Are You Wearing the Right Sports Bra?

I agree totally with "Trynot" - and will add the following:
Rather than trying to do it yourself, have your bra size measured by a certified person (yes, they have them in major dept and specialty stores, e.g. Nordstroms), at least EVERY YEAR - and sooner if you are either losing weight or exercising (or both). I haven't found a place yet that doesn't do this for free (even if you don't buy a bra right away).
I am one of those lucky gals who has a size that isn't readily available in most stores - I am a 36II - mainly due to a regular exercise/diet program I've been on for a while. Unfortunately, most bra manufacturers assume that if you have big breasts, you also are plus size - and start the band sizes bigger than 36. Luckily, there ARE specialty web sites and brands that cater to us big girls, even with sports bras that provide us with the support we need for our bigger assets. I recommend BareNecessities.c
om, which has a variety of brands to choose from.
My only complaint is that I need a sports bra that is a racerback style, to allow me to wear exercise tops that are open around the shoulders - and they are hard to find. If anyone with a similar size to mine has found a good one - please let me know the brand so I can look for it? - 6/11/2013 9:34:42 AM

80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size because of bad information on measuring for your bra size. The way of measuring outlined here is outdated. One reason I think it's still being pushed though, is because it puts most women in a smaller range of sizes. Stores don't have to carry so many sizes when most women will end up being a 34, 36, or 38 after measuring this way.

Measure your chest snugly right under your breast. That is your band size.(round up or down if you get an odd number) Measure around you bust with a normal un-padded bra on. Each inch difference between your band measurement and your bust measurement is a cup size. This is your starting point. Not every bra is suitable for every body and not every manufacturer will fit the same. If you feel like you need to go up a band size then go down a cup size(or down a band size and up a cup size). The band should fit comfortably snug and be horizontal all around your torso. It shouldn't ride up in the back. It should do most of the work, not the straps. A new bra should hook at the first row of hooks, use the other rows as it starts to stretch out.

Since I found that way of measuring it's made bra shopping a lot easier. I still go down in band or cup size sometimes for sports bras though. - 4/6/2013 3:29:43 PM

What kind of bra is the best for someone who wears an H cup or larger? This article only goes up to DD when discussing which bra is best. - 3/15/2013 2:08:53 AM

I had been searching for a good sports bra for a while, this one is perfect, even for running and high-impact aerobics. although your breasts are kinda squished in there, so they have no shape, but I do feel that this is what a sports bra is supposed to do.
http://www.appa
relnbags.com/
wonderbra/index.htm
javascript:void
(0); - 3/9/2013 3:42:28 PM

I don't think measuring helps with bra sizes one bit. The most it does is give you an indication of where to start. I take about six bra sizes into the cubicle at Marks and Spencers with me to try, and if I want the bra for something special - eg to fit under a particular dress, I bring the dress with me too. Sports bras - well, the sky's the limit on how much care you have to take buying one. I do think it's a pity there are no photos with this article to show good/bad fits, different styles etc. - 1/12/2013 12:45:10 PM

Two cheap bras put together make a great workout bra for me. Any comfortable standard over-the-shoulder bra underneath, and a racer-back bra on top keeps my D-size breasts in check, even with high-impact aerobics, and it's much less expensive than the $70 price tag.
- 12/24/2012 12:05:48 PM

Do not currently have a sports bra, but know I need one. I am a 40DD and ran/walked a 10k last year in a regular bra. I am signed up again this May, and figured I had best get one. Just ordered the Enell maximum coverage bra. $65. But, hey, my everyday bras are Wacoals and they cost that much too. You get what you pay for with bras. When you need the support, you have to pay for it. - 12/16/2012 12:14:48 PM

This didn't work for me. My band size is larger than my breast size so how do I figure that out? I end up with a negative number. Like PIFFLED mentioned above.

38 Bust.. 39" band +3+1=43 38-43 = -5

I normally wear a 40B bra but this formula doesn't work for me. Any comments? - 12/16/2012 11:33:56 AM

ok this chart thing doesnt work for everyone. i wear a 42 DD in a regular bra and i have to wear at least a D size in sports bra or my boobs are flying out. this chart says i have to wear a 46 B for sports bras. huh?? a B cup size would cover my nipple and support about that much too. so how does this math work?? - 10/28/2012 5:01:04 PM

First, I have a hard time finding good sports bras that I don't need to take out a mortgage for. I am rather amply endowed, and practice judo, where occasionally, the guy throwing me gets a handful of bra. I cannot have one snapping at that moment! I also love the racerback style, but am apparently too stupid/not talented enough to figure out how to get into the sports bra version without getting trapped in the bra with one arm up in the air, pinned against the side of my head. So, I usually go for a scoopneck, with hooks in back. If you are a very large size, I would reccommend Cacique bras, this is the lingerie store that is part of Lane Bryant. I have never seen them sell a sports bra, but the regular ones I buy for myself are engineered better than suspension bridges. I have in the past made do with a heavy duty underwire full coverage Cacique bra. Go in & try everything on in your size (I always find that their band sizes are too small, so go up a band size or two), in full coverage. You might find something that works until you can fit in the smaller sports bra manufacturer's offerings. Also, twice a year they do a buy 2 get 2 free sale, which puts their prices within reason. - 10/9/2012 6:24:55 PM

I must be built weird or something. I wear a 36b, but according to these instructions, I have a a cup size of zero (40" bust and a 36+3+1=40" band)

??!?!?? - 10/9/2012 4:48:09 PM

For those in the UK or who can order from the UK, I use a company that specifically caters for larger-breasted women (cup size D-K), in both clothing and (sports) bras. They are called Bravissimo and their clothing brand is called Pepperberry. They supply some of their own bras and also stock other brands that cater for large busts. I use an underwired, non 'compression' bra from a brand called Freya. It keeps my breasts in place without feeling too tight, even for high-impact sports, and they last a long time too.

It is definitely worth the investment to get a good bra. I see so many women at the gym with bulges coming out of their bras, or their breasts juggling about - it must be painful.

Bravissimo don't go by standard sizes, or measure you with a measuring tape. They go by look (and if you don't mind, feel) and recommend bras that way. I am not sure if the measurements supplied in the article work; my advice would be to just try out lots of brands/styles/siz
es and find one that you feel comfortable in... Good luck - 10/9/2012 11:37:00 AM

This all sounds easy enough but when it actually comes down to finding the right fit, it's not. Especially when you are large like I am it's almost impossible to find the right size bra.

Here are some helpful sites.
For a "normal" size woman - http://www.herroo
m.com/bra-fit
ting-advice,9
01,30.html -
(*Please Note: This bra measuring method becomes very unreliable at bra sizes 38D and larger. ) ...so then go to:

For plus size women go to - http://www.herroo
m.com/full-fi
gure-bra-cup-
sizing,905,30.html


- 10/9/2012 7:27:56 AM

I found the best New Balance sports bras at Marshals!! Half the retail price, tried them on in store, did some jump jacks in all of them. Didn't measure myself before hand, just used common sense and ended up purchasing 3 and couldn't be happier. - 10/9/2012 6:23:29 AM

TBABY - I have the same problem. I've never found a sports bra really. I may have seen a couple online but the price & the likelihood they would not even fit after ordering & waiting for them to be shipped discouraged me from ordering.

I wear a 42H bra from Cacique; I say "wear" because by measurements I'd actually be about an O cup, which does not exist anywhere I have ever seen including online. The bras I have are the best I could find, in ones I could try on in person.

That said, here's what I do for exercise: I wear a comfortable, non-chafing underwire bra (42H). Over top of it I wear a soft cup/no underwire bra that is a couple of sizes too small, I think 40 F? I can't remember. It's I think one band size and one or two cup sizes smaller than my "correct" bra I wear daily. This basically creates an encapsulation/com
pression situation out of 2 bras.

TRY STUFF ON to find the right combination for you! Start with a comfy bra that you could wear anyway and doesn't pinch or chafe you. Wear that to the store, and try on some softcup/non underwire bras in a range from 1 band size/1 cup size, 2 band size/1 cup size, 1 band size/2 cup size, and 2 band size/2 cup size too small. In addition to their recommendations to jump up and down and so forth, be sure that the smaller band size is not so small that it's cutting into your skin! When you try them on, take a deep deep breath. If the band cuts or you can't breathe in all the way, it's too small. It should be snug, but you want the pressure on your breasts, not your ribcage. So you might end up with say, your normal band size but 2 cup sizes smaller working best, or something like that.

I hope this helps! It's the only thing I've found to work at all. I still do have some bounce if I literally jump up and down, but I can run and do the elliptical and all that stuff without major pain or bouncing. - 9/20/2012 3:02:59 PM