The more sweat, the more calories burned? – GOOD SHAPE

Some facts make a lot of sense in our head, but they are not necessarily true, you know? A widespread idea out there is that a workout is only effective when it involves a lot of sweat. However, that’s not quite how it happens. Understand better:

WHY DO WE SWEAT?

Perspiration is nothing more than a mechanism for the organism to regulate body temperature (so-called thermoregulation) and to help eliminate toxins (yes, the skin also has this role).

When the ambient temperature is too high, for example, we excrete fluids, mineral salts and water which, when evaporated, also reduce the heat. “However, sweat will depend on some factors. It has a strong association with hormones. Also, some people sweat more than others due to individual differences in the number, size and activity level of sweat glands throughout the body. Matheus Viannacreator of the “Training without Pain” method.

Gender and BMI (body mass index) also influence the issue. Not to mention that the sweat glands are activated by our sympathetic nervous system, which triggers them at other times as well: in situations of danger, exertion, nervousness…

THE MORE SWEAT, THE MORE CALORIES?

The logic is not completely wrong. “During physical exercise, our body performs a process called catabolism. In it, cells expend the body’s fuel in order to produce more energy, which generates heat. Soon, the mechanism to balance the internal temperature is activated”, explains the doctor Roberta Genaroactive in nutrology and integrative medicine and lecturer at Biohacker.

However, sweating more or less doesn’t mean you’ve spent more or less calories — because, as we’ve already seen, the amount of sweat can be affected by countless things. “The level of physical conditioning plays an important role in the body’s response, and sweat is no different”, says the physical educator.

Still according to him, men really tend to sweat more than women, as well as people with more body fat compared to those with less. “Still, it’s entirely possible for two people of the same sex, size and fitness level to sweat differently.”

External factors must also be taken into account. “For example: consuming alcohol or caffeine before a workout can make you sweat more”, adds Matheus Vianna.

So, that story that training wrapped up is good for caloric burning (since it makes you sweat horrors) is nothing but a myth. “Remember that sweating heavily is not necessarily an indication that you are exercising at an extreme level. Just because the scale got a little lower after a sweaty workout doesn’t mean you burned more fat. This difference is just the weight of water that we eliminate in training, and we usually recover by hydrating ourselves”, concludes the expert.