Does Pre-workout Make you Sweat More?

You must be a gym fanatic or an athlete who is familiar with how much they sweat during training, and if you noticed an increase in your perspiration rate after gulping in your pre-workout, you got hold of the right cause, Sherlock.

Ever heard of no sweat, no gains? Because your pre-workout manufacturer did and took it a bit too seriously. 

So, yes, Preworkout make you sweat more. In fact, it is serving to your benefit because after bulking, you need to break into some sweat to boost the cutting and maintenance phase to make those biceps show up.

In this article, I will discuss why pre-workouts make you drip more sweat and how you can counter this effect.

Why does Pre-workout make me Sweaty?

Pre-workouts might increase your core body temperature and cause you to sweat an additional one or two buckets to enhance the outcome of your workout.

Stuff like thermogenic compounds and muscle-pumping ingredients in pre-workouts stimulate increased sweat production while exercising.

If you want to find out the science behind things and why I did not name caffeine, head down to the next paragraph.

Nitric Oxide boosters like arginine are added to pre-workouts to increase the production of nitric oxide, which vasodilates the blood vessels, thus, pumping blood into the muscles. Muscle pumping is beneficial for increasing endurance because it promotes the availability of oxygen and nutrients to them.

Researchers evaluated the thermoregulatory properties of arginine during exercise (cycling) in this research. And they reported that nitric oxide production in the skin or around sweat glands intensifies the local sweat rate.

In contrast inhibiting nitric oxide synthase (NOS) limits the increase in local sweat rate during exercise.

Manufacturers add thermogenic ingredients such as capsaicin to pre-workout formulations because of their ability to promote fat oxidation. And fat burning is crucial to your weight maintenance, but the mechanisms that go behind it might also contribute to increased sweating.

For instance, this paper reported that capsaicin-a thermogenic compound increases metabolic activity and heat production due to thermogenesis to promote fat loss. Thus, enhanced thermogenesis during exercise in hot and humid weather may add up to increased perspiration.

Caffeine is the primary stimulant in most pre-workouts, and you might be aware of its potential to boost energy, mental focus, and endurance.

In contrast to popular belief, recent research does not support the idea that caffeine stimulates and increases sweat production in response to activity.

This 2021 research evaluated the thermoregulatory response of caffeine in habitual and non-habitual caffeinators during exercise, but no such potential nor an increase in sweat was reported from the experiment.

In this 2018 research, ballet dancers were supplemented with 400 mg of caffeine one hour before the ballet session, and no increase in sweat rate was reported in them as well.

Does pre-workout make you sweat more?

Yes, pre-workout may drench you in a bit more sweat than usual.

Since you came down from the previous section, you know now why pre-workouts make you sweat more, so, for this section, I looked into the user experience, and it re-instated the fact that pre-workout-induced-sweat is a real thing.

So, slide down to read some Reddit stories on pre-workout perspiration.

‘Rawrtherapy’ is a Reddit user who shared in this post that he has been taking a pre-workout (C4) for three weeks, and he observed that even though he trains in his home, it makes him sweat like crazy.

Repliers have related to his experience, and one of them attributed it to the diuretic potential of caffeine.

(The Reddit thread shared next is extremely helpful because it addressed the effect of pre-workout on hyperhidrosis. If you are someone suffering from the same condition, it might help you decide on your next pre-workout purchase.)

A Reddit user, initiated this thread to ask if supplementing workout performance with multi-ingredient pre-workouts or caffeine in case they have hyperhidrosis will aggravate their symptoms since coffee seemed to trigger axillary hyperhidrosis in them.

The user’s replies were very positive, and they motivated him to go for a pre-workout if they felt the need because ‘no one cares if we sweat at the gym.’

Nonetheless, repliers agreed that pre-workouts might trigger excessive sweating if you have hyperhidrosis.

How to reduce excessive post-workout sweating?

Sweating during the workout might help flush out the toxins, release endorphins that put you in a good mood, and give you that workout glow.

But you don’t want to retain that state for too long.

So, this is why I have assembled this section to give you some easy tips that may help you reduce excessive post-workout sweating.

So, first of all, shop for moisture-wicking shirts or shirts with underarm barriers that capture and evaporate your workout sweat, which may help reduce pre-workout sweating.

Secondly, hydrate yourself with cold water or lukewarm water rather than a hot beverage to lower your body temperature so that you sweat less post-workout.

Also, try doing a light post-workout exercise to reduce your heart and metabolic rate, as it may help cool down your body faster.

And lastly, do not rush to the shower to cool off; instead, wait until the sweat dries completely and after your body temperature becomes normal.

Final Thoughts

All in all, yes, you rightly suspect your pre-workout of causing excessive sweating while you train.

Manufacturers add stuff like thermogenic compounds and Nitric Oxide boosters in pre-workouts to aid weight loss and enhance performance, and these are the reason behind your excessive sweat.

The thermogenic compounds accelerate your metabolism and turn up your body heat to promote fat burning, but this comes at the cost of increased perspiration.

The nitric oxide boosters in pre-workouts also stimulate cutaneous vasodilation and sweating.

Most users don’t mind excessive sweating while working out. Still, if you are bothered by it, you may skip pre-workouts that contain the ingredients mentioned above or opt for alternative energy-boosting stuff like a banana.

Moreover, since excessive sweating may become a cause of dehydration so, replenish your body with lots of water and electrolytes.

You may also look for betaine containing pre-workouts since this ingredient retains hydration.