sweat

I love a workout that makes me sweat — it means I'm helping my heart stay healthy and burning calories at the same time. But a sweaty workout does have its downside. Here's how to manage your sweat while you work out.

Save your pores: You know to towel off after a particularly grueling workout, but it's also important to have a clean face before you start your workout; sweating through dirt and makeup on your face can lead to clogged pores. If you're getting ready for a midday workout, make sure to use face wipes before you set out to class, and keep your hands away from your face after handling dirty equipment. Read on for more ways to keep sweat from causing breakouts here.

Choose the right gear: Moisture-wicking, lightweight materials that are known to pull sweat away from your body — if you're looking for natural fabrics, merino wool and bamboo are good options — and make sure your clothing includes details like mesh panels to keep you cool. If you're running in the Summer heat, your shoes need to keep your feet sweat-free too; try airy, minimalist options to keep your feet feeling like they can breathe, like the Adidas Climacool Seduction shoes ($100).

Sweatiquette: If you're a regular at your gym, you know you're sweating among dozens of others, so make sure you keep things hygienic by carrying a towel around with you so you can wipe down machines and equipment before and after you use it. If your gym doesn't offer towels, try this cute antimicrobial double-sided towel from Towelmate ($25).

Is your workout better the sweatier it gets? FitSugar reader livingthin asks an expert and posted the answer in our 10 Pounds DOWN! community group.

Q: "Is how much a person sweats during a workout a good indicator as to how hard a person works?" – RI Jones

A: Great question RI! Since our workouts are often sweat filled sessions, we were anxious to know the answer to this one too. We asked Michele Olson, Ph.D., professor of exercise science at Auburn University in Alabama to tackle this question. This was her response:

"The reason we sweat is to control our body's temperature. When liquid hits our skin (from the inside) and then evaporates, the evaporation is cooling. However, this is not the most accurate indicator of how intensely you are working out or how many calories you are expending. In fact, you actually burn more calories running outdoors in the cold versus summer in the heat."

Read more on what Dr. Olson has to say about calorie-burning after the break!

I'm not taking Bikram, but lately my teacher has been turning the temperature way up in my yoga class. The higher temp, the more I sweat. Besides not wanting to look like a drippy mess in class, the extra perspiration makes it hard to stay put on even the best of mats. After nearly slipping onto my face during Downward Dog, I knew that it was time to invest in a good towel. Enter the Manduka eQua Mat Towel ($40).

It's a lot of money to spend on a towel, but it's the only one that really works for my practice. Standard towels are rough on my skin, don't dry fast enough, and move around and bunch up on my mat. They also don't offer great traction when a little damp. My Manduka towel is the exact opposite: the texture reminds me of a car chamois because of its soft suede-like texture, and it performs like one too! It dries immediately after using it, stays put on my mat, and has a slight traction to it that stands up to dampness. Major win.

Allow me to preface this piece by saying that I'm not some tree-hugging hippie who doesn't shave her legs. Confession: I am more eco than not, but when it comes to the products I slather on my body, I am very mindful of what gets absorbed into my body through my skin.

In terms of deodorant selection, it's been an on-going dilemma — do I go the all-natural route and opt for the aluminum-, artificial preservative-, and synthetic-free deodorants that won't mask my stinky after-gym odors? Or do I buy the generic drugstore brand that will keep me sweat-free and smelling like freesia throughout the day?

Here's the thing, it hasn't been proven that antiperspirants cause breast cancer, but I'm still not comfortable with wearing deodorant that blocks my sweat glands and contains aluminum.

Continue reading to see why my medicine cabinet looks like this.

You know, there's a lot of mumbo- jumbo health advice out there that's easy to write off — don't eat carbs, but eat ALL the bacon you want! But somewhere between the crackpot ideas and sound advice, there's also stuff that sounds pretty believable. To help you wade through the murk, we've deflated three popular fitness myths.

• No pain, no gain. This catchphrase was born sometime in the '80s, probably around the time aerobics instructors began chanting, "Feel the burn — doesn't it feel so good?!" Uh, no. Pain isn't pretty, people! It's your body's way of saying, "Hey can we stop for a minute or pick up where we left off tomorrow?" And while a little soreness after a workout is OK, pay attention to your body. Overdoing it means you could be out for days — even weeks. If you hurt during a workout, make sure you're doing the exercise correctly, take a break, or call it a day.
• A six-pack is only 100 sit-ups away. The downside: fat doesn't turn into muscle, so doing crunches 'til you're red in the face won't get you a flat belly. The upside: cardio does wonders for the midsection. To make belly fat melt away, do high-intensity cardio workouts like spinning or interval training. But, hey, don't stop with the crunches; strong abs are part of a strong core, which is exponentially beneficial. And when that jiggle in the middle is gone, a toned, tight tummy will be waiting for you.
• The more sweat, the better the workout. Sweating is pretty synonymous with working out, but it isn't necessarily a measure of how effective your workout is. Yes, sweating is the body's way of cooling off (and we can all attest to getting a little overheated during our workouts), but some people just sweat more than others. If you want a good indicator of your workout, measure your heart rate and calories burned.

DrSugar is in the house! And she's answering your health-related questions.

Dear DrSugar,
I used to never sweat as much as I do now that I started working out. I am now 21 years old and recently started working out; when I would exercise at a younger age, I would not sweat as much. What does that mean?
— Suddenly Sweaty

First, I’d like to commend you on initiating an exercise program! Physical fitness is very important not only for your health, but for your mental well-being as well. Your question is a great one and I’m sure that other FitSugar readers have wondered about their own perspiration patterns. The one piece of information I do not have in this question is whether or not your increased sweating is only occurring during exercise or if it is all the time. I'm going to assume it's only during exercise, and to see my answer to this question, please continue reading.

It's sweltering out, and no matter what you do, you are gonna get sweaty, which also means stinky. Little old Southern ladies dust on loads of scented talcum powder to absorb and deodorize body sweat, but that's not the best modern solution to the problem. Instead, here are a few forward-thinking tips to help you nip the sweat monster in the bud, so keep reading.