Let's Talk about Your Sports Bras, Girls!

Community & Events Female athletes
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After listening to @Prof interesting podcast interview with Ellie Maybury , I realized I must not be the only one struggling to find well fitting sports bras.

Check out Ellie’s amazing blog post above and make sure to listen to the podcast. Great points all around but let’s reel it back to bra fit.

I remembered reading an article how the tightness of a bra’ underband can affect breathing, and ultimately our exercise efficiency. Here’s the article from WP and the study looking at how tightness of the underband relates to respiratory function and mechanical respiratory work. Unsurprisingly, loosening tightness of your underband (if possible), naturally allows you to breath deeper, slower breaths and improve running economy. Not only is a looser underband more comfortable, it can enhance your performance!! Good news, right?!

That’s all fine, but what about the overall support then? I’ve been told by a breast surgeon that the underband needs to be quite tight to properly support the breast tissue higher up. Intuitively I would rather have loser underband than feel like my rib cage is a prisoner, but a doc must be right?!

This brings me to my next point, which is training data quality. Chest strap is still the best accessible Gold Standard measurement tool for heart rate on the go. When I have a very tight bra and I’m stuffing my HR strap underneath the underband, it’s not the most comfy set-up, I’ll be honest, I have been lucky and never had much of an issue with chafing, but know many are not as lucky. Also to get a good data from chest strap, it needs to be nice and snug against the chest. Unfortunately optical HR is not yet quite there to provide good quality HR reading, especially in higher than zone 1 intensities.

Last year, Garmin created a women-specific chest strap which straps on to the underband. My immediate thought was - what if the bra is not tight enough to allow proper reading of your HR? ! I have not heard anyone use this kind of chest strap. If you have, let me know.

It seems we are still stuck in between tight chest strap&bra combo, non-optimal hr data and diminished performance.

Does anyone have good experiences with one of those Armband HRM like Coros or Scoche or Polar Verity?

@Prof thoughts about the dilemma many women face in choosing between ideal bra for performance (looser band) , breast support, and good quality hr data? Should we be working on our breathing mechanics with a device like Breath Way Better to optimize our breathing for performance to mitigate the negative effect of our tight bras?

Let’s start the conversation ladies :smiley:

MJ

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I love this question - as Marjaana has just recommended I use a chest strap for HR! But also have needed to invest in a very good sports bra due to breast pain while running. It is the Brooks Dare Scoopback RunHowever, I have another one, the Brooks Drive Interlace, which has a band so tight it feels more restrictive on my breathing. After reading your post, I now believe my intuition ad will avoid wearing this one to run - stick with it for strength training maybe (as it cost a fortune :sweat_smile:)
But as for chest straps, I have not used one so have nothing to offer, but would love to hear from women who have successfully used one a) without interference from the sports bra and b) that is compatible with a Garmin Forerunner.
Oh yes and I do have the Polar Verity armband. It seems overall fairly similar to my Garmin Forerunner235 Music, but quicker to respond with a slightly higher and lower HR range (by a few bpm only). I wonder if this is just as good as a chest strap.
It is so convenient to just rely on the Garmin because you can keep checking your HR thru the workout without taking out your phone to check the Polar app. Am i missing something- can you sync the Polar to your Garmin so it overrides it and displays that data in teal time while you are doing the workout?

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Hey,

Yes I would definitely save the pricy one for strength workout.

I just bought a new lululemon one that has a zipper in front and it rubbed my sternum sore. I love the fit of the bra but the rub - not so much so it’s now reserved to strength workouts only.

I’ve also read Polar arm strap Verity is not a bad option. i think Rob mentioned in the other post that you can connect it with your garmin watch. I believe you can just look for a new sensor and then it will pop up in your screen.

The problem with optical is that I often see is that athletes complain that their intensity zones don’t feel right. They can’t “possibly” go as slow as the hr unit or athletica is asking them to. The problem is not them, (or the training program) it’s the faulty hr. Often optical are fine under 100b even 120- but anything over that, they can’t keep up and blend the signal with cadence so suddenly your hr is at tempo or threshold intensity and you feel like you’re barely running.

If you are reading this and really hate to stuff that chest strap underneath your already tight bra strap… I hate to break it to you, but you’re best going bra shopping.
Someone who’s worn a chest strap since the early days of really clunky Polar HR watches in early 90s… you get used to it. And when you get to take it off after a successful training session, it kinda becomes part of the routine- well done, let’s celebrate, off this strap thing goes!!

PS . Remember to moisten the sensors for better connection. IYKYK :crazy_face:

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Then take a look at

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has anyone tried the garmin one that clips to the bra? My HRM has been unstable recently - so I think I need to buy a new one…debating which one to get. I haven’t had one that has lasted more than 2 years…

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I have not tried it and my only Reservation is the band tightness. Is it tight enough to actually get a good signal…?

@cmaloney two years is pretty good in our type of use, training partner. :smiley:

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never heard of this one…

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Hi @Marjaana, great topic!

When it comes to bras, I’m pretty flexible—I usually go with ones from Gymshark. I also found an interesting “swimming bra” at Decathlon that I use for triathlons. It’s made of swimsuit material, has no padding, but features a sports bra cut.

I’m more interested in the heart rate monitor topic you brought up. I’m currently searching for one and am torn between a few options:

  • Garmin Dual PRO: Seems like the gold standard.
  • Garmin Fit: Designed for our bras—sounds intriguing, but is it actually good?
  • Polar Verity Sense: It has great reviews, but I’m wondering if the readings are truly accurate.

If anyone has any feedback, I’d be really curious to hear it!

Thanks! :blush:

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