Do you wear a sports bra for getting active? With so many options, what are the best sports bras?
A lot of women wear their everyday bras for exercising – and this is a mistake.
As comfortable (and pretty) as your lingerie bras may be, they are not designed to offer the required support for working out. We all know our breasts move – and they move much more, the more vigorous the activity we’re undertaking, which is why learning which types and brands make the best sports bras is so important.
Whether you run sprints, play a team sport, or simply enjoy going for a hike or doing a gentle yoga session, regardless of your breast size you should wear a properly-fitted sports bra suited to your body and the highest activity level you undertake.
Why Wear a Sports Bra?
Your sports bra is every bit as important for your exercise regimen as your sports shoes! Did you know that high impact exercise can cause the breasts to bounce up to 14cm?
Breasts are made up of glandular tissue and fat and are supported by the Cooper’s ligaments and your skin. They sit on top of the muscles of your chest wall, but they do not have any musculature themselves. As such, without the proper, adequate support, the ligaments and skin which give your breasts their shape and position can (and will) irreversibly stretch. Gravity also plays a role in this effect.
Hormonal changes throughout life impact the size, shape, and volume of the breasts. Using hormonal contraception, pregnancy, and breastfeeding can also dramatically change the breasts. Additionally, breasts lose some of their glandular volume as we age, and significant weight loss can reduce the fat content of breast tissue. Together, these factors contribute to why many women tend to have “sagging” or “droopy” breasts, especially in middle age and beyond.
The enhanced movement created during exercise or other activity places even more strain on the breast tissues, and breasts jiggle and bounce more with strenuous activity. The best sports bra will minimise this movement, supporting and protecting your breasts and reducing or preventing breast pain.
Did You Know? The prototype for the first sports bra was invented in 1977. We’ve come a long way!
Sports bras are often graded for activity level:
- Low Impact – e.g. yoga
- Medium Impact – e.g. walking, hiking, gym workouts
- High Impact – e.g. running, tennis, aerobics, football
The Best Sports Bras
The best sports bras will:
- Fit well
- Be comfortable
- Allow a full range of motion
- Wick sweat and keep you cooler
- Have adjustable band and straps
- Give adequate support and minimise bounce
- Look good
- Prevent breast pain
So many sports bras on the market simply compress the breasts against the chest, creating an unflattering shape and a restricted feel. The best sports bras, which we offer at CasaMia, encapsulate and separate the breasts to provide a much more comfortable fit, reducing movement of the breasts in all directions while maintaining a flattering, feminine silhouette.
Sports Bras for Plus-Size Women
Almost 20% of women report that embarrassment about their larger breast size, and not being able to find the right bra, prevents them from undertaking physical activity. This is a tragedy – because the perfect sports bra for you is out there!
When it comes to the fuller figure and for DD-cup and above, the very best sports bras are manufactured by:
- Panache
- Elomi
- Goddess
These brands are renowned for offering attractive designs to perfectly suit women with a fuller figure and larger cup size, combining style with function to deliver a flattering shape, utmost support, and make you feel great.
There is no need to sacrifice beauty or style to find a suitable plus size sports bra, nor are your options limited when you shop with a specialist boutique – CasaMia.
Choose CasaMia Lingerie for your Sports Bra
CasaMia is very proud to be the leading supplier of high-quality sports bras in the Illawarra and online, including superior bras to suit and support the fuller-figure.
We have stylish, comfortable, and supportive sports bras from several brands, including Elomi, Goddess, and Panache. We also have the option of soft-cup (non-underwire) sports bras for all figure types.
Our sports bras come in an array of styles and designs, and, depending on the brand and style, we have sizes to fit from 6 – 24 back, D – J cup.
It is highly recommended that you be professionally-fitted for your sports bra, as sizing for sports bras may vary from your lingerie bra size and also between brands.
CasaMia founder and owner Maralyn is a certified, expert bra fitter with many years of experience in her field and she has worked extensively to help fit the perfect bras for women of every size, every shape, and at every age. She also specialises in fitting post-mastectomy women with prostheses.
Get the best sports bra for your body now! We have a wide selection of premium merchandise in our boutique, including sports bras for plus size women. Explore our sports bra collection now, contact us, or visit us at our Warilla or Fairy Meadow boutique for a specialised fitting or expert advice. You can also enjoy the convenience of shopping with us online.
