My breasts have never been happier.
I’ve been running for 25 years, take a few due to injury. Of those years I have had larger than average breasts for 17. In my humble opinion this makes me an expert on running and sports bras for large-chested women. Let my trial and error be your guide.
There are many factors to consider when choosing your perfect match; workout intensity, breast size, chaffing, breathability, shoulder irritation due to straps, color, amount of stretch, etc. I’m writing this post for the larger-chested woman who partakes in high-impact exercise regularly. You want a bra that encapsulates each breast separately. This offers more support and suppresses the wretched “uni-boob-bounce” that we all know and hate. Another common mistake (I’m assuming, I’ve made it several times!) is choosing a bra that is too tight thinking that it will keep the girls in place. This hinders your ability to breathe deeply and you just end up putting in less effort. I have literally felt claustrophobic in my sports bra. You want to be winded because you worked your butt off, not because your bra is asphyxiating you!
I have test driven every major brand of sports bra for larger chests and the gold medal goes to:
Reasons I love this bra:
1. Separate breast encapsulation = no major bounce.
2. Wide NON racerback straps don’t dig into my traps. This is crucial for me because for some reason I have some pretty boss traps for my size. 
3. Straps that are adjustable at the front. The velcro is surprisingly strong and it’s a much better option over the little metal clasps that slide and inevitably slice your flesh open. You will have to adjust them a bit but once you find the right spot the straps will not move.
4. The band around your circumference is wide and comfortable and the clasps in the back are nicely spaced to ensure you can adjust it with the ebb and flow of your fitness. This is especially important if you bloat horribly (I do!) or tend to slightly fluctuate in weight depending on your stages of training.
5. Sizing. My bra size of 34D translates exactly to the Fiona. Many expensive bras come in S-M-L-XL and that does not cut it for a serious large-breasted athlete.
6. PRICE. Regularly $46 this bra can also be found on Amazon and other online retailers for as little as $26. Small price to pay for better workouts and in my case, a body that isn’t scratched up and chafed.
It’s up to you to make sure you are wearing the proper size and that the straps are adjusted properly. Sizing is not difficult but anyone at a sporting store’s retail section should be able to help you.
There are a bizillion honorable mention bras that do the trick and naming them would take all day. There is an expensive bra that you should stay away from in my opinion. For the price it simply does not perform. I got very excited about Nike’s high-support “Victory Adjust X-Back” and snatched up several at full price. At $55 I assumed they would be magical despite only coming in S-M-L-XL. I tried on the medium, which fit well at the store. The bra is very thin, which should have been a warning sign for me, but I figured Nike might have some new-fangled technology. Even on short runs the metal adjusters ALL find a way of eating into my flesh leaving me chafed and even scratched. The band around my midsection was almost “scratchy” leaving me red for days. I switched to my old standby bras thinking I just had to “break in the skin” like breaking in a new pair of shoes. I returned to the Nike bra a few months later and despite using body glide I still had problems, the straps devoured my traps and the skin around the fasteners and on top of all this, the support was in no way superior. AND it was too late to return the unused ones. Anyone need some mediocre bras? I checked online and found a lot of negative reviews for the bra and even saw they slashed the price online a few months ago. When I checked on it today it was back to normal price and the average rating has gone up by a star and a half – hmmmmmmmm. Something is rotten in Denmark.
But the good news is after trying a hundred bras I found my true love! I would like to thank my sister Sara for telling me to try it out.
Tags: Brooks, diet, exercise, gear, health, healthy, heel strike, orthodics, picture, pronation, running, Saucony
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