Now as a hot blooded male, you might think that the sight of bouncing breasts is not something to be discouraged, but I know for women not wearing a sports bra whilst exercising it can lead to breast pain, tension in the upper back and neck and breaking down of the ligaments that support the breasts. There are no muscles in the breast and therefore breast bounce is inevitable when exercising, leading to a situation where it is estimated that around 60% of women experience breast pain while exercising which puts many women off exercise and sports. If you are exercising you wear the appropriate footwear and clothes, surely this has to include an appropriate bra.

Some smaller breasted women may feel that they do not need to wear a sports bra but research has shown that it is just as important for smaller breasted women to support their breast as those with larger boobs.

Sports  bras work by compressing the bust close to the rib cage providing maximum support and a minimum of movement. They should also ideally provide complete coverage, especially important for those with larger boobs, so forget the idea of trying to find one that looks glamorous. If you want it to do the job it needs to be high cut and full in the cup, it won't do the job unless it's very high cut and full in the cup.

Sports bras come in a variety of designs and although normally soft cup (i.e. Non wired) there are now some underwired sports bras on the market including an underwired sports bra from Freya Active.  

It is worth bearing in mind that if you do opt for an underwired sports bra it is not recommended for prolonged or repetitive forms of exercise as occasionally they can rub and cause severe discomfort. It is also important that you are properly fitted with an underwired sport bra to reduce the likelihood of rubbing and discomfort in the first instance.

Sports bras are designed to offer differing degrees of support depending on the level of activity you are going to engage in. These are generally low impact (level 1), medium impact (level 2), high impact (level 3) and extreme (Level 4). Manufacturers may categorise their bras differently so it always important to check what the types of activity a particular bra may be suitable for. Examples of this are the Royce High Impact Sports Bra which is a level 4 bra or the Naturana Medium Impact Sports Bra which would be classed a level 3 bra.

So having said that manufacturers vary in how they describe their bras as a general rule of thumb the four categories can be broken down as follows; Low impact sport bras are suitable for activities such as yoga and  general gym wear. Medium impact sports bras are suitable for fast walking and cycling, high impact bras would be needed for sports such as tennis, step aerobics and ball games, with the extreme or level 4 bras used for running, horse riding and other high impact sports. 

One of the properites that is important in a sports bra is it's ability to wick, that is to absorb moisture and draw it away from the skin, leaving you comfortable and dry. That is one reason why a sports bra is preferable to a normal bra even for low impact activity.  There are a number of high tech fibres that are used in sport bras because of their ability to draw moisture away from the skin, including Tactel and Coolmax, so it is worth checking any sports bra out to see if it has similar properties.

So if you are involved in any sport or exercise make sure you get yourself the right sports bra for your level of activity. Make sure it fits and is comfortable and finally have fun in the knowledge that everything will stay exactly where it should.