tshirts. I have now stopped most of my drowning bodily sweat, but occasionally like last week even my vest was soaked because of the intense heat of the day, ut I would never go back to normal tees.

With the contact lens issue I have the same problem & the thing that works for me is to wear a hat, (should do anyway during sunny days) then the hat absorbs most of the sweat.

Hope this helps.

;oÞ

Mungus

08/08/2002 at 21:59

Totally agree with Fraggle about the colour thing. I stopped to chat with a neighbour on my way back from a run at the weekend and I think he was about to call an ambulance! Funny thing is the rest of me stays porcelain white, it's just my face that turns puce...still, it's not a beauty contest is it?

M

Debs

09/08/2002 at 08:49

I am in consensus with the majority,I just like to think my body is getting rid of all it's toxins effectively when I sweat.
If you are going to work really hard I find running outdoors the best,really cools you down far more than the fan which occasionally wafts in your direction at a gym!People are also more likely to get out of your way if a grunting sweaty body looms.

Fiona M

09/08/2002 at 10:58

Running is one of those sports where you feel it's OK to sweat I think - in a kind of a "more sweat = more work - honest!" sort of a way. I used to have a bit more trouble with my propensity to drench someone at 10 paces when most of my aerobic activity came from a rather energetic type of dance called irish set dancing. It's a social dance so people were dressed in normal, sometimes quite dressy clothes - and you would get the occasional snob who could hardly bear to touch you if you were too obviously sweaty!

Fiona
x

Dangly Spice

09/08/2002 at 21:05

I'm one of those oddities that doesn't sweat much - i think it's because i grew up overseas - I don't consider it really hot until it tops 80'F. I wear a sweatband round my head to soak up any of the sweat that makes my glasses slide down my nose. But when i stop running, my nose leaks.... perhaps it's brain lubrication escaping.