During both exercise and inactivity the body generates heat. In order to maintain proper core temperature, this excess heat must be carried away from the body.
Ordinarily, during low activity periods, the convection of ambient air around non-sweating skin is sufficient to draw off the heat. However, during high activity periods, heat is generated more quickly than it can be carried away through the interaction of air and dry skin. At these times, the body's automatic temperature regulation system kicks in and causes sweat to accumulate on the skin surface. This increases the rate at which heat can be drawn away from the body via the air.
There is only two ways to prevent sweating:
- Slow down the rate at which heat is generated in the body.
- Increase the rate at which heat is convected away from the body.
Number (1) is achieved by decreasing the intensity of your activity. Number (2) is achieved by decreasing the temperature of the ambient surroundings in which you are exercising.
Here is some practical advice related to both of these options:
In the pursuit of fitness, CONSISTENCY is much more important than INTENSITY. Consequently, it is much better to do easy enjoyable workouts that one looks forward to completing than to do killer workouts that one dreads. This is because with the former, one will likely stick with it for a long time, with the later, one is likely to burn out and only do a few sessions. It sounds like you may have the "dread" problem because in your post you said that "It's hard to make my self do the work out".
I often workout in my basement on the cycling trainer. Prior to the workout, I put the AC on 65 degrees, turn the fan on, and put my bike right under the fan. This helps.
Depending on where you live, the temperature might be such that you can comfortably run outside without sweating. 35 - 45 degrees is just about right for not sweating if you are going on an easy jog. . . it will be cold for the first mile.
You should embrace the sweat. There are other beneficial side effects to sweating besides keeping the body cool. These include cleaning your skin pores, which promotes healthy skin, protecting the body from kidney problems (e.g. kidney stones) by purging excess salt, causing one to be thirsty and thereby drinking water (which is very healthy), and even protecting one from getting sick (human perspiration contains a naturally occurring antimicrobial, which fights tuberculosis germs and other dangerous pathogens).
You can actually sweat in a pool. You just don't notice because you're already wet.
-Good Luck.