I sweat. A lot. And during our hot Southern summers, I tend to continue sweating for quite awhile after an outdoor run. In fact, try as I might to cool off when I’m done, I often find myself still sweating when I get out of the shower.
Note that I’m not really talking about cooling down per se. Rather, I talking about literally cooling off. That is, getting my body back to the point where I’m no long sweating like crazy.
My typical routine is to finish out my runs with a cool down walk, ideally followed by some stretching and foam rolling to keep my muscles loose. I then drink a couple large glasses of ice water and have a small snack while standing under the ceiling fan to start cooling off.
From there, I take my time (as much as my schedule will allow) getting into a long, cool shower in hopes that I’ll actually cool off and stop sweating. Unfortunately, I’ll typically get out, get dressed, and realize that I’m still sweating. Ugh.
This week, I tried taking a cool bath (while drinking my ice water) before showering, but that didn’t really help. After showering, I wound up standing around with an ice pack (from a tight hamstring) on the back of my neck and top of my head, but even that didn’t help much.
The real problem here has to do with scheduling. I like to run before work, and I have ample time to warm, stretch, run, and cool down after my workout, but I rarely have enough time to sit around waiting for the sweating to stop.
Any suggestions for speeding up the process?
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m with you. The more fit you get, the larger your sweat gland get, and the worse the problem becomes. I have freaked the wife out many mornings standing naked under a ceiling fan with ice bags strapped to my legs. The best tactic for this, and for recovery, is an ice bath. It sucks as bad as you may think but it does wonders to speed up recovery. A good side effect is a nice drop in temp too.
ice on all pressure points? never tried it. just thinking. an ice bath would do the same thing (well, and then some), but just hitting the pressure points might be a bit simpler? or at least use less ice.
Just came across this. Might help?
This is the same thing that is happening to me! I have been running with a group on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning before work. I have plenty of time to stretch and “cool off” The problem is I don’t actually cool off until around 10-11am… So I’m running at 6am shower by 7:15 and off to work about 8 or 8:10ish.. so for 2 to 3 hours after I have showered and got dressed I can feel the sweat dripping down my back! It’s so frustrating! I have to take another shower after I get home from work on these days to get clean again! (Or to feel clean) ugh!
I’m with you completely on this! It’s so frustrating….it takes time to stretch and run as it is, let alone taking a couple hours to stop sweating! I usually have to take another shower later as well :/. I’ll have to try the ice thing and see if that helps. Thanks!
sorry, i don’t have any advice to give but i definitely feel your pain
i wish i could run every morning but the sweat really does prevent me from doing so because i need to be cool and clean when i get to work.
After having this problem for ages, a Physio I know told me not to have a cold shower/bath, but to have a normal temp shower/bath and then wait 10 mins before putting clothes on. If you take a cold shower your body seems to try to warm up as it assumes you now face a cold period of time. Anyways, works for me now, cold shower feels good but doesn’t wrk. Cheers