Overcoming your fear of exercise (part 1): sweating & smelling

There are lot of reasons why people don't exercise. Often it is easy to blame laziness or lack of time, however, for a lot of people it is more complicated than this. Exercise can be scary- for a variety of different reasons. I found it difficult to understand how something I enjoyed so much could  be so scary to someone else but over the last 8 years working as a personal trainer I have learnt a lot about the fear of exercise and how it prevents people from enjoying the benefits of being fit and healthy. Being afraid of exercise is often difficult to admit and other more common excuses are used to explain away the lack of exercise and hide the real reason: unfortunately this makes it very difficult to help someone work through their exercise concerns. I would like to address 5 of the most common fears of exercising starting with the fear of sweating and smelling.



The fear of sweating and smelling of sweat during exercise is a surprisingly common concern for a lot of people, particularly for ladies and those new to exercise. As a personal trainer I am asked questions about sweating quite frequently, such as; "is it normal to sweat this much?", "why do I sweat this much?" and "I sweat a lot when I exercise, is this ok?". I have seen people try to wipe sweat away quickly while they think I'm not looking, tell me they don't won't to work too hard because they don't want to sweat and I have even had people apologise to me when they do sweat! If the fear of sweating and smelling is making exercise uncomfortable for you or preventing you from pushing yourself harder during your exercise let me try to convince you to put this concern behind you.

It is important that you understand there is no particular amount of sweating that is considered 'normal', some people sweat a lot and others don't sweat much at all. Sweating is a response to exercise designed to cool the body and prevent overheating. Overheating is a serious concern during exercise which can significantly reduce exercise performance and can cause illness - hence the importance of sweating. Over time as your exercise progresses the amount you sweat may change as your body becomes more efficient at adapting to exercising and cooling itself. People understand that sweating during exercise is normal and tn places where people meet to exercise it is expected that people will be sweating. Sweating is normal, necessary and socially acceptable during exercise.

If you're still concerned about sweating during exercise here are some tips to help you feel more comfortable:

• Always take a towel to training and carry it to every machine, exercise mat and work station during your session. Wipe the sweat off yourself and off your work station when required. You can even take two towels, one to place on the equipment and another to wipe yourself. I have a few people that I train that I have recommended this to and it has worked well for them.
• Wear clothes designed for exercise that keep you cool. You may also like to choose colours that don't show up the sweat as much, darker colours tend to hide sweat best. I have recommended to people in the past that they bring a second training shirt/singlet so they can change mid way through the session if they feel it's necessary.
• Use a deodorant that is an antiperspirant
• Avoid spicy foods, hot beverages, foods and drinks containing caffeine and alcohol before exercise. These foods may increase sweating.

It is important that you drink plenty of water during exercise. The recommendation for water intake is 8 glasses per day (approximately 1.5L) and this is without taking into consideration the water that needs replacing during and after exercise. The more you sweat the more fluid you need to replace. Limiting the amount of water you drink will not reduce the amount you sweat. You risk dehydration, compromised exercise performance and results and illness by not drinking enough water.

If it's the smell associated with sweating during exercise you are concerned about I have some news for you - sweat itself does not have an odour! Sweat that is left to sit on the skin provides a great environment for the bacteria that exists naturally on the skin to multiply and eventually cause a smell. It is a common misconception that sweat has its cooling affect by sitting on the skin. It is in fact the sweat that you don't see that cools the body. The process of the sweat evaporating off the skin has the cooling affect so any sweat that you can feel or see on the skin is safe to wipe away without interfering with the cooling process.

Here are some tips to help overcome your concern about smelling during exercise:

• Don't train in the same clothes twice without washing them. You may need to have a couple sets of training clothes so you can rotate between them.
• Wipe sweat away regularly during exercise. The skin is warm and moist when it is sweaty so it provides a perfect environment for the bacteria on the skin to multiply and cause a smell.
• Wash thoroughly after training, particularly the hard to reach, covered places such as the feet and armpits.
• Don't exercise in clothes, socks or shoes that are wet. Wet clothes provide a great environment for bacteria to multiply.
• Use a stronger fragrance deodorant for when you exercise.
• There is no conclusive evidence that certain types of foods increase body odour directly. Some foods (discussed earlier) may increase the amount you sweat which in turn can increase the bacteria on the skin and increase body odour as a result.

It is socially acceptable and it's physiological necessary to sweat during exercise - it is a good indication that you are working hard! I would much prefer to see the people I train sweating during a session then not break a sweat at all. Don't let the fear or sweating and smelling during exercise stop you from enjoying the benefits of being fit and healthy.

Part 2 of this series will look at overcoming the fear of injury.