It’s Monday. And we’re taking the gloves off today.
Okay, so I admittedly follow A LOT of personalities in the fitness world. Some bad. Some good. And some great.
But, If I see one more “get strong” ad with a guy doubled-over grabbing his knees, sweating his a$$ off during his workout, I’m gonna lose it. SWEAT IS NOT HOW WE BUILD MUSCLE.
In 2022, I’ve gotten stronger than I’ve been in my entire life. And I barely break a sweat during my workouts.
Because we associate sweat with exercise, it’s easy to assume the two are related. But the reality is that it doesn’t matter how much or little you sweat – it’s not a reliable indicator as to how hard you’re working.
Think about walking 18 holes in the scorching Texas heat at The Colonial in Ft Worth in two weeks…Believe me, I’ve been there as a spectator and sweat my tail off just standing around. It felt great to sweat, but I wasn’t getting much of a workout.
Now, think about walking into a nice, cool, air-conditioned gym the next day. And lifting weights for an hour. If you’re doing it correctly, you shouldn’t be very sweaty.
BUT, you can bet your butt, you’re getting a great workout. And building muscle.
Cardio workouts will leave you sweating like a pig. Which is fine. But, cardio doesn’t address strength. Is highly over-rated for fat loss. And doesn’t improve total body muscle endurance.
If sweating buckets on the bike, treadmill or rowing machine is something you can consistently do for the rest of your life, then absolutely go for it.
What we’ve found for our Crew is that our guys actually enjoy resistance training (what a novel idea to enjoy what you’re doing:). And because they enjoy it, they stick to it.
The bottom line is that how much you sweat has very little to do with your efficiency. It more depends on your genetics, hydration, temperature, and environment.
So, don’t judge yourself based on how much you sweat while working out. Instead, keep challenging yourself. Add another rep. Add a little more weight. Add another workout to your week.
You’ve got this,
Jeff Pelizzaro
PS – Once again, if you need a step-by-step training program to get strong, we’ve got you covered in the 18STRONG App.
If you’re unsure of which program is right for you, then shoot us a message directly in the app. Here you go: https://www.go18strong.com/app-test-drive