Abbey Rhodes

Why teens sports bras are important…

Our girls these days are more athletic and involved than ever. Softball, basketball, gymnastics, track, soccer, lacrosse, dance, cheer, etc.

And it’s not just High School age teens putting on their team uniforms, middle school girls are just as active. And all that adds up to millions of girls jumping, running, sliding, sprinting, and generally being awesome!

It doesn’t matter if these girls are wearing shin guards, knee pads, mouth guards, or helmets. There’s one piece of equipment that is universal for athletic female teens: Sports Bras!

A good teen sports bra will….

• Help protect the developing breast tissue.

• Help reduce the tenderness that girls experience when their breasts are growing.

• And most importantly, it will help improve and enhance a young woman’s performance because she will be able to focus on the game and not worry about excessive bounce/movement.

Here are some specifics to remember when shopping with your teenager for a good sports bra.

• ask your coaches/athletic director if there is any school policy regarding sports bras. For example, colors, brand names.

• Consider your uniform. Find a sports bra that will perform well and work with your uniform. Try to find a bra that is unnoticeable.

• Once you find a sports bra you love, buy several of them. You’ll need a couple for practices and one for game day. It’s a good idea to wear the same type/brand of sports bra in practice that you’ll be playing in so you can get used to it.

• Look for a sports bra with adjustable shoulder straps. A teenage girl’s body is usually smaller frame. Adjustable straps will ensure supportive cups.

• Measure, Measure, Measure!

The brand synonymous with performance athletic wear is underamour. They bring the same features to women’s sports bras, tanks, compression shorts and more. High tech fabrics wick moisture, so you stay cool and dry.

Champion is another name brand that has been around forever. This bra will be perfect for high impact activities of your teen’s breast size is an A or B cup. This bra is considered a low impact bra and won’t completely stop the bounce and will work great for a majority of high school girls.

Believe it or not, lots of men wear sports bras! No!! Not because they’re ‘weird’ but because they have a condition called ‘Gynocomastia’ that causes excess breast tissue in men. I didn’t realize how common this condition was. They also wear compression wraps, and activewear shirts. A growing number of guys are looking for bust support and by golly they’re going to find it!

A sports bra for men is no different than wearing an ankle brace if you have weak ankles or a girdle if you have a hernia. Unfortunately for men, society sees a bra as solely belonging on the woman’s side of the closet, just like a tie belongs on the mans. These men find themselves in a ‘catch 22’ where they deal with the embarrassment of having large breasts, and yet can’t wear a bra to support and minimize their breasts because of the societal stigma of being a man who wears a bra. What a hopeless position!

A man’s sports bra should do 4 things….

1) Reduce Movement & Bounce

2) Minimize Size

3) Protect Skin and Nipples

4) Be inconspicuous

When exercising (whether we’re male or female) we don’t like a lot of bounce going on in the boob area. It’s distracting, sometimes painful, and can slow us down. So it’s important that a sports bra for men compress the chest tissue to reduce movement. This compression will also minimize the size of the breast by pressing the tissue flat against the skin.

Most women (myself included) don’t like excessive compression when it comes to our sports bras. This is because I don’t like a smashed pancake uniboob look while I exercise. I still want my curves, I just don’t want them bouncing everywhere. A woman’s sports bra is different from a man’s sports bra because the desired outcomes are different.

Most men desire a flat, firm look on their chest. So compression is a great thing when it comes to a sports bra for men. Compression tanks do a great job doubling as a sports bra. You can wear them underneath a t-shirt or alone. A compression tank is basically just a really really tight top that holds everything in place. FYI: Women have been wearing compression clothes forever, we just refer to them shapewear. And they work really really well.

A chest binder is basically a strip of cloth that wraps around your chest and then is fastened with either velcro or hooks. Some people like to use ACE bandages to create a chest binder. One of the downsides to ace bandages is that it can be difficult to wrap yourself without help from someone else.
“Don’t be ashamed of the fact that you wear a bra if you need to! After all, a bra is made to support breast, what does it matter if those breast are on a man or a woman?”

Ahhh, good ol’ Satin Underwire Bras. These should be a staple in any woman’s lingerie drawer, but especially among the big busted sisterhood.

Why satin over cotton? Well, satin does a way better job at shaping and supporting then cotton does. Yes, cotton is lightweight and breathable, more so than satin. However, cotton will stretch and sag within hours, especially when trying to hold up something as heavy and substantial as our melons. So your best bet is to go with a satin underwire bra.

There’s the price vs quality to consider when purchasing these bras. These bras can vary in price from $15 to $300! Price reflect the quality of the bra in terms of comfort, support, and longevity.

Decide what your priorities are. For me, at this point in my life, quality, comfort, and fit justify spending more. However, there was a time in my life when I literally could only afford a $25 bra, so I get it. We’re all just doing the best we can. I hope this provided some helpful information and direction regarding bra shopping.