Getting a Good Fitting Sports Bra

You wouldn't go running in any old pair of shoes... so DON'T exercise in just any old bra, a well fitting sports bra is an essential piece of exercise equipment.

With out a well fitting supportive sport bra your assets will undoubtedly bounce around during exercise, as there are no muscles in your breasts. This is extremely uncomfortable and can over time cause your breasts to have less uplift. Your breast can move up to 12cm up and down, in and out and side to side during exercise. This type of movement can cause irreversible damage to your breasts caused by the effects of gravity. Once the Coopers ligaments of the breasts stretch, which is the only ligament that stops the breast from sagging, there is nothing you can do to shorten them again. I am sure no one wants to have saggy beasts for life! A good fitting exercise bra can reduce the movement by 60%.

In order to make exercise comfortable you should get professionally fitted for your sports bra. It is essential that you wear a sports bra for both high and low impact activities. It is recommended that you wear a sports bra for Low impact activities such as walking and stretch exercises as well as high impact running and aerobics.

A good fitting sports bra works by compressing the bust close to the chest maximising hold and minimising movement. Remember they are not designed to be pretty so they need to be full cup to encase the breast completely. The level of support required does vary according to bra size, but whatever size you are we would recommend opting for maximum support. Smaller-busted women may feel most comfortable wearing a compression sports bra. Compression bras press your breasts against your chest. However, there is research to suggest that a properly structured encapsulation bra - which cups each breast individually - is more likely to give good support over a compression bra. Encapsulation bras have two cups like a normal bra, but with extra support. For larger cup sizes, encapsulating sports bras are definitely recommended.

Make sure the fabric is comfortable against your skin, with added absorbency. The fabric should feel smooth against your skin with no rough edges or stitching and should not rub or cause irritation. The straps should be wide enough to support the breasts with out causing ridges on your shoulders. The straps should ideally be padded for comfort and firm in order to minimise bounce and to keep the straps in place. The bra should feel firm around your back to avoid the bra riding up but not too tight that it restricts your breathing.

Advances in design, not least in synthetic material, have come on leaps and bounds from basic cotton manufacture. Sports bras are now made up of technical fabrics such as Coolmax, which is designed to wick moisture away from the skin and minimise the effects of perspiration whilst exercising. This reduces chaffing of sensitive skin and nipples and can go a long way towards avoiding or alleviating breast pain. Coolmax fabric also dries five times faster than cotton.

Please remember that just like your everyday bras your sports bra needs changing regularly to make sure you are constantly supported. It is recommended you change your sports bra after approx 100 washes or at least every year, you need to think about replacing them when they start to loose their stretch. You will need a set of Sports bras so that you can keep exercising through your laundry cycle. The technical fabric with in your sports bra wears during washing and its elasticity will weaken after time. Also heat from a tumble dryer will destroy the fabric, so try to avoid drying them in the tumble dryer..

A good fitting exercise bra should be so comfortable that you forget you are wearing it, leaving you able to concentrate on your sport and not your bra.