Stay Comfortable When Active: Choosing the Right Sports Bra
A well-fitting sports bra provides the necessary support without compromising your silhouette. It can also improve posture by supporting your back and shoulders, keeping them upright. Wearing the wrong size or style can lead to soreness, shoulder pain, irritated skin, and discomfort from tight straps or pressure marks. These issues can make exercising less enjoyable or even discourage you from working out, so finding the right fit is essential.
What Is the Purpose of Sports Bras?
Investing in quality sports bras is crucial as they can protect your breasts from excessive movement and bounce during exercise. It also helps reduce premature sagging, which is a common concern for many women. The right sports bra keeps your breasts securely in place, providing the necessary support to minimise strain and discomfort. This enhances your overall comfort, making workouts more effective and enjoyable.
Is It Okay to Wear a Sports Bra All the Time?
There are no inherent risks to wearing a sports bra daily. Many models are designed with soft, breathable materials that provide maximum comfort, even when you’re not working out. As long as the fit is correct and the fabric allows proper airflow, you can wear a sports bra throughout the day without discomfort.
How to Find the Right Model?
These types of undergarment items can offer three levels of support – low, medium and high. Which level of support to choose should be based on your level of activity and your personal needs.
For instance, if you’re planning on having high-impact exercise, then you should consider choosing a model that will provide you with greater support. Such a bra will prevent excessive breast movement, otherwise, you’ll have to deal with excessive discomfort. When planning to engage in low-impact activities that are less intensive, you may not need the same support as you do when having high-impact activities.
Bra’s Support
Low Support
Low-support sports bras are ideal for low-impact activities such as yoga, walking, and strength training. These typically come in a pullover style with narrower straps and non-adjustable bands. They are best suited for individuals with A or B cup sizes who require minimal support.
Medium Support
Medium-support sports bras offer greater stability and help reduce breast movement. They come in pullover styles or hook-closure designs, featuring wider bands and straps for enhanced comfort. Available in both compression and encapsulation styles, these bras either hold the breasts close to the chest wall or provide separate cup support to define shape. They are perfect for activities like skiing, road cycling, and moderate hiking.
High Support
High-support sports bras provide maximum stability and are ideal for running, high-intensity workouts, and mountain biking. These bras usually feature encapsulation and compression styles with separate cups for enhanced support. They also come with adjustable shoulder straps, cup/band sizing, and hook-and-loop closures, making them an excellent choice for individuals with D cups or larger.
If you engage in a variety of activities with different intensity levels, it’s beneficial to have multiple sports bras, each suited for specific exercises. This ensures you remain comfortable and well-supported during all workouts.
Choose the Right Size
Measuring yourself before purchasing a new sports bra is essential to finding the best fit. Whether we like it or not, women are prone to body changes from ageing, weight loss or weight gain, or from hormones and pregnancy, so it’s completely normal for you to have variations in the size you wear.
If you haven’t measured yourself lately, you can do it now by measuring your rib cage by rounding down the number to the closest centimetre.
Now, it’s time to measure your bust at the fullest part and round the number if needed at the nearest whole number. Once done, you should subtract your rib cage measurement from your bust measurement. The difference in centimetres is your suggested cup size which you can find from the store’s bra size chart.
Now that you know your measurements, it’s time to choose the right model. Once you do, it would be good to test how supportive it is by jumping or running in place. You should feel comfortable while doing this, and your breasts should feel secure and supported. In case there’s too much breast movement and you don’t feel comfortable while doing this, it’s better to look for a better-fitting bra.
Finding the right sports bra can significantly improve your comfort and confidence while exercising. By choosing the appropriate level of support and ensuring a proper fit, you can enhance your workouts and prevent unnecessary strain on your body.