Sweat Equity

Yesterday, as I was leaving the gym, I bumped into a fellow middle-aged guy who usually works out about the same time I do. “Must’ve been a good one,” he said, pointing to my sweat-soaked T-shirt. 

I hadn’t really noticed that it was a particularly good workout, but after he said that, and after I broke a fresh sweat walking to my car in the mid-80s heat, I found myself re-evaluating. I’d tried a new circuit of exercises for my hips and core at the start of the workout, and I’d found a use for a new toy, my Gymboss timer. So, yeah, a good one.

I also thought back to Tuesday night, the first practice of the season for my daughter Meredith’s soccer team. It was probably 85 when we started, and within an hour several of the girls had guzzled through all the water they’d brought. As their coach, I was soaked with my own perspiration. Even my baseball hat was fully saturated.

One of the girls — probably Meredith — asked why I was so sweaty. 

I answered truthfully: “Because I’m an exceptionally well-conditioned athlete, and my body has a very efficient system for cooling itself during exercise.”

“Okay,” she said, “but why is it dripping off your ears?”

Tags: Tags: coaching, soccer, sports, sweat, workouts