I remember once, when I was around 16, and I was training in the gym, a guy walked up and told me “you are sweating a lot, that means you are in bad shape”. Even back then, I thought that didn’t sound right. I played football since I was little, and you sweat tons, so I did not take it too personally, but still it speaks to the many myths and unsubstantiated claims that are often thrown around in gyms.
Why would sweating mean you are in bad physical condition? Generally that is of course not the case, in fact people who are used to training a lot, actually sweat more than people who are not, just take a look at Kobe Bryant making layups on the court before the game, or Lance Armstrong when he was warming up on the bike next to the bus before a stage in the Tour de France, after pedaling for 30 seconds he was dripping with sweat. Sweating is good!
Genetics of course also plays a part here, and some people just sweat more in general, and others less.
When you are used to putting your body through training and exercise on a regular basis, your body gets better at sweating and getting rid of the heat. I notice when I start with a new client for example, the first couple of training sessions, even if it is a somewhat hard session for them, they normally do not sweat much, but after getting used to the habit of training on a regular basis, they can feel that their body responds, and they start sweating much easier. The first few minutes of a training session is always the hardest, after you get your system going and start sweating, it gets easier, so the sooner your body does that, the better.
In the summertime, like right about now, the heat and humidity also plays a part, where we sweat almost before we start doing anything, which is important that we try and train early morning or late at night or in a place with air condition, so the heat does not have too much of an impact on our performance.
Make sure to hydrate. This is always important, but especially now, with the temperature being higher than normal, get your water and also electrolytes, before, during and after your training.