The answer must be to stop sweating, right?

Sweating is the trophy you earn for turning up, it’s your reward for going hard, your prize for getting stronger, your personalised Rocky montage for giving it your best shot, so the answer isn’t to tone down your workout or to sweat less.  

The answer must be to leave your Beats in your gym locker, right?

No.

Well, it’s an answer, sure, but it’s not THE answer.  Leaving your Beats at home will definitely protect them from sweat damage.  In the same way that locking your keys in your car will stop you from driving.  The logic is sound but it’s not very helpful. In fact, it’s kind of ridiculous.

Scientific research has shown that music can have a positive psychological impact on fitness: a good beat can help you workout harder for longer.

Athletes talk about ‘getting into the zone’ and psychology is important in exercise whatever your level or discipline. It helps you put your trainers on. It gets you to the start line.  You may remember the masterstroke by the Beats marketing team at the London 2012 Olympics when they circumvented the International Olympic Committee’s stringent advertising rules by giving various Team GB athletes Beats headphones to wear.  Tom Daley wore them during television coverage ahead of his dive. Swimmers walked along the edge of the pool to their marks with them on.

Music has long been used to aid athletes either during practice or right before a competition.

Whether you’re Tom Daley, a professional weightlifter or just a regular guy or woman sweating it out on the lowest setting of the treadmill, getting fitter is a journey and if ‘getting into the zone’ for you means music or podcasts, then you shouldn’t have to leave your headphones behind.  You shouldn’t have to downgrade your audio quality or comfort just because you’re worried about sweat damage.

Using EarHugz on Your Beats

This is a no-brainer. EarHugz are sweat-proof covers that will protect your headphones from moisture damage. They’re reusable, machine washable, antibacterial, reversible and they’ll fit over your Beats (and almost all other headphone brands, too).  They’re specifically designed so that you can concentrate on your workout without having to compromise on your sound or fork out hundreds of pounds every year for new cans.

They come in a fab range of designs but are reversible for an all-black cover for when you’re feeling a little less flash.

Wear your beats and then wipe them over at the end of every session.

Cleaning your Beats with an antibacterial wipe will help keep your headphones hygienic but it won’t help any damage that was done to the internal electronic components while you were working out.  It won’t stop moisture damage on the speaker cushions, either. And whilst your headphones might look clean, if sweat has got into the cushioning then it won’t take long before they start smelling. This isn’t just true of Beats headphones.

Sweat damage is pretty indiscriminate and can quickly take out Sennheiser, Bose, Sony…

Switch to in-earphones or earbuds.

This is one of the most popular solutions to the problem of sweat damage, and it’s pretty practical, too, because there’s certainly plenty of benefits to working out with earphones: they’re portable, lightweight and discreet. You can pick a pair up quite cheaply, too.

They’re not ideal for everyone, however.  All ear canals are different and yet most in-earphones and earbuds are designed with a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn’t suit everyone. Many people find them uncomfortable and they can easily fall out particularly during vigorous exercise.  They can be harmful, too, or rather their volume is. Listening too loudly can cause permanent ear damage.

Of course, if you’re already a fan of earphones, then this solution does make sense: let your earphones take the battering, replace a cheaper, disposable set, as and when and leave your precious Beats hanging up at home.

You Can Buy Cheaper Headphones

Another solution that’s practical but not ideal.  If moisture damage can wreck a pair of Beats in a year, then imagine how many cheaper headphones you could replace during the same period.  Replacing them as and when may not break the bank, but over the course of your gym membership the price will add up.

There’s the environmental factor, too, of throwing away all that useless plastic.  So don’t just buy a pair of EarHugz because we say so, do it for the tiny babies turtles in the ocean, man.

But seriously, the audio quality will be pretty crap if you go too cheap.

You Can Cut Out a Circle of Tissue Paper and Wear That Between Your Ears and the Speakers.

I genuinely wish we were joking about this one but this is what some people have suggested online.  It might work. It probably will work if you’re careful and if you enjoy spending your mornings making paper circles with the scissors and tissue paper you bought in Hobbycraft, but seriously?  

We’re sure you’re not going to the gym just to look good but you deserve to take pride in your Beats when you’re working out and it’s kind of hard to take anyone seriously with tissue paper circles hanging over the cans.

We’re obviously biased here (oh no, really, are we?) but the truth is that you’ve already bought your Beats. You did that because you want to use them. You want to listen to your playlists, your albums and podcasts through them, and it’s ridiculous that something as basic and necessary as sweat could stop you doing that.  For a fraction of the cost of the headphones, buy a pair of EarHugz and put your Beats where they belong: on your ears with you in the gym.