It is absolutely essential for women to get themselves fitted for a bra that suits them best and this isn’t just limited to your every day lingerie pieces. Choosing the right sports bra is absolutely essential and just like wearing a wrongly fitted bra, this too can cause a whole lot of damage—back ache, breast pain and soft tissue damage, to name a few. Depending on their shape, size, and activity level, women need find the perfect fit that makes them feel comfortable while providing the much required support they need while working out. Avoid the discomfort and invest in the right sports bra—here’s the best way to find your match.
STEP 1: Define your activity level
The amount of support you require depends on the level of activity you’re doing—this is divided into low impact (walking and yoga), medium impact (jogging and cycling), and high impact (running and aerobics).
STEP 2: Understand your support system
Just like regular bras, sports bras too have different styles which entail different purposes. Encapsulation sports bras are for low impact activities and have individual cups surrounding each breast separately. Compression sports bras compress the breasts to the chest walls, and prevent them from excess movement, making them perfect for low to medium impact activities. Compression + encapsulation sports majorly provide support, rather than compression or encapsulation and are good for high impact activities.
STEP 3: Find your size
Wearing the right size bra can make a huge difference to how you feel when working out. When picking out your size, ensure that you measure around your ribcage, directly under your breasts—don’t fit it too tight. Your corresponding rib cage size should match with a band size, which will be your size for that particular brand. Next, measure around the fullest part of your breasts and round it off to the nearest inch. The difference between your rib cage and your bust size, will define your cup size.
Tips to keep in mind:
– Make sure the fabric or the seams don’t chafe your skin, especially the straps on your shoulders or around the armholes.
– Test the bra by spot-jumping or jogging in place. Your breasts need to feel supported when doing so.
– Raise your arms while trying out the bra and if the band rides up, it may be too big for you.
– Ensure that your breasts sit in the centre of the cups—there shouldn’t be any wrinkles in the fabric (indicating that it’s too big) or an overspill (which means the bra may be too small).
Nike’s latest campaign has a singular mission—to unlock the power of sport for women in India. ‘Make The World Listen’ encourages women to express themselves with confidence, through movement and sport, without fear of judgment. One way of doing this is to encourage women to embrace the sports bra for its practicality, and not succumb to what the world thinks about it.
It’s time to break the barriers, get loud, play loud and get moving. For five weeks in Mumbai, Nike is providing women with a complimentary access to a variety of sports and fitness activities, across over 13 locations across the city. Learn from the best trainers, coaches and athletes at Nike Training Club (NTC) and Nike Run Club (NRC) sessions. In addition, Nike is also offering sports bra fitting services for women to find their perfect fit. Move to a positive change and Make The World Listen.
For more details and to join the movement, visit nike.com/Mumbai.
Images via Pexels.
