She has also had 16 wellness books published by major publishers including the bestselling Easy GI Diet, The Macro Method, Quit Alcohol (For a Month) and Eat 5. Her books have sold over one million copies.
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You probably know that a good sports bra is essential to protect your breasts as you exercise – but a sports bra has more benefits than that. Did you know that a good sports bra might help you run faster, exercise for longer and lower your risk of injury?
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This post was first published in October 2020 and updated in August 2024.
The Main Benefit of a Good Sports Bra
The number one benefit of a good sports bra is that it supports the breasts during exercise.
As you work out, the breasts move a lot.
In fact, with every step you run, the breasts move in a figure of eight motion, and if you’re larger busted, they could sway as much as 21cm away from their normal position.
Weirdly, left breasts move more than right ones (don’t ask me why), which is why encapsulated sports bras, where each breast is contained in its own cup, give more support than compression types, which hold the breasts in place by squashing them.
This movement potentially leads to stretching of the Cooper’s Ligament that supports the breasts (and that makes perkiness a thing of the past).
It also increases the risk of breast pain, especially if you’re pre-menstrual, pregnant or post-menopausal when the breasts can become more tender.
Wearing a sports bra, though, has been shown to reduce breast movement by as much as 56 per cent.
5 Less Well-Know Reasons to Wear a Sports Bra
That’s the number one benefit of wearing a sports bra – and probably NOT news to you, but what you might not realise is that stopping the movement of the breasts then has a number of knock-on effects that mean protecting the shape and health of your breasts isn’t the only sports bra benefit out there.
1. It Lowers Your Risk of Pain and Injury
That’s the finding of research from the UK’s University of Portsmouth.
The team there are basically the queens of all things to do with boobs and exercise, and they found that if runners’ breasts aren’t supported, their body weight sways to the side as their breasts move throughout the run.
Researcher Jenny White found this interferes with how you stride, causing you to land more heavily than normal.
The result is a big fat impact shock through your knees and back with every step, which can increase the risk of injury and pain. Support your breasts correctly, and this is less likely to happen.
2. You Might Run Faster
How effectively you swing your arms is one of the key things that determines running speed. When experts at Breast Research Australia at the University of Wollongong measured how people ran, they found that if the breasts move too much, women tend to reduce their arm swing to compensate, which naturally slows them down.
Another study at the University of Portsmouth found that women also shorten their stride by as much as four centimetres, meaning you need to take more steps to cover the same distance.
That shorter stride added about a mile to the distance run in the average marathon – depending how fast you run, swapping from a bad to a good sports bra could theoretically knock a good 10 minutes off your marathon time.
Support your breasts with a good sports bra, and you, therefore might run faster.
3. You Won’t Get as Tired
Obviously, taking more steps will lead to greater fatigue, but if you’re wearing a good sports bra, you reduce the effort from your pectoral muscle under the chest by 55 percent. This can help conserve energy.
Good breast support may also prevent slouching forward, which causes you to use more energy while you run than standing with a more upright form. It also limits how efficiently you breathe; muscles need oxygen to work effectively, so you might find yourself getting more tired.
This isn’t the only reason why you might get tired when you run, so, if this is one of your concerns, check out our guide to stopping runner’s fatigue next.
4. It Might Make You More Likely to Workout
All of the above sports bra benefits are going to boost your performance, which might make you keener to work – but what if you’re not quite at the stage of entering races or worrying about times?
Well, 17 per cent of women say the movement of their boobs during exercise is one of the reasons why they don’t work out – either because of discomfort or because it draws attention to them that they don’t really want.
In another study, 25 per cent of women said they’d cut a workout short because of breast pain.
A good sports bra that holds everything in place reduces movement and pain potentially making it more likely you’ll do your workout – or stick at it for longer.
5. It Makes Horses Happy
Potentially a bit niche but, forty per cent of female riders experience breast pain while riding horses – yet only 19 per cent of large-breasted riders and 14 per cent of smaller-breasted women actually wear a specialist sports bra when riding.
Interestingly, not only will you suffer fewer aches by making the swap, your horse will be happier.
If a rider’s posture is tense (which it can be if you’re trying to avoid breast bounce), the horse picks up on this, and this increases their heart rate and stress level, say researchers at the University of Portsmouth.
Good Sports Bras to Try
Of all the sports bras I’ve tried, three are particularly impressive.
I really like the Panache Sports Bras as they go on easily and keep everything firmly in place.
The Shock Absorber Bra has great support, but, as I found out to my cost one day, you’ve got to make sure it’s done up correctly, or you can end up in trouble as the back hooks can come undone.
My absolute favourite though is the Enlite bra by Lululemon. It ticks all the boxes to me – it’s easy to put on, flattering and keeps everything in place. Read my full review on that here.
As for horse riding, the first two on my list above score highly when riders recommend bras for horse riding. However, you might also want to look at a specialist equestrian sports bra, as these also help work with the body to ensure correct posture, which is important when riding.
Who is The Wellness Nerd?
My name is Helen Foster, and I’m a health journalist and wellness author. Publications I’ve written for include Women’s Health, Reader’s Digest, Body and Soul, Good Health at the Daily Mail, and more. I have also written 16 books on health and nutrition.
