You've probably seen this in the gym - some poor soul putting themselves through torture, peddling their ass off on the spin bike wearing a tracksuit and hoodie in July; all in the pursuit off greater caloric burn and weight loss. Sadly in reality only one of these is actually achieved and it isn't even in the way most people would hope...

Does sweating more equate to more calories burned?

In a word - No. The amount you sweat during a workout does not represent how many calories, or how much fat you are burning. Sweating is merely a sign that your body's core temperature is beginning to increase and your homeostatic mechanisms are kicking in to dissipate some of this excess heat. Neither is sweating a sign that you are necessarily working hard... For example most of us won't sweat a great deal during a heavy strength training session, but will perspire significantly more when doing some very low level continuous cardio. This is because we only produce heat when we are actually exercising. So even though the intensity of the strength training is higher, the amount of time you are working for and subsequently the time you are producing heat is very short compared continuous cardio.

Does sweating result in greater weight loss?

Yes it does, but only in the short term. The weight you lose through sweating during a workout is simply a consequence of losing water. Water is quite dense and given that it makes up around 60% of the human body, it makes sense that when you lose water through sweating your body weight can drop quite dramatically. However, as soon as you re-hydrate after a training session that weight loss will be negated.

In short, if your goal is to burn fat when you workout then you need not concern yourself with how much you sweat. Instead focus your attention on the actual content of your workouts and more importantly what you are putting into your body when it comes to your diet. If you need help with either of these then I would be happy to assist. Feel free to contact me anytime.