I remember the first time I heard of the term “BO”.
It was after a bad life choice by me.
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I was about 7 years old and my sisters were sitting outside on the deck with our babysitter.
I snuck up behind the babysitter…
…and tried to make her laugh by tickling her armpits.
This was a common 7 year-old tickling tactic.
She was wearing a tank top.
This was NOT a good idea.
Have you ever wished that life had a rewind button?
I immediately regretted my decision to tickle the babysitter.
I completely remember a slimy sensation on my finger tips and white “goo” under my fingernails.
The babysitter turned beat red as I smelled my fingers and said: “ew, my fingers stink”.
7 year-olds can be SAVAGE!
I probably traumatized this poor girl.
I washed my hands.
Shortly after that…
My mom came home and the babysitter silently left.
“Mom I tickled the babysitter and now I have white smelly stuff stuck under my fingernails.”
At this point, my mom explained what “BO” was… and that when I became a teenager I would have to use deodorant.
I didn’t fully understand.
…and I didn’t want to spread smelly white paste under my armpits.
Why would my mom MAKE me do this?
I wasn’t sure what the appeal was.
It seriously stressed me out for weeks.
Since this was in the 70’s, I’m guessing deodorant technology was a little primitive.
I don’t think my babysitter was super stinky or anything.
It was more about the white chunks of deodorant stuck under my nails.
But…
It WAS the last time I tickled an armpit.
Live and learn.
This article is about sweat and body odor (a little bit of science mixed with my opinions).
We will get to that in a sec, right after a music break.
The music theme for this article?
Dance songs with lyrics that make dancing in the club sound like the most important thing in the world.
Sweating While Working Out Should Never be Embarrassing
The MAIN reason I decided to write this article is that a couple of weeks ago I wrote an article about the importance of strength training for women.
While doing research for this strength training article I came across a lot of forum discussions about women being embarrassed by sweating during their workouts.
To me, this is simply a sign of a good intense workout.
Also…
I discovered that women’s workout sites talk A LOT about how to stop “crotch sweat”.
Why is this embarrassing?
The body sweats.
Guys don’t worry about this AT ALL.
We joke around about our sweaty plumbs on a regular basis.
These articles seem to be written by other women who make sweating “down there” seem almost shameful.
They use terms like “swampy”.
There are also tons of grooming tips and special clothing to hide this, etc.
I think everyone just needs to lighten up.
Maybe if we came up with some funny terms it would help.
And…
I’m here to get this process started.
Here are two I just thought up.
“It’s raining in Virginia” or “Sally is soggy”.
Thank you very much, I’ll be here all week.
Guys don’t care if they sweat while training.
Most of us strive for it.
So you and little Sally shouldn’t worry if you wind up sweaty while training.
It is a sign of a good workout.
The Odor of Sweat
As far as sweating is concerned…
Studies have shown that fresh sweat of people we are attracted to smells wonderful.
Old sweat doesn’t smell as good.
That being said, I remember camping with a girlfriend quite a few years ago in the desert.
She smelled good to me the entire time.
…even her old sweat.
I don’t think girls get quite as stinky as guys.
Even if rain levels in Virginia are at all-time high, followed by a drought… I just don’t think women get as smelly.
This is just my opinion.
BUT
99% of the time I smell salty “chicken noodle soup BO”, it’s coming from a guy.
Plumb power in full effect!
So as far as sweat goes, no need to worry too much about how you smell DURING your workout.
Fresh sweat normally smells fine.
…as long as you have decent hygiene.
Body Odor and Attraction
The reason why we have body odor in the first place is to attract potential mates.
I’m not a fan of perfume or cologne.
I like just a clean natural smell.
Studies show that the biggest benefit of perfume is that it can make the woman wearing it feel sexier and more confident.
This confidence from the woman is what the man gets attracted to, NOT the scent.
If it makes you feel good, go for it.
What scents DO men find most arousing?
The sweat of an ovulating woman (article on that) and pumpkin pie (article about that).
A picture of a woman teasing her man.
Just out of curiosity, I Googled the top month when babies are born.
It turns out that month is August…
…which is 9 months after Thanksgiving.
This is probably NOT a coincidence.
Women like the sweaty male scent too.
Here’s an excerpt from an article discussing a study on the subject:
“Researchers asked a group of female students to judge the attractiveness of men shown in photos.
A second group of women were set the same task, but this time, unknown to them, a cloth soaked in male sweat was hidden nearby.
The women under the influence of the pheromones – released by glands including those under our arms – rated all the men as being more attractive.
Those judged as being the least attractive by the first group of women showed the biggest jump in sex appeal, with the women rating them as being almost as appealing as the best-looking men.”
So if you are a less attractive guy it pays to be sweaty?
Who knows?
It is a funny idea to think about.
Sweating and body odor shouldn’t be embarrassing.
I mainly wear deodorant as a courtesy to the ladies.
How can they workout and concentrate with my naturally irresistible man-sweat scent?
Us guys never worry about sweating and getting slightly smelly when we workout.
I mainly wrote this article for the wonderful women of the world.
There is way too much sweat-shaming going around.
Chances are you smell 10X better than most guys.
…and if you don’t that is fine too.
Train hard and proudly let the sweat flow.
*NEW* Visual Impact Fat Loss Boost Diet
For 15 years I've helped fashion models get lean for photoshoots. Use my plan to Lose 5-10 pounds of PURE body fat in 14 days.
Nobody puts Sally in a corner!
Cheers,
-Rusty Moore
As a former fitness coach to fashion models, I can teach you how to increase muscle definition without adding size.
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