ARE you somebody who walks out of the gym with your hair and make-up still untouched, or are you the person leaving a trail of sweat behind you mid way through a gym session?

Why do some people sweat more than others?

Does it mean they're unfit if they are sweating so much?

Or that their body is more efficient at cooling them down?

Sweating may not be very glamorous but it is very important for our wellbeing.

When our body starts to heat up, either through the heat around us or from our muscles creating it, we get a layer of sweat on our skin, so that as the sweat evaporates, it takes the heat with it. It cools us down.

How much we sweat depends on many factors, our fitness, our gender, our weight, our body fat mass, our age, genetics.

It can even go down to what we have drunk or eaten before our exercise session.

Heavier people will have to exert more energy during exercise as they have more body weight to move.

They also tend to sweat more as they have more body mass to cool down.

However, very fit people also sweat a lot because their bodies have adapted to regular exercise sessions, so they become more efficient at regulating their body temperature to keep them cool.

So, as you lose body fat you may sweat less, but as you get fitter you may start sweating more!

Either way, sweating is not a bad thing; it simply means your body is doing its job well.

However, the water you lose while sweating will need replacing to avoid dehydration so make sure you drink plenty of water.

Oh, if you can finish a gym session with your make-up and hair still looking perfect, maybe it’s time to step it up a little during the session.