A Girl's Best Friend

A good sports bra is hard to find.  For years I wore two sports bras at once, because one never did the trick, and even that still wasn't great. I assumed that since I was busty I was just not built for running/jumping/etc., and that definitely had an impact on how much (or little) I exercised.  Even when I did work out, I certainly didn't push myself to the limit because I was too self-conscious.  However, a while ago a found the best sports bra.



Behold:


(www.championusa.com)

             the Powerback Underwire Sports Bra by Champion!

Pros:

1. Minimized Bouncing: The construction of this bra is such that bouncing is contained in all directions.

2. Adjustable Straps: Hooray!

3. Price: $40 each (which is a lot better than many comparable bras), but there are often Buy 1 Get 1 Half-Off sales.

4. Lift and Separation: I look and feel good when I wear this bra. No one wants a uniboob.

5. Solid Construction: I’ve had some of my bras for over a year, and I wear and wash them a lot, but they haven’t lost any of their integrity. The fabric is nice.

6. Underwire: I’ve never felt any discomfort from the underwires, and they aren’t coming out at all.

 

Cons:

 

1. Difficult to Don: The racerback closes with 3 hook and eye closures. You have to have some flexibility in your arms/shoulders in order to get the bra closed. (I have come close, but never had to resort to asking the poor soul at the locker next to mine to strap me in.)

2. Sizing: They run true to size, but Champion should definitely carry these bras in sizes larger than DD!

 

The pros totally outweigh the cons (unless, of course, you can't clasp the bra by yourself).  Champion has never given me anything for free (although I wouldn't mind that!) and we have no relationship.  I just wanted to put this out there for girls like me whose lack of a good sports bra is holding them back.

 

 

P.S. I am sorry about the formatting. I copied and pasted and something happened, but I don't know how to fix it. You'd think an engineer would be good with technology. Not so- I'm pretty much a technophobe.  I will try to be better.

What Not to Wear

I can pretty much run a 5k in anything. But once I started increasing my mileage, I really started to understand why I need running gear. Here are some of the lessons I learned:

1. Don't run in Soffe shorts. You know, those little cheerleading shorts... I don't even know why I own these. [Actually, I do. I stole one pair from my sister and found the other on sale for $3.99. What can I say, I'm frugal.] The obvious downfall of these shorts is that they are made for little teenage cheerleaders. I like to wear mine pretty loose so as to not look like I am trying to be 16 again, and so my butt cheeks stay appropriately covered, and this is what poses the not-so-obvious downfall of running in the Soffe shorts. The seams in these shorts are actually pretty large. These seams rub against my thighs, which is fine on shorter runs, but very bad for longer runs. Ouchie.

2. This second one also stems from my frugality. The free t-shirts you get for participating in various events definitely are not the best to run in. I acquired most of mine in college, and some of those suckers are really thick! They do not breathe and they make me overheat even on low-mileage runs.

3. Victorias Secrect sports bra. I tried on a bunch of their VSX line of sports bras about a year ago, and purchased one. I guess no one really liked that sports bra since I can't even find a picture of it online.  There are several reasons why I hate this bra:

• Breathing is difficult. This one is half my fault. I bought a 34 and should have gotten a 36. I knew the 34 was tight when I tried it on, but I expected it to stretch out over time like most bras do. So far, there has been no stretching (although I've only worn it about 5 times since I hate it so much). I guess the stitching on the band is super strong. This bra just isn't very elastic at all, which you would think would be a good thing to eliminate any bouncing. However, it really defeats the purpose if you can't breathe.
• The straps constantly fall down. Whoever designed this bra must not have been thinking straight. And I obviously wasn't thinking straight when I bought it either. There is a reason that most sports bras are some form of the racerback design.

So basically I can't even run one mile in this bra without the straps falling down and not being able to breathe due to a band that is too tight and doesn't stretch. Put this bra together with the free t-shirts and the Soffe shorts and I might as well not even put my sneakers on.

Stay tuned for a later post on my favortie piece of running gear! (HINT: It is the most fabulous sports bra ever!)