It Doesn’t Matter How Much You Sweat When You Exercise. Here’s Proof

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You just had a killer workout, but you notice you didn’t break a sweat. You wonder why. Were the extra squats of longer than usual run not enough? If you’re asking yourself, how much should I sweat when I exercise?, studies show that sweat actually has nothing to do with how hard you worked out.

So for you hot yoga fans, just because you leave class drenched doesn’t mean you’re actually burning more calories.

Research conducted by the American Council on Exercise shows that how much sweat you produce during a workout only correlates with your body’s need to cool down. It’s that simple.

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It’s also important to note that everyone is different, and that applies to how your body produces sweat. According to Jessica Matthews, the senior advisor of the Council’s health and fitness department, some individuals are wet in sweat just minutes into a workout while others are dry as can be after 60 minutes of aerobic exercise.

Another study found that after a 90-minute Bikram class, women burned an average of 330 calories and men burned an average 460 calories, far lower than one would expect.

Why? Because Bikram yoga is a less rigorous form of the practice and it’s intended to improve muscle flexibility. The purpose is not to burn calories.

So just because you get sweaty quickly when you exercise doesn’t mean you’re burning more calories. Womp womp.

The good news: you can embrace your workout for what it is. Don’t worry about how much you sweat and just focus on the effort you’re investing in exercise.