Good Morning and Happy Father’s Day!

It always amazes me when I see people exercise wearing heavy clothing in order to build up a sweat so they can burn more calories.

Guess what folks, Rocky trained in sweats to lose water in order to “make weight” not to lose fat, in order to be thinner! One doesn’t have anything really to do with the other.

Sweating is the process the body goes through in an attempt to cool itself when its internal temperature is above 98.6. What regulates how quickly or how much we sweat after beginning a training session is determined by the level of hydration our body has at the beginning of the first set or step of the workout. It is not a “barometer” for how many calories we’re burning!

What determines that? Intensity and duration. The harder one exercises, the more calories are burned. The longer one exercises, the more calories are burned. Which is better? Studies have shown time and time again, that Intensity is greater than Duration. Meaning, when a body is pushed to the max, in a short amount of time, it burns more fat calories (i.e. interval training on a treadmill for 20 minutes compared to jogging for the same amount of time). However, not everyone can handle extreme intensity. Therefore, if one wants to get top benefits from a less intense activity (i.e. walking), obviously the longer the walk, the more calories are burned.

So, do yourself a favor, especially with the hot weather on the horizon…stay hydrated, track the calories you burn with a heart rate monitor and do away with those heavy workout clothes. They’re not very flattering!