How to Choose the Best Sports Bra

The need for working out to stay fit and healthy is unquestionable. The list of benefits just goes on. However, if you’re a lady, there’s but one issue that needs to be addressed—how to keep yourself from injuring your chest?

One best solution for this is to wear a sports bra. Sports bras allow support for the breast that a regular bra cannot provide.

The breasts are composed of milk-producing tissues and fat cells. These are suspended and supported by Cooper’s ligaments. In a way, the breasts are anchored to the wall of the chest. This is the reason they are highly vulnerable to movement. In addition, the breast tissue is layered with the sensitive nerve that renders it susceptible to movement. Even light motion can slightly tear and disrupt them thus causing pain.

How Sports Bras Work

During exercise, sports bra provide support to the breasts thereby distributing the weight and the force produced during movement. Sports bra also allows one to use the postural muscles located at the back to remain vertical.

Without sports bra, any movement can cause the weight of the breasts to interrupt posture by pushing one’s rib cage downward and the head forward. This gets worse as the size of the breast gets larger. This is very intuitive—the larger the breasts are, the heavier they get. Also, more nerves and tissues are present. This potentially results in discomfort and pain. You’ll be surprised to know that it can also cause a headache. Nerves in the neck can get compressed due to the pressure and stress to the chest muscle tissues caused by repeated movement.

The most immediate effect of moving without sports bras and an unsupported breast tissue is a burning or a sharp painful sensation in the breasts. If left unaddressed, it can proceed to tightness and tenderness of the breast tissue. Breast pain caused by this can last for several hours to days and even months.

Choosing the Best Sports Bra

Like a regular brassier, selecting a sports bra is not an issue task. For one, you need to consider a lot of factors to choose one that does not only suit and fit you well but also a sports bra that can support your breast the best way possible.

Wearing a smaller bra, for instance, with a larger band than what you need is the most common error women make in selecting the best sports bra. There are three considerations for choosing a sports bra.

Racer back is cinched in the back. In addition, the straps of a racerback bra anchor it closer to the body. This type of brassiere offers excellent support—usually more than other bras.

Straps for brassiere also comes in two forms—shoulder straps and t-backs. While t-back straps may seem more attractive, they offer less support, especially for bigger cup sizes. Shoulder straps, on the other hand, gets more suitable as the cup size increases. In addition, they are highly adjustable. Some of the shoulder-strap type bras are padded, as well.

Is it pull over or back clasp?

Tank style bras may seem more comfortable and easier to wear. This, however, is only true for smaller breasts. Bras with all-over stretch, however, have less adjustability and support for large breasts and does not have the rigid front straps necessary for additional support.

Back slaps, on the other hand, has a band that you can tighten which can provide 70% of the support. Larger breasts can benefit from back slaps and can provide more support.

Is it compression or encapsulation?

The everyday compression-type bras are ideal for cup sizes that range from A to B. It’s also perfect for larger breasts if you only engage in low to moderate workouts without that much of an impact.

Research, however, provides that larger-breasted women benefit from the support provided by sports brassieres with individual cups.

What to check before selecting a sports bra

Bras differ by materials, durability, and construction. Not because you choose the best type of bras, it doesn’t always follow that it’s already ideal. Some have forms that might suit you, but the materials are not that great.

To test the bra before you purchase it, here are some tips.

Hold the center of the bras and the top of one of its straps then pull them close together. It doesn’t matter whether they can be adjusted or not, if they are very stretchy, they can’t provide more motion control for you. The trend is, the less stretchy the front slaps are, the more control for movement they allow.

Tug the bottom and top of each cup. Similarly, if the top and bottom of the cup can easily be pulled together, they offer less motion control. An ideal cup would be slightly difficult to tug along. Also, for both encapsulation and compression type cups, test whether they can hold the entire breast. If they do, they offer great support—if not, they don’t. The ideal bra should allow for no spillage. If a cup cannot support the whole breast, choose a larger cup size.

Slide a finger underneath the band at the center of your chest and pull. The idea is, you shouldn’t be able to pull it over an inch. If you can, then it doesn’t offer that much of support. In addition, reach your arms upward. Check whether the bands creep up—if they do, the bra is bigger than your ideal size. Pick a smaller-size bra, then.

Conclusion

Breast injury caused by repeated motion during exercise is a serious issue. If left unchecked or unaddressed, it can lead to serious injuries in the future. The need for a sports bra, regardless of your cup size and your activity type, is undeniable. Wearing one before engaging in an exercise is a must.

Sports bra offers support and prevents one from causing an injury to their breast. Without the discomfort to the breasts, one can engage in more intense activities longer.