So you've just finished your workout, and you've worked up a pretty good sweat. You're feeling good, and you think, "I sweat a lot during that one, I must've burned double the calories I normally do." You may be right in that assumption, but not in the way you'd think.
Sweat happens when the body gets too warm and needs to thermoregulate. By releasing sweat, your body prevents itself from overheating. So, it would make sense that getting hotter in a harder workout would cause you to sweat more. That may be true, however it may also be due to other factors. The first one is your environment. Heat, humidity, temp change compared to outside, air circulation, can all affect how much you sweat. Secondly, what you do before the workout can make an impact as well. What you ate before, how much you've had to drink, even your emotional/mental state can increase or decrease your sweat levels. Along with that, everybody sweats differently! Age, weight/body composition, where you grew up and where you live, all of that combines to make sweating unique for everyone.
So, let's take all that out and assume everything is exactly the same between two workouts. The one you sweat more in isn't necessarily the one you burn the most calories in. While it can be an indicator of intensity, the act of sweating is just loss of water in the body. This means that you may lose weight due to sweat, but it won't be the fat burn that you're looking for. Even the amount of energy it takes to cause sweating isn't enough to make a significant impact on calorie burn. Different activities make a difference as well. If you're running, you'll probably sweat more as you're constantly moving and continually increasing body temperature. Compare that to resistance training, where you may get the same calorie burn but won't sweat as much because you're doing less work at a time and resting in between exercises.
All in all, using amounts of sweat is not an accurate measuring tool for the amount of calories burned. However, it also shouldn't be disregarded entirely. Sweating is important for a number of reasons that will end up benefitting your physical health. It's also a great reminder to stay hydrated and replace the water you've lost. Beyond that it simply feels great to work hard and break a sweat. So enjoy the feeling of accomplishment it brings, because it can make a positive impact on your overall mental health.
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