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12 of the best sports bras for runners with bigger busts, according to a RW editor with DD-cups
Say goodbye to bounce and hello to comfortable, chafe-free running
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Searching for a sports bra when you've got a big bust can be as difficult as deciding which running shoes you're going to purchase next. There's no shortage of sports bras on the market, but they can vary from compression to encapsulation style depending on a person's breast size.
If you’re a DD-cup +, you'll know that light- or medium-support bras simply don't cut it for high-impact exercise like running. The best sports bras for bigger busts tend to be a combination style, combining the qualities of encapsulation and compression into one.
But which bras are actually worth your buck, and aren't going to dig in and chafe over the longer miles? We've put a number of high-support bras through their paces (quite literally) to bring you our pick of the ones that are genuinely comfortable and eliminate bounce.
How should a sports bra fit?
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Maaree bras, says the most important factor when it comes to choosing a sports bra is making sure the underband is nice and snug.
'At least 80% of women are wearing the wrong size bra, and a lot of the time it’s down to the underband not being tight enough,' she says. Another issue is the cup size not being large enough.
With a high impact bra, you want to pay attention to the fabric, adds Thomas. 'You want the bra to have as little stretch as possible in the front, because if the fabric is allowed to stretch then your boobs are going to stretch.'
According to Thomas, the mistake a lot of women make is that they get measured 'that one time in their teens and that’s the size they’ll stick with for the rest of their life'. She suggests treating bra shopping like jean shopping: 'Go with a rough size for yourself, and don’t assume you’re the same size in every shop.'
How to measure your bra size at home
Get a tape measure and, with the inches side facing outwards, put the tape the whole way under your bust, making sure the tape is nice and straight the whole way round. ‘You want to pull it so it’s fairly snug,’ says Thomas.
This measurement is your band size. If you’re an odd number (e.g. 33), you'll want to go up to the next even number (e.g. 34).
Next, go around the middle of your bust with the tape measure – this time, don't go as tightly. 'It’s helpful if you’re wearing a bra too, so that everything is lifted into the position it should be,' says Thomas.
Now, take this second measurement and minus it from your underband measurement. If it’s a difference of 1, you’re an A cup; a difference of 2, a B cup; a difference of 3, a C cup, and so on.
With moulded cups, you'll tend to want to go a cup size down, says Thomas.
How we test sports bras for bigger busts
In order to test out these sports bras, we ran in them several times each of the course of several weeks. We took note of the level of support, how easy they were to get on, how flattering they were and how comfortable they were to wear — including over marathons and half-marathons. For reference, our primary tester is a 32DD.
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