One of my favorite things since moving to Asheville has been discovering all the different ways to shake, groove, workout and SWEAT that this little city offers.
“How do you Sweat” is a series of articles to ask a handful of locals what floats their boats when it comes to being physically active. In other words, in what different ways do people sweat to achieve different goals. Maggie gave us the pleasure in the previous article, “Where It All Began”, of learning about her new challenge she set for herself: to discover new workouts to integrate into her life. My favorite part of that article was learning why she set this goal for herself.
Everyone has different needs when it comes to finding a workout that can be incorporated into a routine, to maintain motivation and interest. Though, one need is common among all of us…to be physically active to improve our quality of life.
To kick it off, let’s talk sweat!
Your body works hard during physical activity, no matter how you go about it. Maybe it’s while you’re exerting the effort needed to reach that next rock formation en route to the top during a climb. Or possibly it’s finding the energy needed to execute that dance move you’ve been working on in the routine. It could even mean using the strength of your body to snatch that PR or mustering up the stamina to make it to the end of the trail on your run. However you do it, your body is working hard to accomplish the task at hand. From this hard work you’re most likely sweating.
Sweat is our body’s way to keep from overheating. It regulates body temperature and the excess heat that the muscles are producing when working out. While cooling the body down, sweat is a way our body naturally detoxifies heavy metals and other toxins we are regularly exposed to either through food, water, plastics, or even the air!
It should be mentioned, there’s a bit of disagreement among people with degrees about how many toxins are actually expelled when we sweat. Though sweat is mostly comprised of H2O (water) and NaCl (Sodium Chloride) and a low concentration of Potassium, 99% of sweat is water. Therefore, the amount of toxins sweated out is only trace. So think about it this way, the main purpose of sweating is to keep the body cool, cool enough to be able to perform the physically demanding task at hand. That’s why a great goal when you’re trying to get into a healthy routine is to sweat at least once a day! That way you know your working your body to its full potential.
Should I even go into the health benefits of regular exercise? Like you don’t already know exercising is good for you…
Of course I should highlight a few for our fitness series!
Moving, sweating and exerting that wonderful body is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy.
It improves your physical health, strengthening your bones and muscles (one important muscle being your heart). Regular physical activity combats the onset of a variety of diseases and illnesses.
There are numerous studies on physical activity and mental health that show working out improves mood. It helps to de-stress (that right there stops most diseases from happening) and can lower depression and anxiety. A regular workout routine also boosts confidence and mood. I like to think of that new confidence as not just appearance-related, but because you completed something that is beneficial to your health that you had set your mind to. I can be a case study for this one! There are a handful of times I would not feel like myself or be feeling low; I’ll go get my sweat on and WAA LAAA its like I walk out of there a new woman. Smiling, waving at strangers and laughing at nothing into the wind, I’m good to go!
Physical activity improves blood flow which promotes healthy skin and increases blood flow to the brain, improving function and memory. That’s something I can’t get enough of.
Another awesome way exercise helps us is by promoting the circulation of lymphatic fluid. This is crucial to our health, delivering infection fighting fluid all around the body via the lymph nodes. The circulation of this fluid is not the same as blood, which is pumped throughout the body by the heart. The way the body circulates lymphatic fluid is through movement. Our muscles squeeze lymph vessels to pump the fluid, so you can imagine how exercise has a big impact on how well your body circulates this precious fluid. The lymphatic system also collects all the junk, toxins and waste products during its trip around the body so it is playing clean up while you are jumping into the air.
I truly believe the only thing that kept me from feeling like complete shit back in my partying days in Philadelphia was that my only form of transportation was my bicycle. I biked all around that city and back. Now that my lifestyle has changed and it’s been quite some time since those heavy drinking days, my everyday life now enables me to feel the best I ever have. Nutrition is big for me, but I have found it goes hand-in-hand with exercise. If I ate healthy but didn’t workout regularly, yea I’d probably feel okay physically, but I wouldn’t feel as calm and happy. Likewise, if I exercise regularly but eat junk I might feel okay sometimes, but probably not right after a meal and that’s (at least) three times a day. By sticking to a healthy eating and exercise routine, I can honestly say that I feel like a damn super hero some days.
Routine is the key word throughout this article, you might gain some of the benefits mentioned above from exercising once in a while (and of course it is a hell of a lot better than doing NOTHING) but to get all the benefits and health promotion working out has to offer our bodies, it needs to be practiced frequently.
So check back next week to hear from people who have found a love for working out regularly in all different forms!
Also keep in mind when you sweat you are also loosing water and sodium so re-hydrating after the exercise is crucial!
Let’s get sweaty!
^ Despite the “I’m dead look” he is very happy.