Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I remember being really worried about sweating too much when I first started working out. I had almost completely forgotten about that time, but a girl at Weight Watchers the other day reminded me of how I used to feel. She said:

I can think of any excuse not to exercise. Sometimes I think, “I’m too gross. I have to shower before I go to the gym.” Then after I shower, I think, “I just showered, I don’t want to get all sweaty and gross by working out.”

Hearing her talk about her excuses for not exercising reminded me of when I first started exercising at the gym during my lunch hour. I never had enough time to shower, so I followed this plan so that I wouldn’t end up being super stinky for the second half of my day.

• Wear fresh workout clothes: I always had clean workout clothes every day. When I was in high school, we used to take our gym clothes home once a week, but that never worked for me because by the second workout, they would be too stinky. I always work out with CLEAN gym clothes.

• Use antiperspirant: This might sound like a no-brainer, but you can’t believe how many women I would see at the gym head out to their workout without a fresh spray of anti-perspirant. Additionally, I would spray it on my trouble areas like the crooks of my arms (why do I sweat so much there?!), right under my jogging bra and other non-traditional areas.

• Wash my face: I always sweat a lot on my face and hair. My hair is actually worse and the sweat will drip down from it onto my face. I always wash off my makeup before I workout to prevent breakouts. Plus, I don’t want my mascara running because of sweat.

• Bring a hand towel when you workout: I was required to carry a towel around the gym at all times, so I used it on my face and neck to prevent too much sweat from collecting and starting to stink. It’s not the sweat that causes body odor, it’s the bacteria that grows in the damp areas. If you mop up as much sweat as you can, it will prevent the bacteria from growing.

• After the workout, change as quickly as possible: Don’t sit around in your sweaty gym clothes. I was under a lunchtime constraint, so I would rush to the locker room so I could change quickly. This prevented any smelly bacteria from growing.

• Dry off as much as you can with a towel: After I had taken off my gym clothes, I would go over my body once more with a fresh towel to dry off any more sweat on my body.

• Reapply antiperspirant: After I dried off, I would reapply antiperspirant and even add perfume.

• Drive back to the office with the window wide open, even in the winter: To keep myself from sweating in my office clothes, I would cool off by allowing the air to rush in the car window. In the summer, I turned the A/C on full blast the whole way home.

You can workout during your lunch hour, even if you don’t have time to shower. If a sweaty girl like me could do it, then you certainly can. Let go of all your excuses and fit that workout into your day!

Animated GIF via: three frames: The Lonely Guy starring Steve Martin