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I am over weight (6 ft 1" and 105 kgs/231 oz). I started working out 8 months ago and I have lost 25kgs/55 pounds. I run for 25 minutes (and cover about 3.20 kilometers/2 miles in that time ) on the treadmill. I do stretching exercises. I further do some weight and resistance exercises like inclined bench presses, squats, etc.

I was recently suggested to wear a sweatshirt while my workout.

I am thinking that this might make sense cos obviously be sweating more .. so maybe that means I am burning more calories as well .. But I am not sure .. So please let me know if this technique makes any sense ..

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    How much are you sweating already? As to burning more calories, if that's how it worked, you could burn calories by lying in a tanning bed.
    – Robin Ashe
    Sep 6, 2012 at 12:41
  • I do sweat a lot. From my face, hands, back etc. about 80% of the t-shirt gets wet/moistened. I lose about one kilo to 1.2 kilo of body weight per workout.
    – Chani
    Sep 6, 2012 at 14:04
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    Don't forget that you also use up muscle and liver glycogen, which accounts for a good portion of that weight. A sweatshirt may not be the best thing, as the sweat is designed to be a cooling mechanism. If you pile on more clothing, you are inhibiting that cooling and introducing other possible risk factors. You may "lose" more weight, but that is simply water that will be replaced as soon as you drink.
    – JohnP ♦
    Sep 6, 2012 at 14:33
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    Related question: Will wearing thick clothes during cario provide better weight loss?
    – user241
    Sep 6, 2012 at 17:08
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    No, but you greatly increase the risk of heat exhaustion.
    – Evan Plaice
    Sep 6, 2012 at 17:18

1 Answer 1

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Trying to sweat more during a workout is an idea that's left over from sports with weight categories, like rowing, boxing, collegiate wrestling. The idea is that an athlete will put on extra muscle weight, then dehydrate him or herself right before an event or weigh-in to fit into a desired weight category. Most of the sports will allow the athlete some chance to re-hydrate before actually competing.

If you're trying to lose weight, what you want to lose is body fat. Wearing extra layers (sweatshirts, sauna suits, etc) will interfere with your bodies natural cooling system, make the exercise feel harder, and make it easier to get dehydrated. You will lose water weight through the extra sweating, but you'll replace it the first time you drink any water.

You would probably be better off exercising with clothing that light and nonrestrictive, and helps you stay cool. Or, if you're exercising during the winter, a light layer to keep your skin and extremities from getting frostbite. This clothing will make it more comfortable to exercise harder and longer. And exercising harder and longer will help you burn calories and lose fat.

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  • thanks you. the logic from the last line makes perfect sense !
    – Chani
    Sep 6, 2012 at 16:07
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    In winter you also want clothes that keep you just warm enough so you don't sweat and/or clothing that wicks away the sweat from your body. In winter, sweat = wet = cold.
    – Evan Plaice
    Sep 6, 2012 at 17:17
  • @EvanPlaice - well said, good point.
    – DavidR
    Sep 6, 2012 at 17:21

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