Rundefeated

Sweat Doesn’t Equal Fat Burn: Why Indonesians Need to Rethink Their Workout Mindset

In Indonesia, where the sun feels like it’s conducting a full-time job interview with your skin, sweating is a way of life. Walk 50 meters to buy gorengan? You sweat. Sit at a bus stop waiting for your angkot? You sweat. Even standing motionless while thinking about whether you should work out or not can trigger beads of perspiration rolling down your neck. It’s no wonder most Indonesians equate sweating with being productive, especially in the world of fitness. If you’re not dripping like a teapot left too long on the stove, did you even exercise, bro?

But here’s the truth: sweating isn’t a sign of how much fat you’re burning. It’s simply your body’s air conditioning system. When your internal temperature rises — whether because you’re running, walking, or nervously confessing your crush via WhatsApp — your sweat glands kick in to cool you down. It’s not a badge of honor, it’s biology. I first stumbled on this realization when reading Born to Run, a brilliant book that claims humans are the only species capable of releasing body heat through sweating. Other animals pant. We sweat. And because of this nifty feature, our ancestors could chase antelopes across the savanna for hours until those poor creatures collapsed from heat exhaustion.

Of course, in our tropical homeland, this little evolutionary advantage means every single workout feels like a sauna session. The problem is, some folks take this idea way too seriously. I’ve seen people running in thick windbreakers, double-layered hoodies, and even raincoats on a perfectly dry morning — all in the belief that more sweat means faster fat loss. News flash: it doesn’t work like that. All you’re losing is water weight, which you’ll regain the second you chug an Es Teh Manis and two plates of nasi goreng.

I remember running the Kyoto Marathon in February, with temperatures hovering at a cruel 3°C. I was layered up but still comfortable. The strange thing? No sweat pouring down my face. I was running the same pace, burning the same calories, but without looking like a leaking faucet. It was a glorious revelation that you can torch calories and improve your fitness without looking like you just took a bath with your clothes on.

The obsession with sweat is understandable in a country where the weather ensures we sweat doing absolutely nothing. But it’s time to move past the myth that sweat is a reliable measure of workout quality. A good run isn’t judged by how drenched your shirt is, but by how your heart, lungs, and legs worked together — whether you’re in the steamy streets of Jakarta or the frozen pathways of Kyoto.

So next time someone brags about how much sweat they produced after a 15-minute walk around the neighborhood, smile politely. Then tell them about the early humans, who didn’t need sauna suits to survive. They just ran, chased dinner, and when it finally collapsed, probably complained about how hot it was too.