Running during lunch hour... ideas to clean up / not smell without a shower?

[Bobalude]

So I've been wanting to run during my lunch hour for a while now but always been deterred by the fact that I'd smell and be gross in the office for the rest of the day. Using the bathroom/sink is not really an option for me. What I have is a bit of privacy to change/clean up in my car in a parking structure with whatever I bring there.

Looking for ideas of how to wash up without a shower, bathroom or sink. Kind of thinking of putting a hand towel rolled up in a water bottle... but open to ideas or suggestions of innovative ways to clean up or smell better.

*** Hoping to get 3 miles in each run (plus changing/cleaning time).

 

[Chrono]

Kinda hard... lol. Baby wipes?

 

[Atty]

Maybe I'm just blessed but I can run three miles or spend two hours lifting weights and I don't stink at all, and yes I do sweat a lot. I mean, its no pleasant aroma but I've left the gym before after a hard work out and ran into friends, they've given me hugs and complimented me on how I manage to still smell good after a work out.

Usually when I lift and don't have time to shower before I go back to work or go to class, I change my boxers, use a towel (moist or dry) to dry up any sweaty skin, re-apply some deodorant, and give myself a shot or two of cologne (not cheap shit, real cologne.) Obviously changing clothes too but I don't see you running in your work cloths so that should be a given. Just use a bathroom sink to wash your face so you look refreshed.

 

[kalrith]

I've been contemplating the same thing, but I just sweat too much, and it's not something that stops right when I end the workout. I've even gone for long walks during my lunch break and sweated in the office for the next 30-40 minutes (it doesn't help that the thermostat is set to 75&#176.

I'd recommend two towels, one wet and one dry, a full change of clothes (boxers/underwear included), and reapplying deodorant. You also might want to do it and then ask a coworker that you're friends with to tell you if you smell. At my wife's office several people go running or to the gym during lunch, and it smells like a locker room in there in the afternoons. Of course the guys who work out think they smell like roses after their workout!

 

[MrEgo]

Wow, that is a gift. Are you SURE you don't stink? I ask because I know a few people that smell like shit all the time, but they aren't even slightly aware of it.

 

[fleshconsumed]

If you can't take shower after lunch run, I would suggest waking up 40 minutes earlier and running in the morning before you go to work. It works if running is your goal. If not wasting lunch hour is your goal, well, you're SOL here. Read a book during lunch.

 

[darkxshade]

I too don't smell after a workout even when I'm all sweaty after a run(typically 5 miles, 40 mins)... I come out the same scent than I did going in and I've never used deodorant ever either. It's weird because for the fact that I don't stink after a workout, I never did understood deodorant and its purposes. I still prefer to shower after a run though because despite having no odor, once the sweat dries, I feel icky and it's uncomfortable. So I don't run during lunch but I do lift weights 3x/week instead since I don't sweat a lot if at all. I run after work when I have more time which includes 10 mins in the steam room for stretching and a shower before I go home.


edit: maybe it's because I don't have chest/backhair?

 

[StageLeft]

I know we had this thread before but for me there would just be no way. Even after a shower I am still sweating.

 

[kalrith]

maybe it's because I can't smell myself but everyone within a mile knows I reek?

Yes, that's it.

 

[darkxshade]

Yes, that's it.

lol, hey if that's true, still doesn't bother me one bit. No one has ever spoken up so if anything, it's their problem until they decide to say something about it.

 

[bobsmith1492]

It seems to work if I change my tee shirt (use it to wipe myself down, getting most of the sweat off of particularly my face, neck, and pits), change my socks, and reapply deodorant. You could also try a fresh set of underwear for good measure. Walk around first though to cool down so you don't keep sweating into your fresh clothes.

So all you need to bring is -

Gym shoes + socks
Shorts
Fresh tee shirt
Deodorant

 

[alkemyst]

Wow, that is a gift. Are you SURE you don't stink? I ask because I know a few people that smell like shit all the time, but they aren't even slightly aware of it.

that's true...I tend to sweat a ton when passing my first mile, sweating is a good thing. Diet is a big part of stench though I feel. If you are eating right you should be ok with a good wipe down.

The problem for me is I am usually still sweating 30 mins post workout....this throws me into my 'clean' clothes time making lunch workouts too short for me to be happy so I just get up at 4:30-5:00am.

 

[ZOOYUKA]

Wake up earlier and take a nap during lunch if you need the rest. No one wants to work with a stinky.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

lol, hey if that's true, still doesn't bother me one bit. No one has ever spoken up so if anything, it's their problem until they decide to say something about it.

Seriously? Most people especially in the office will not tell another co-worker they stink. Would you?

For the OP I would go for the wet wipes after you're done with your run. Going to look funny in the men's restroom though

 

[InflatableBuddha]

2 options:

Wake up early, go to work early, leave early, run after work. OR
Wake up early, run, shower, go to work at normal time.

Even if you don't really sweat much, you'll still feel sticky/gross in the afternoon, and nothing replaces a proper shower. Just run before or after work - that's what I do.

 

[PingSpike]

Honestly, minus some assy smell I'd say its old sweat that makes the stink you think of when you think of BO. I would tend to think if you showered daily that would generally be kept under control. Of all of the rank BO situations I've encountered in my life, the people causing the issue never looked like they had just finished exercising. They did look like the kind of waste cases that may have not showered for two weeks though.

 

[iluvdeal]

lol, hey if that's true, still doesn't bother me one bit. No one has ever spoken up so if anything, it's their problem until they decide to say something about it.

LOL, have you ever been in a business situation where you spoke to someone with bad breathe and not said anything about it? I'd say the person with the problem there is the one with bad breathe who doesn't know about it. Now if you're the type who knows but doesn't care that your smell offends other people, well then you really have a problem.

 

[darkxshade]

I don't run during my lunch hour so I wouldn't know but I do lift weights without a shower after. Like I said, I shower after a run because the sweat is uncomfortable so I do it after work where I have time for both. Anyway, the 2 co-workers I sit next to goes to the gym with me during that hour too, they spot each other. And one of them does run. Since we're "cool" with each other, we will talk trash and make fun of each other at work at every opportunity. Especially when one of us drops a SBD(Silent but deadly) farts, someone will always bring it up. So why not gym stink, too PC to mention, I doubt it? But anyway, the one guy that does run in his lunch hour, I've never smelled anything from him either or I would make it obviously clear that he stunk. My point, is not everyone stinks after sweating. It's certainly not clean or comfortable, but it doesn't have to carry an odor.

 

[piasabird]

Quit Running.

A complete change of clothes might help. Run and then do some cool-down exercise giving your body a chance to quit sweating, and then change clothes.

Short hair will help a lot. You will have less buildup of grease.

Maybe it is what you wear when or shortly after you run does not absorb your sweat?

 

[SZLiao214]

I can recommend what some of the others have suggested.

Wipe yourself off at the end with the drier parts of your shirt and then after use a small wet towel to clean up.

 

[HannibalX]

This is pretty much the reason I don't run or bike to work - no shower at work. Remember when all most any line of work had a "locker room" onsite. It seems like most places these days, and almost all office buildings no longer have locker room facilities for men and women. It sucks.

 

[alkemyst]

Mostly only blue collar jobs have ever had onsite locker rooms....In large buildings you sometimes had a shower facility though, many still do for tenants.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

i hate that sticky feeling after i've been sweating. Maybe a good idea would be to have a synthetic top that you change into before you run. That way you could use that top for half the week if you rotate instead of having to have 2 sets of work clothes every day.

 

[DeeLowLow]

Because my time is now limited, I did some research and found the following may work:

1. Baby Wipes (wipe the places you mostly sweat)
2. Use powder on your feet.
3. Spray Body Mist instead of harsh perfumes/colognes. Use something that is light and/or sweet smelling.
4. Wear work out clothes that has synthetic fabrics.
5. Change into fresh undergraments
6. Reapply deodorant.

Since my time is now limited, I'm going to try those alternatives. I miss my 1 hr workouts and 20 minutes freshening up time. But there is nothing like a good ol'fashion shower to make you feel fresh.

Good Luck!