Most evenings Graham and I go for walks along the track by the river Dee or round the Duthie Park, all of which are very popular running routes for joggers and aspiring competitive runners. One thing that I can’t help but notice every time we are out is the amount of women who fail to use a properly supported sports bra. One minute we are chatting about how our day has been or putting the world to right, the next minute we find ourselves commenting on the breasts of the female runner coming towards us. “Do you think she’s wearing a bra?”, “Surely it must be uncomfortable having those bad boys bouncing away” followed by “I reckon the left one is going to hit her clean in the face any minute now”. Infact I am sure our heads start moving side to side hypnotised by these swinging pendulums as they come towards us.
In my opinion choosing the right sports bra is just as important as choosing the right running trainers. If the bra fits correctly then it will make you run better and improve your performance. In recent years gym fashion has become just as important as day to day fashion for women, so why would you spend all that money sacrificing a piece of clothing that will help you run better and prevent injury over clothes that don’t make a difference other than how you look and feel aesthetically? The purpose of a sports bra is to reduce bounce allowing your breasts to move in alignment with your torso as oppose to bouncing independently of one another – most importantly it will alleviate back and breast pain. The bounce of your boobs depends on your breast size and the elasticity of the skin (which varies from person to person). Don’t believe me? Check out Shock Absorbers exercise bounce video! www.shockabsorber.co.uk/bounce-o-meter/ Studies undertaken by the University of Portsmouth showed a female with small breasts can bounce around 3 inches during a run, whereas women who have a D-Cup can move 5 inches from top to bottom. Breasts have no support, there is nothing to keep them stable and if your running long distances regularly you want to look after your breasts by supporting the tissue. All breasts will sag naturally with age and lose elasticity but a correct fitting sports bra will help slow this process down. When it comes to finding a good sports bra avoid purchasing one off the internet. You should be fitted for a sports bra in store so you can try on different styles and sizes. Once you have done that and if you think you can get it online cheaper then go ahead and order it. The straps of your sports bra is what keeps your breast up during a run, if the straps are thin the pressure can build up as you run and leave dents in your shoulders and cause problems with the brachial plexus nerve group. There are sports bra’s on the market that come with extra wide straps and padding for extra comfort just make sure you adjust the strap length often as they will stretch with repetitive wear. The band around the bottom of the bra should be of an elastic material and preferably a wide band, this will prevent back bulges and the bra riding up as you run. When you first buy your sports bra you should fasten the bra on the loosest hook. As a bra ages, stretches and becomes worn it becomes looser this is when you should move to the next hook to tighten the fit – it will make your bra last longer too! The cup size is extremely important, make sure they cover your breasts there should be no gaps in particular at the side of your breasts. You will often find that your running bra size is completely different to your “dress bra” size. If you choose an underwire sports bra it should cover your entire cup underneath your breast. It should not dig into your breasts or your arm pit. Sports bras are made from moisture wicking fabric, built to draw moisture or dampness away from the skin. As a result the material draws perspiration from the skin pushing the sweat to the exterior of the fabric. In doing so it prevents rashes, black heads and chafing – it also smells better than normal fabric which hold in the sweat, won’t dry out properly and smell really bad – yuk! I often have female clients comment that they would like breast implants because of saggy breasts or breasts which have disappeared through weight loss, excess running and cardio. Looking after “enhanced breasts” follows the exact same protocol as natural breasts. Funnily enough after going under the knife myself I actually take more care of mine now because there is a financial investment involved than I did my natural ones (which is completely ridiculous but true!) perhaps if I kept care of my natural ones I wouldn’t have had to go under the knife in the first place. Speaking from my own experience and other women who have implants most wear a sports bra, a sports crop top and then their running top, requiring that little bit more support than natural breasts because of the sensation of the implants moving as they run. As discussed earlier, regardless of the brand a sports bra needs to fit correctly and should be comfortable. The £5 sports bra in the supermarket clothing range may seem a cost effective option but if it doesn’t give you the support you require and your concerned about sag or already suffer from sagging breasts then you have to question if it’s worth paying that little bit more. Cheap sports bra’s tend to come in small, medium and large sizes rather than back and cup size, you shouldn’t focus too much on matching the label size to your frame more on how the bra fits and feels. If you’re a medium in clothes, you may find you actually need a small size to support. It’s very difficult to match up small/medium and large to cup sizes and the frame of your body. I absolutely love Shock Absorber and USA PRO sports bra’s. The Shock Absorber is around £25.00 and the USA Pro if purchased from Sports Direct can be anything from £8.00 to £15.00. I always look for sports bra where the cups are sectioned off with their own support bands rather than a crop top style sports bra. I Also like the cross over straps at the back with the extra centre middle hook loop for added support (they also give you a great cleavage!). The Shock Absorbers tend to come with a front zip and I have never had any issues with chaffing or irritation from this and I think the front zip sports bra’s last longer than hook versions. I use sports bra’s for all forms of exercise, aerobic classes, cycling, power walking, yoga, weight lifting and even hill walking! I never suffer from any sore backs or feel that my breasts get in the way, and I think this is down to investing in some good sports bras. The next time you are choosing that perfect pair of leggings to match your top of the range running trainers, stop and think. Leggings may give you short term enjoyment and you will look ultra-cool in the gym (until they go out of fashion) but those breasts are with you for life.
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AuthorsSharon & Lainey are Online PT & Nutrition Advisors with a combined 18 years experience in the Health & Fitness Industry. Archives
August 2018
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