I've noticed that whenever I run, I really sweat alot. My shirt, shorts are
always soaked by the end of the run whether it is 0.5 hours or 1.5 hours. My
wife runs with me, and while she does sweat, her clothes are never as soaked
as mine are.

Could this be because I am pretty hairy? In worse shape than she is, or is
it that some people are more sweaty than others?

Regards,
Dom

It can be a good thing, since the evaporation of sweat cools your body.
But you need to replace the water as you run to avoid cramping, heat
exhaustion, etc..., and that can be hard to do on longer runs, since you
can probably sweat faster than you can absorb the water you drink.

You also lose electrolytes with sweat. I've heard that this shouldn't
be a problem, but on hot days, I'll sometimes take a salt pill with
water before running. It doesn't seem to _hurt_....

Supposedly, keeping the water cool helps you absorb it faster (and
incidentally, also helps keep you cool). And the right proportions of
water, carbohydrates, and electrolytes can also help with absorbtion.
What's right? From the studies I've seen, Gatorade or something like it
may be best, but YMMV.

Rapid absorbtion of simple carbohydrates found in sports drinks can lead
to a blood sugar high/crash cycle which has it's own problems. The
changes you make to counteract that will retard absorbtion of fluids, so
as usual, there's no simple answer.

Try stuff, and see what works, doesn't work, or makes no difference to
you.

--
Ray "Maddie's back, and she's much better at this sort of thing"
Charbonneau
--
These opinions are not those of The MITRE Corporation.
Rec.running t-shirts:
http://www.mit.edu/people/doreenc/rec-run/rec-run.htm

...

In Denver where I live now, it is 10% relative humidity this week and
I don't even notice sweat.

You can cut the Gatorade or other sports drink substantially. Saves money and
I can't stand the sweet taste in my mouth when I am running.

All the carbohydrates in sports drinks are, of course, sugar. Nothing against
sugar, but if you are running to lose weight or keep it off read the labels.
They are usally pretty much equivalent to can of soda per "serving".

>YMMV.?

What is
"YMMV" ?

Yogi

Well, certainly women don't sweat as heavily as men do. Also, sweating isn't
a function of what kind of shape you're in. It's more controlled by the
climate in which you run. I live in a very hot and humid part of the country,
and when I run I sweat profusely. I did 7 mi. on Sunday and when I was done,
my shorts were as wet as if I had jumped into a swimming pool.

If I were you I'd worry less about why you sweat than about what sweating is
doing to you: it's dehydrating you. It's extremely important to stay well-
hydrated before and during a run. That means carrying water with you when you
run or making sure there's some available along your route.

John Brinkley

-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/ Now offering spam-free web-based newsreading

Why, Yogi, that would be the all-purpose disclaimer--

"Your Milage May Vary"

(swiped from automobile advertisements, of course)
and it should be applied to virtually every piece of advice offered here!

--Dirk
PS: This subject header is my favorite since "I got a doughnut!"

Especially during a long (15 Mi.+) run, I can sense the sugar rush/crash
when I drink Gatorade. I've tried water and PowerBars with good
results.

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary

--
Ray Charbonneau

I agree with those that have already replied. I would like to add that because
sweating is good doesn't mean sweating more is better. Sweating is your body's
way of keeping you cool. Ideally, you would want to sweat so that your skin is
moist. If you start sweating so much that the sweat starts to bead up and drip
off your body then this is a waste of your body's valuable water supply. There
may be no way for you to sweat less unless you move to a cooler climate or run
at 5:00 AM. Be careful and try to hydrate as much a you can before, during, and
after your run. Try to run during the coolest part of the day (if possible). I
live in Atlanta and right now with the temperatures in the 90's I am forced to
run in the morning even though I don't consider myself a morning person. This is
the only time of day that I can run and get in a good quality workout.

-Phil

<< snip >>

<< snip >>Why would that be? I certainly have known women that sweat more than
I (my wife for one), and many men that sweat more or less than me - it seems to be
more related to the individual than gender.

I'm not sure about the sweating not being a function of your condition -- seems
like someone posted something here in the last few weeks about how training also
trains your body to sweat. As you train more, your body begins to sweat more
easily (earlier) thus kicking in the cooling factor sooner. I know that for
myself, I sweat too slowly -- I can feel the heat building up at the start of my
exercise until I finally break a sweat and get the cooling effect. It does seem
that I sweat more quickly when I'm in better shape, but this is pure conjecture.

The envioronment definitely affects how much you sweat (and how much it helps cool
you off!).

Don Friedel Jr.

Domenico Vitarella wrote:

Thanks again for all of your replies.
Regards,
Dom

Joe Merrill wrote in message <35746011...@dialaccess.com>...

Hopefully this question won't embarrass you, but are you bald? The reason I
ask that is that I have noticed that many "free sweaters" are often bald and/or
have considerable body hair. I have no idea what the reason for this could
be????

I don't know why some folks sweat more than others. Weight isn't
necessarily a factor. I sweat quite a bit too, but ONLY when I'm running.
When I'm not running, my hands and other parts of my body are actually
pretty cold. And I'm skinny. The funny thing is after my run, I can see
steam rising off my body. My singlet is usually a bit wet in the front
and mostly wet in the back. My running shorts are wet at the bottom too.
But they aren't dripping.

CGYH

Conal Guan-Yow Ho wrote:

--
Wade Fitzgerald
Meyer & Johnson
999 Metromedia Place
Dallas, TX 75247
214-583-9007

Jenny

A couple general notes on sweating.

I believe it is true that /generally/ speaking,
men do tend to sweat more than women. This range of
variation definitely overlaps between the genders
so not every man will sweat more than every woman.
There are probably several factors that contribute
to how much one sweats, # of sweat glands, internal "thermostat"
settings, conditioning come to mind.

Re-sweating and climate...The reason one sweats is
to stay cool (duh). In a humid climate, evaporation
of sweat is less efficient in cooling you off.
This is what makes heat+humidity so dangerous.
Also remember that we all lose lots of water by
transpiration in the lungs. This helps to lower
body temp too. So breathing efficiency contributes
to maintaining body temp. It's also true that more humid air
has greater heat capacity so it feels hotter when
both temp and rel humidity are high.

One thing I've noticed about myself is that I sweat
most profusely when I stop. I presume this is because
my core temp is high but my circulation (HR) is dropping off.
That I'm not moving as fast probably has something to do
with this as well.

-jim

When you stop running, stand out in a brisk wind (or in front of a fan)
and you'll find the same effect, only since you're not exercising any
more, you'll cool off quickly.

This may be true. I have been told that people who sweat more and better
able to control their temperature...but whether or not this is a fact
remains uncertain to me.

CGYH

I think the original RW article posed the difference along gender lines
(men sweat more, women less), but it's more sensible to think of in terms
of lighter and heavier sweaters. FWIW, I _love_ to sweat but don't pay
enough attention to that aspect of others around me to (eeewww) know if
I'm really pouring it out or not.

*Dana

I have a similar problem, but with my head. I use a cotton headband that after
about 6-8 miles I have to take off and ring the thing out. I've used the "water-wick"
(whatever) fabrics for my socks and shorts which seem to solve the problem.

The only thing I wanted to add was that it seemed to me that when I was younger
I didn't have this problem. However, I wasn't applying sun protection either. Now,
I can't even do a 3-4 miler without my headband or I become so distracted by all
that stuff in my eyes (and nose sometimes) that it detracts from the run. My lesson
is to *always* run with a headband :)

Steve Brown
sjb...@axdev.com

I carry a small towel, and usually have to ring it out at least once.
I gave up wearing a shirt if the temperature is above 55 F. and have had
neighbors ask me where I went swimming when I get home from a run.

I am pretty hairy too, but I just think some of us sweat more.

Jeff "I do stay outside until I stop dripping though" Waugh