Sweating is putting me off exercising

[Caiti19]

I realise this is rather pathetic, but perhaps you can assist me with a shift in mentality or advice on clothing. I have a good exercise bike and will cycle on it while watching streaming on my phone. After a cycle of about 40 mins to an hour, I will be drenched in sweat. No problem - shower, dress, crisp and fresh for the day. Happy days. I work on a laptop though, so am stagnant all day and really need to shift my butt in the evenings too. I enjoy walking, find it really therapeutic, but I have noticed I am avoiding the evening walks as I don't want to exchange my nice crisp fresh feel for yet another sweating spree. I hate how my hair becomes greasy so much faster because of exercise too. Between balancing work, and all the jobs relating to rearing children etc, I feel like feeling clean is one simple luxury I can enjoy. Does anyone else find the endless cycle of sweating/showering tedious? Am I wearing the wrong clothes? I do wear a silly Regatta jacket which seems to act like a plastic bag and accumulate condensation which makes me sweat more. If I could get to a point of still feeling fresh after an hour's brisk walk in evenings - fresh enough that I won't feel yuck going to bed and waiting until the next post-bike shower the following morning, that would help.

I get face sweats and a red face. So I can't bear the gym. Pilates is great for me as it doesn't work up a sweat but still uses muscles. Obvs it's no good for cardio but maybe you could do cardio once a day and Pilates or yoga in the evening.

I wouldn’t shower after walking for an hour as you wouldn’t really sweat unless you are wearing too many clothes and walking really fast. I wouldn’t shower after pilates either as you don’t sweat. But agree with showering after cardio! Can’t you just wait until the evening to shower?

But a quick shower and hair wash takes less than 5 mins if you’re worried about time!

Yes, I realise rationally that a quick shower is not a big deal, but there's something about it being twice a day that just wrecks my head! Until we embark on a bathroom rip-out, our shower is a weak, electric one and that might be part of it. It's also very noisy at night when kids are sleeping. I already feel "oh here we go again" in the mornings when I get on the bike knowing I am going to be manky when I get off. I guess there's no way around it - just have to suck it up - I might switch to pilates/yoga at night for the evenings - that might help. Thanks!

I am the same as you. Even a slightly raised walking pace would make me sweat, I sweat very easily! And I hate not showering after any exercise, and also hate having to shower twice per day (water metre, electricity costs, time). Best solution I can find for me is exercise in the morning, then shower, then work at desk all day, then gentle yoga/good stretching in evening.

I sweat very easily and really hate it. I do yoga and Pilates

I feel your pain! I workout hard in the morning and walk in the evening too. It's not just the showering that's a problem for me - it's specifically the hair washing that I hate! And lots of people feel this way so you're not unusual. Dry hair shampoo and body showers (no wet hair) make it all more bearable and give you an extra day sometimes at least.

You need a new walking jacket - something nice and breathable with zips under the arms to release the steam! Also, I put clean workout clothes on for walks and get completely changed when I get home. Body shower if I whiff or know I've had a bit of a sweat.

I think you still need to shower after Pilates/Yoga as you do sweat and I definitely get that 'activated deodorant' smell that you really shouldn't sit around with...it's just not nice and that is bacteria causing the smell.

Less hair washing is the key I think.

So it's not just me then! Great. Funny thing is I went through my whole life until well into thirties not knowing what it was to sweat AT ALL. I used to look at a friend of mine in awe when I'd see sweat pouring off her on a very hot day - like it was totally alien to me. I could go days feeling fresh - and then after my first child, it triggered something (hormones?) and I became a sweater! I'll try to keep the sweating to morning times and move my rump via non-sweaty alternatives in the evenings. Thanks for listening.

Yes, Sunny - hair washing gives me a pain in the a*se! I think even moreso with wfh as I feel it's sort of pointless and I am only doing it because I created the problem by exercising. I am no longer washing off the commute and the city pollutants if you know what I mean. I'm off to Google these jackets with zips in the pits!

Good luck with your search! I have a really good North Face - it's v waterproof and also has an inner fleece (that I never wear as it's too hot!).

I just have a shower twice a day.

First one is a wake up one - second is after the gym then clean PJs on. It feels like a really nice way to end the day.

Like exercising, I think it's just getting into a routine?

Good luck though. Hope you find a solution.

I think we need to drill a deeper well. We're rural - not connected to mains. We ran dry in Summer 2018 - an experience that still haunts me. That's probably not helping how I feel about the showering twice a day.

Walking outside is so good and you enjoy it! I would carry on and wear gym stuff (wicking, light T shirt, decent fleece) and go for it. Walking in gym kit was a game-changer for me - yes I sweat as I walk fast but I am in the right clothes and they wash and dry quickly. Don't wear a waterproof unless actually raining and then wear a decent one. I exercise a lot and it does sometimes mean two showers a day which I feel bad about for environmental reasons but it does make me happy and keeps me healthy.

@Cupoftea53

But a quick shower and hair wash takes less than 5 mins if you’re worried about time!

My hair doesn't take 5 mins! Maybe the washing but what do you do with it afterwards?

I would definitely try cooler clothes- I only wear the boil in the bag type jacket when it’s cold enough to see my breath. I run though so slightly different. Have you tried just wearing a long sleeved top like a Nike dry fit style one?