Know your Size Before Buying a Sports Bra

Sports bras have become an essential gear for any workout routine, be it your regular walk in the park, intensive burnout session at the gym, or your peaceful yoga session at home. According to Women’s Health, “The connective tissue that holds the breast to the chest is comprised of Cooper’s ligaments, which naturally extend with age and over time – but exercise without supporting them properly and they could stretch up to 2cm during high-intensity workouts”. And furthermore, “you have the potential for negative consequences, such as pain, as well as stretching the skin of the breast [which can cause sagging] if the breasts are not supported enough.” (via University of Portsmouth). 

You have many challenges in buying your sports bras, with so many options and functionalities, and if you are ready to buy a sports bra from an active sports bra online store, it’s important you buy your correct size. 

Having the wrong size bra may give you several performance related problems, but it will surely make you very uncomfortable. This is particularly true on sports bras, which are designed to reduce bust movement during running, and are therefore designed to contain and restrict movement. This means that wearing the wrong size on the plus side will make your sports bra ineffective, but wearing it on the smaller size will make you feel extremely uncomfortable, and may even be painful. 

According to IAMVIBES fit expert, to get your right fitting size bra, you need to pay attention to three key areas of the sports bra: band size, cup size, and straps. 

The band of the sports bra does most of the supportive action. The wider the band, the more supportive and comfortable your sports bra will be. To have your right band size, take your measuring tape and measure yourself around your rib cage, just below your bust, and round it off to the nearest inch. Then add 3 inches to your measurement and you have your sports bra band size. 

But don’t forget your rib cage measurement, you will need it to find out your cup size. 

To find your cup size you need to get your bust measurement: measure around the fullest part of your bust keeping the tape straight across your back, check your tape and once again round it up to the nearest whole inch. Now, take your bust measurement and deduct the rib cage measurement and use below table to find your cup measurement: 

Now for the straps, the easy part. The wider the strap the more comfortable your sports bra will be. As IAMVIBES bra expert explains, this is because the weight is better distributed across more strap surface, thereby reducing the pressure on your shoulders. Also, the straps are critical in creating the support you need, so always make sure your sports bra has adjustable straps, which will not only help your bra adapt to your height, but you can also use it to adjust the level of support you like. 

Now you are ready to buy your sports bra from your favorite store.