Chafing: The Chink in Exercise’s Armor
When the urge to be healthier is stronger than the urge to just be a couch potato a lot of people use that motivation to help them get off their beds and out of the house to exercise. For a lot of people that rarely happens so they try their best to stay focused on exercising and not be distracted by the warm and comfortable bed in their houses. Unfortunately, one aspect of exercising can dampen even the strongest urge to run five miles and that is chafing.
Chafing hurts. Just watch the summer Olympics and you’ll see some long-distance runners develop bloody nipples from the constant rubbing of their garments on their chests. Also, we all experienced a little bit of chafing even when we’re not running a marathon. Almost every one of us experienced sore inner thighs after walking to and fro when we’re going to school or to our workplace. It can be such a pain sometimes when you see your office building is just a few feet away and you’re already late.
But since you’ve been walking for two to three blocks and your inner thighs have been scraping against each other the skin down there are already sore and close to bleeding. So instead of running towards your building’s front door to catch the elevator and get to your cubicle right away you inch towards it like a snail and hope that your sore thighs would heal before the end of the day just so you won’t have to experience the same thing later.
That’s the pain of chafing and when you exercise it’s one of the biggest hurdles that can keep you from having a healthier body. But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. All you have to do is follow these simple steps/suggestions and you won’t have to worry about chafing anymore.
Keep moisture off your skin
It’s weird to think that moisture can contribute to chafing since water is thought to lubricate rather than make a surface dry. But if the moisture comes from your skin it’s sure to lead to a lot of chafing. So keep your body dry and moisture-free by wearing clothes that can draw away moisture from your skin.
Wear clothes that cling to your skin
Most cyclists, marathon runners or triathletes wear clothes that are elastic and cling to their skin. The materials they use on these outfits are often spandex or latex. These outfits don’t have any loose materials on your body so there won’t be any chances of the fabric rubbing against your skin constantly thereby preventing chafing.
Although for those people with highly sensitive skin to spandex and latex it’s better to avoid these materials because you may be able to avoid chafing but you’ll end up with severe skin allergies. Fortunately, there are other gym wear or sports attire that are elastic enough to retain its shape that do not have any spandex or latex in it.
Opt for exercises other than running
A lot of exercises focused on improving your endurance feature a lot of repetitive motions that can cause chafing. Running can lead your inner thighs and your nipples to chafe, wrestling or Brazilian Ju Jitsu can lead to parts of your skin to chafe as well. But in swimming your skin is safe as it can be and you’ll get plenty of exercise to build up your stamina and lose all that unwanted pounds.
You can also try yoga as exercise. Yoga can build your strength and stamina without chafing because all of your movements are controlled and rarely do you have to repeat a motion frequently that it would lead to chafing.
Wear seamless clothes
The seams in your clothes often cause chafing, which is why if you want to exercise choose clothes that do not have seams. Gym attire that is all smooth and without seams is the perfect attire to perform repetitive motions with because there are no fabrics rough enough or that are protruding to scrape through the skin.
Chafing doesn’t have to keep you from becoming fit. As long as you follow the suggestions above exercising can be a fruitful and enjoyable experience for you.