Why wear a apsorts bra?
Why wear a sports bra? Spotlight on asset protection. Complete guide to the benefits of wearing a sports bra. Why wear a sports bra for working out? You would think it was obvious wouldn’t you? But you would be surprised just how many women do not wear a sports bra to exercise. You wouldn’t go for a run in your jeans and wedges, they are just not fit for purpose- so why do we not apply this logic to bras? 1. Gravity hack- beating the bounce Breasts are essentially just supported by skin and given internal structure by connective tissue called Cooper’s ligaments. Neither of these is very strong, especially as we age and the skin elasticity reduces. Your breasts actually move in a figure of eight as we exercise, irrespective of whether we are running, jumping, skipping or cycling. Everyday bras are simply not designed to contain this movement pattern. Sports bras are not just for big busted women. Research at the University of Portsmouth has show that when unsupported, a G cup can bounce up to 14cm, and an A cup by 4cm! There are no muscles supporting breast tissue, so with repeated uncontrolled bounce, the Cooper’s ligaments and skin that anchor your breasts will stretch and your breasts will start to sag before their time. Like a pair of Spaniel’s ears. A sports bra is a technical piece of sports equipment that protects your breasts from excessive bounce and reduces movement by up to 83%. This excessive movement can not only cause premature sag, but it also gives profound breast discomfort- reported by 72% of women. And let’s be honest, nothing will stop you quicker in your chosen sport than painful flappy boobs getting in the way of your workout. Running is hard enough as it is. 2. Poor performance Speaking of running, the University of Portsmouth has also found that excessive breast movement causes women to shorten their running stride length by around 4cm. Over the course of a marathon that equates to adding another mile onto the distance. A lack of breast support has also been found to affect a runner’s gait: “We’ve also seen increases in ground reaction forces, which may be linked to a runner attempting to cushion their strides to limit breast movement, and increases in levels of perceived exertion.” Essentially you put your energy into limiting breast bounce rather than the running itself. 3. Strap in Bra experts Rigby and Peller suggest that 80% of a bra’s support comes from the band under the breasts. An everyday bra often just has 2 hooks at the back and a narrow flimsy band; a sports bra often has 3 or 4 sets of hooks securing the band in place and keeping those knockers under control. It may also have a second higher set of hooks to add compression around the top portion of the breasts, so adding further control- the Runderwear Power running bra is a great example of this. The shoulder straps on a sports bra are much wider, and often padded, so distributing the load and pressure exerted from the movement of your workout. They will also be anti slip- so you won’t get that annoying strap sliding down your arm mid squat. 4. Cheat the chafe If this wasn’t enough, wearing a sports bra means you are much less likely to get chafing or sore spots. Sports bras are designed to stay in place and wick the sweat away from skin- this is the combination that helps stop the chafe. This moisture wicking ability also helps stop sports bras getting smelly. If you have never experienced chafing, lucky you, it is one of the most disproportionately painful things- speak to any cyclist. One of my friends recently showed me the boob blisters she had; these were from a badly fitting sports bra she had been running in. My eyes watered just at the sight. She is now in a Runderwear Energize running bra and all three of them are much happier. Runderwear have the added bonus of being label free, another potential cause of irritation. 5. Style it up Sports bras are more and more being worn as inner-outerwear. What on earth does she mean? Gym tops seem to be getting smaller (like my jeans), the arm holes wider, the backs lower. Never before has more of your underwear been so on display in the gym. Sports bras give you more breast coverage, and come in fabulous colours and designs (check out the Anita Extreme in python, and the Elomi Energise in blue lightning, swit swooooo!) They are now something to show off, (or at least not feel embarrassed of, if anyone gets an unintended peek), as you flex in the gym. 6. Confidence is key All in all, wearing a sports bra maximises your confidence whilst exercising. 85% of women who wear a sports bra to exercise agree that it helps them to enjoy their chosen sport more. This is a combination of breast comfort, improved freedom of movement and increased confidence. Anything that makes women feel even more awesome when exercising is something we should be championing.