Wearing the right sports bra is so important for breast health and your performance. Did you know that your breasts move an average of 9cm with every running stride?
What level impact bra should you be wearing?
Running and any other sport which has a lot of movement and jumping requires a high-impact sports bra. Did you know that your breasts also move in three directions: side-to-side, up-down and in-out when running? Other sports requiring high-impact bras include: boxing, skipping, boot camp, martial arts and HIIT.
Medium-impact sports bras are for sports like hiking, golf, weight-lifting and cycling.
Low-impact sports bras are for yoga, Pilates and walking (although if you’re a D+ cup, you should look at medium-impact bras even for these sports).
When asked in a survey poll if you wear a high-impact bra for sports like running xx percent of you said you don’t even know what impact-level your sports bra is. And xx percent of you said you have worn the wrong bra to a workout just because it looks pretty. Xx percent of you have not even ever gone for a proper measurement.
Wearing the right sports bra not only allows you to perform better, but you won’t be injuring or causing damage to your tatas.
Signs you’re wearing the wrong sports bra
- Breast or back pain – you shouldn’t be experiencing either. This could indicate that you’re wearing the wrong level of support for the sport you’re doing ie: wearing a yoga bra for a jog.
- Your bra rides up your back or your band is not level the whole way around your chest. This means you’re wearing the wrong size. Either too big or too small. If your bra has hooks, you should also not be wearing it on its tightest hook. It must be comfortable, not squishing you, with some room to move and breathe.
- The straps dig into your skin. We all have different preferences for styles, but thicker/wider straps are often more comfortable than thin ones and racerback style (see below) can also be more comfortable for high-support.
- “Spillage”. There should be no sign of side boob or cleavage spilling over the top. This indicates that you are wearing the wrong cup size.
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What to look for in a good sports bra
Breathable sports-appropriate fabric; straps that don’t dig into you (we like wide racerback) and a comfortable, appropriate fit.
Most stores will do measurements for you, but if you want to check your size at home, take a take measure and place it around your rib cage, then around your chest at the nipples. The ribcage size, ie: 34 cm is the size and the second measurement minus the first one will give you cup size. Ie: 37cm-34cm = 3 (C cup). 1 = A, 2 = B and so on.
We love the Nike FE/NOM Flyknit High-Support Sports Bra because it’s super light-weight, yet ultra-high support, it’s seamless for extra comfort and it comes in a range of cool colours from black/grey to lumo. R1299. Stylish, beautiful and effective.
