Too Much Bounce

Words cannot describe how much I love the BBCA (the BBC syndicate here in the US, in case you’re not familiar with it). Not only do they have the greatest Sci-Fi Saturday lineup ever, but they also have a series called “BBCA Reveals,” which is a series of hour-long, investigative, documentary pieces.

There was one I watched last night entitled “My Big Breasts and Me,” a piece that follows three women who, “are defined by their naturally big breasts” and the challenges they face with cup sizes “at the other end of the alphabet.” I never thought I’d say this, but thank God I’m only an F. I don’t think I could handle having an H or K cup, like some of the women in the documentary. I’d probably topple over from the unbalanced weight.

Two of the women wanted to reduce their cup size, like I do. Through the documentary, I discovered that there are really only two ways of doing this. The first is exercising and the second is through breast reduction surgery. Since the surgery is a) painful, b) expensive and, c) painful, I think I’ll try exercising. Again. I tried this a few months ago, and all that shrank was my waist (not that I’m complaining). My Mutant Boobs grew instead of shrinking, which I still can’t figure out for the life of me. Part of the whole “mutant” thing, I suppose.

After watching the documentary though, I’m going to take a page out of the first woman’s book and talk to a trainer about things like lifting weights and building muscle so I can at least handle all the extra weight a little better. Before I do this though, I have to get a sports bra—a new one, anyway. I didn’t realize just how important keeping the Girls supported during a workout is, but after reading an article in Fitness magazine, I’m willing to shell out upwards of $60 for a sports bra that will keep my boobs from sagging prematurely.

According to biomechanist Joanna Scurr, Ph.D., from the University of Porsmouth in the UK, a good sports bra will spare the structures of a woman’s breast and, as a result, help defend against “droop.” The internal structure of breasts are ligaments that are stretched out in a, ‘web of springy coils that are built to rebound until jumping, genetics, and gravity catch up with them.” Exercising without support means that the wear on these springy ligament coils is worsened and the breasts sag faster.

Ergo my need to buy a new sports bra. Fast.

The article mentioned that, like with regular bras, the biggest mistake that women make in choosing a sports bra is that they pick one with a smaller cup size and a larger strap size.  When testers for Fitness were sent into specialty shops and meansured, they would up wearing bras with a two-inch smaller band size and a larger cup size.  Support in a sports bra comes from the straps, and the band.  If one of these is too big, or too small, then there will not be enough support when working out.  Shoulder straps are also important to take into consideration because that’s one of the three points that distributes weight.  Back clasps are also good to have in a sports bra because they are adjustable.  Since this is where 70% of the bra’s support system comes from, it’s important that the band fit correctly.

The best way to ensure that these three support points fit properly is to get fitted and try the bra on before you buy it.  This is true for any bra, really, but it’s especially important in a sports bra because, again, poor support results in stretchy ligaments and premature sag.

Guess a trip to the mall is in order before my next workout.

Here’s hoping I see some results this time.  I’ve got to do something for this back pain!