Sweat Shower

Sweat shower- why sweating is good for the body+ health

April and its wonderful rain Showers are the last bit of cool weather (normally) we see here in California. The 90+ degree days start to force our workouts to the early morning and late evening hours, at least if we plan on enjoying the sunshine. ( Vit. D natural antidepressant some might say). When the human body warms up we begin to sweat. External temperatures can be the cause or an internal temperature change due to Exercise or immune response to bacteria and the alike.  If I happen to leave another reasons out just understand the end product is the same SWEAT! 

Detox the misconception: Sweat buy itself does not by any means detoxify the body purely by itself. It does little in the way of detoxing the body at all. Going to the local sweat lodge is not going to make you liver more health because you had a good sweat for 20 minutes. (This can help reduce post workout soreness though).  However Sweating does help to cleanse the skin of harmful bacteria. Example: Staphylococcus and E. coli that make their way on to our skin can be destroyed buy an Antibiotic produced by sweating called Dermcidin…free medicine.  

Sweat may also help you save a few bucks at the beauty boutique as well. You see sweat typically contains minerals excreted from the body. One in particular is sodium a.k.a SALT. So say good bye to the high priced Salt scrub Exfoliating products you can just sweat your pores clean!! Sweating out the salt could be a vital part of staying free of kidney stones. The salt (and calcium, absorbed by bone due to resistance training) will less likely build up in the kidneys and form stones that you may not enjoy encountering.

Exercise that causes you to work hard enough to sweat will release natural antidepressants like endorphins leaving you feeling refreshed and happy…DESTRESS!!!  Sweating is the bodies’ way of purging water. Retaining water? Sweat it out, then rehydrate. Everybody loves a fresh start and so do our cells. So drink up!! 

Body temp control is the primary reason for sweating. The evaporation of sweat from the skin helps to cool the body and maintain a relatively normal body temperature. Body temperature can play a major part in fat loss and that’s one reason why swimming can be your plateau buster. (More on that from me next month..so keep your  eyes open and looking for me. Wink!)

Grand hygiene: Time to hit the showers folks!!! All this sweating will leave you sticky and smelly if you don’t regularly bath. Worse off than that you could experience rashes that could be extremely unbearable as well as Malaria and you don’t want to mess around with that nasty troll. Then of course you must remember to keep you gym clothes/bag clean and sneakers dry or you might end up with a nasty case of athletes’ foot. Your shower is another great time to take advantage of a recovery method called contrast showering. This involves cycling warm and the coldest water to can bear to stand for periods of 2-4 minutes. This will help with soreness and faster recovery time post workout.  So remember next time you walk out of your next class or training session with me a prescribed recovery show is part of the program.

"Spring makes everything look filthy."      ……So wash it!!!!
-  Katherine Whitehorn

Ryan Canon

CFT, SFN, USC

We Learn, We Grow, We Conquer!