Banish the Bounce: The Importance of Sports Bras
Sports bras offer more support during a workout as they help minimise movement during exercise. Quite shockingly breasts can move up to 12cm during exercise which can cause a variety of problems such as chafing, discomfort, and the dreaded sagging of your breasts (none of which make for an ideal situation!).
A bit of history for you: Sports bras were invented in 1977 when two women joggers sewed two jockstraps together. Fortunately, they’ve come a long way since then and there are now a variety of options available.
The first step to finding the right sports bra for you is to be 100% sure that you’re wearing the correct bra size. It’s easy enough to get yourself measured, most places that have a wide selection of bras usually offer measuring services. There are many different fitness/lingerie brands that offer bras with low, medium, or high support and there are three main types of sports bras:
Compression Sports Bras –
This type of sports bra can make you look a little squashed in the chest department. They look a little like crop tops and aren’t necessarily that flattering.
- Best for: those with a smaller cup size who are perhaps looking for comfort over support. Also for lower impact workouts like yoga or Pilates.
Encapsulated Sports Bras –
These types of bras cup each breast individually and are similar to a normal bra but have a little extra support.
- Best for: These offer a really good amount of support and as a result are actually advised for all women. They usually have adjustable straps so you can easily fit them to both smaller and bigger breasts.
Combination sports bras –
Well, this type offers the best of both worlds! They have cups and also compress. This doesn’t necessarily make them the best type of bra though..they do offer more support than compression bras, however.
- Best for: They can help to minimise a larger chest in a more flattering way.
Some of our favourite sports bra brands:
- Shock Absorber Sports Bras
- Panache
- Freya Active
- Enell
- Triumph
- M&S Sports
We hope this has helped a little in the hunt for a great sports bra, it really is about trying on a few and seeing which one suits you, feels most comfortable, and will effectively banish the bounce! The type of sports bra that you buy can depend on individual preference.