Whether you want to PB in your next marathon, stay active with your weekend crew, or completely revamp your lifestyle, my advice to you will be the same: Train smart and trust yourself! After spending four years as an athletic trainer and wellness coach for competitive runners, completing a degree in human movement and training for my own marathon events, this piece of advice has helped many people enjoy a sustainable and active lifestyle. This advice may sound more like common sense but, trust me, many of us tend to doubt ourselves more than we should. It is something that I do myself and something that I see all the time in our store. At FitFirst, we want you to feel confident in your decisions and advocate for the products that you deserve. In this post, I hope to show you what I mean by talking about what we learned in last week’s Bra Night!
Nowadays, there is an infinite amount of information at our fingertips. With the touch of a screen and less than ten minutes of free time, you can read about dozens of COMPLETELY DIFFERENT products promised to solve ONE problem. While a small fraction of these solutions may work, most won’t. To feel confident that you are finding the best product to meet your needs, a robust foundation of self-trust is paramount. That is why, for this year’s bra night, we wanted to arm everyone who came with the knowledge to make informed decisions for their bodies. Bra technology has evolved massively in the past few years, and we decided that it was about time to give an update! So, without any further ado, here is a recap of what we learned:
Lesson 1: The hidden mile
The latest research indicates that unsupported breast movement can shorten a woman's running stride by 4 centimeters. Throughout a marathon, this would add to running an extra mile (or 1.5 km)!
If you want to shave time in your next race, then you may want to ensure your bra gives 360 degrees of support.
Lesson 2: The right bra can relieve pain
While bras will not make the weight of your breasts disappear, the strap style affects how their load is carried on your body. For example, thick strap styles that form a line over your spine can help with chest pain but may contribute to upper back or neck discomfort. So, if you are prone to neck pain, you may want to go for a bra like the Brooks DARE Scoop-back. On the other hand, women who are more concerned with breast soreness may want to consider something like the DARE Cross-back or DARE Racer-back.
Lesson 3: Your current bra is probably the wrong size.
Did you know that 70-85% of women are probably wearing the wrong bra size? An improperly fitted bra may not only feel uncomfortable, but it may contribute to irreversible degeneration of the breast’s supporting structures. The most common mistake women make is to wear the under-band too loose and the cup size too small. Our breasts do not have any muscles to hold them up. This means that the skin and other elastic structures (ie. Coopers Ligaments) are left to do most of the work. Since these structures are elastic, they will stop bouncing back if stretched for too long.
So, there you have it! This bra night was one for the books. Hopefully, this article gave all of you who didn’t attend a glimpse into what we learned. While a lot of information was covered, you don’t
need to overthink anything too much. If you feel back or breast soreness, it may be time for a new bra; If you haven't been measured in a while, it may be time to book a fitting; And, if you are happy with what you have, keep rocking it!