When did you last get measured for a bra? If it’s a while ago, you’re not alone. In fact, most of us are wearing the wrong size – and that includes our sports bras.
It’s really important that you wear a good quality sports bra when you’re exercising as it helps to reduce movement and prevent damage to your breast tissue. For your personal training sessions, your weekend netball game or your after-work HIIT class, a quality sports bra is essential.
So, we thought we’d give you some tips on how to measure yourself so that you choose the right one.
Step 1: Get ready
Put on some soft cup, non-padded underwear, grab a flexible tape measure and stand in front of a mirror.
Step 2: Check your band size
Measure underneath the very bottom of your bra all the way around your torso in inches. Make sure the tape is flat on your skin and not twisted. If your underband measurement is an odd number (e.g. 31, 33), round it up to the nearest even number (e.g. 32, 34) to get your band size.
Step 3: Measure your cup size
Place your tape measure over the fullest part of your chest (across the nipples) and make a note of how many inches it is. Once again, make sure the tape is snug against your skin but not too tight and not twisted.
Step 4: Calculate your bra size
Subtract your band size (step 2) from your cup size (step 3) to calculate your cup size in terms of A, B, C, D etc. Broadly speaking, for every inch difference, your cup increases by a cup size (0 inches difference = AA, 1 inch difference = A, 2 = B, 3 = C, 4 = D and so on). So, if your band size is 34 and your cup size is 38, you’re a D cup.
Step 5: Choose the right type of bra
Finally, make sure you go for the right sports bra depending on the kind of exercise you do. ‘Medium impact’ is ideal for yoga, pilates and cycling, choose ‘High impact’ for aerobics, HIIT and racquet sports and go for ‘Extra high impact’ if you do a lot of running.
Of course, size and fit will vary depending on which brand you choose but this should help you to get the right sports bra for your KBPT sessions and other workouts. Time to get measuring!
Take a look at the bra size calculator on the Marks & Spencer website.
https://www.marksandspencer.com/c/lingerie/be-inspired/bra-fitting-tool
