Something To Share With The Rest of You

An interesting observation, though I dunno how beneficial it is not to sweat. As I have learned, sweating is an important cooling mechanism and is quite instrumental in maintaining a low body temperature. Do you think that you might have sweat less because you were more dehydrated from the jacuzzi? Just something to ponder before you all start jumping in the hot tub before long runs:)

I'm a little fuzzy on this, but I seem to recall that when you're skin is wet, the body blunts the sweating response. I believe it's termed hidromeiosis. hold on... ok , below is a nice little excerpt dealing w/ what you're talking about. I took it from the document at the website below. It's actually quite a good review written by a couple of guys who've done tons of research in this field.

(http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/history/borden/medaspofharshenvrnmnts/ch03_hot/chpt3hot.htm)

"In addition, prolonged wetting of the skin surface reduces sweat secretion127?129 through hidromeiosis (which is probably mediated by the stratum corneum?s swelling and occluding the sweat ducts). For these reasons it is important to allow air circulation to the skin, especially on the torso, to maximize evaporative cooling.130 Likewise, if clothes become soaked, not only are they uncomfortable, but the wetted skin can also inhibit sweat secretion. Clearly, military personnel deployed in hot climates should wear dry clothing next to the skin, and wear clothing systems that allow venting."

Just to give you an idea of my situation. I live in SW Florida which got up to about 88 degrees today. Granted that was during the peak time of the day, it was still pretty warm all day. Add in the 90 or usually worse 100% humidity, then you got yourself a sometimes uncomfortable situaltion. Believe it or not, I have ran in worse situations, but if I can sweat a little less, I am all for it. Even if I wait until late at night, sometimes with the humidity, I still come back home looking like I just got out of the pool.

There was a study done a few years ago that studied the effects of cooling the core body temperature down before raceing on hot days. The result was that it resulted in increased performance because the body didn't overheat as quickly (think about a car >> It performs alot better if it doesn't over heat; same thing for us)

Try this: Play with yourself 3 times within 2 hours before a hard workout or race. I guarantee that your workout or race will be very poor indeed.

Jason

You're saying a HOT shower or jacuzzi helped you run in the heat? I'd have to go with the "reduced" sweating effect described above, and agree that it's probably not entirely good. Another thing might be that your skin blood vessels are already dilated by the hot water, so you're starting out your run with your body already set for hot and humid.

How did you keep your laptop dry in the shower?

My Master's thesis was on the effects of whole body precooling before running. Basically the runner's performed better with the cooling because of a lower rate perceived exertion. The blood lactate levels were similar post butr in the early stages of exercise the runners would cover more distance in less time b/c of a lower RPE. If you want ot know any more let me know. The water temp was 72 degrees.

I'm just telling what happened with me. Of course if I was running in 40 or 50 degree heat I wouldn't care if I was sweating too much, but if you know anything about running in the south (especially Fl), you know it gets hot. Yes I know it's hot everywhere in the summer, but at least most places actually gets some kind of break. The only thing we get here is a temporary cold front.

The proof is in the pudding. If you don't believe me, try it. What do you have to lose. Just jump in right before your next hard workout or race and see what happens.

Everyone believes you that you sweat less. What people are saying is that that's a BAD thing: sweat helps to keep your internal temperature lower. While you may like not being drenched in sweat, not sweating will cause your body temp will rise sooner, causing a decrease in performance.

Of course, if you're just out there jogging and looking at the pretty girls, fine. But if you're training, it doesn't sound like a good idea.