exercise double D painful

January 6, 2014 12:29 PM

For a friend: She has double d boobs and any exercise involving jumping is painful. Even if she wears 2 sports bra's to keep the ladies in check. She is in the US. What should she get so she can do insanity without too much pain?
posted by bleucube to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (20 answers total)

Enell makes great sports bras for folks with large breasts.
posted by crankylex at 12:31 PM on January 6, 2014 [6 favorites]

I'm a 32F and I have had great success with Shock Absorber bras. However, IME, the size of your normal everyday bra will have little to no bearing on the size of your Shock Absorber sports bra. There are also a few models that are impossible to fasten by yourself despite having many yoga contortiony skills. If she can try them on in person somewhere that would be the best bet.
posted by elizardbits at 12:36 PM on January 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

Yes, Enell. This is the one that I wore at a DD while breastfeeding.
posted by Empidonax at 12:36 PM on January 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

Yep, Enell. They're tough to get on, but they absolutely do the job. Read their fit guide and measure properly to get the right size.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:38 PM on January 6, 2014

34FF here - your friend needs a PROPERLY-SIZED (cannot stress this enough) Enell or the Shock Absorber "Run" bra (the one with a clasp up by the neck in addition to the usual back clasp). "Properly-sized" means it may feel slightly uncomfortable at first (not so much that your friend can't BREATHE, but it ain't gonna be cushy and delightful, either).

I have worn both of these bras while jumping on giant trampolines at a SkyZone-style indoor trampoline park; both of them kept the girls (or, in my case, THE GROWN-ASS WOMEN) firmly in check. Now THAT'S support.
posted by julthumbscrew at 12:41 PM on January 6, 2014 [4 favorites]

YES, the Ultimate Run one is fantastic, it's really like extra hands just holding them up for you in a non creepy way.

Also this one is the un-fastenable one.
posted by elizardbits at 12:51 PM on January 6, 2014

your friend needs a PROPERLY-SIZED (cannot stress this enough) Enell or the Shock Absorber "Run" bra

Agreed, and I'll plug /r/abrathatfits as something for her to check out for more information on this, if she hasn't before. There's a good chance she needs to downsize her band for more support. The unsized elastic sports bras aren't great for supporting larger sizes (note: cup size depends on band size, so not all DD's are very large at all, and she'll need to increase the cup size if she decreases the band, but the people at /r/abrathatfits can tell her all about that).
posted by randomnity at 12:52 PM on January 6, 2014 [5 favorites]

She does not have DDs, if they are objectively large breasts. She has been sized incorrectly. (a) cup size without band size is meaningless and (b) "DD" represents a 5 inch difference between underbust and bust measurements. These are properly fitted DDs [nsfw].

Have her measure according to the Reddit A Bra That Fits guide. She's probably closer to the FF-HH range.

Panache Sport is good, as is the Freya Active. Both of these are available from US stores, but will be in UK sizes since they're UK manufacturers.
posted by melissasaurus at 12:53 PM on January 6, 2014 [8 favorites]

First, very seriously, a real bra fitting. Not at a Victoria's Secret, or JC Penney- ONLY at a specialty bra shop or at a place like Nordstrom which carries a giant range of sizes especially in small band/large cups. If she hasn't done this I would bet you $20 she's wearing the wrong size, especially if she's relatively thin or petite.

Then- an Enell will work. They're kind of a pain in the ass to put on, though. This 32G likes the Wacoal and Panache sports bras even for high-intensity stuff. I used to only be able to use the Enell when I was wearing a too-large band, though.
posted by charmedimsure at 12:54 PM on January 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

I have H cup boobs and I ADORE the Panache sports bras. Not only do they hold things in place, but they actually provide separation! Most sports bras (especially Enell, sadly) are infamous for causing uniboob but not the Panache sports bra!
posted by joan_holloway at 12:57 PM on January 6, 2014

Moving Comfort makes great sports bras for larger busted women. I wore one of their bras when I played roller derby, and it kept my huge boobs from moving. At all.
posted by mollymayhem at 12:58 PM on January 6, 2014

Nthing Enell and Moving Comfort. Traditional stretchy over-the-head sports bras will not be her friend; high-support workout bras are relatively non-stretchy and will have some sort of clasp/hook closure.
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:14 PM on January 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

I agree with the suspicion that she is probably wearing a sports bra that is too loose in the band and too small in the cup - bra support comes from the band, even on a sports bra. Two ill-fitting sports bras will compress the breasts more, but doesn't provide any more up-and-down support so jumping will still be painful.

I just upgraded from a generic "Size XL" sports bra to one that's actually fitted to my band-and-cup size (Classic Support by Shock Absorber, to be specific), and the difference is pretty noticeable, even for the low-impact activities I use them for.
posted by muddgirl at 1:15 PM on January 6, 2014

I'm also a 32F *high fives elizardbits* and I recommend Title 9 and their barbell rating system. Seconding the getting sized by an expert.
posted by gingerbeer at 1:29 PM on January 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

Just coming in her to "nth" that she needs a proper fitting- if it's that painful I doubt she is wearing the right size. I am a DD, used to be bigger, and jumping around has never been painful for me.
posted by bearette at 1:30 PM on January 6, 2014

Oh- and specifically this Wacoal and this Panache. The Enell is a boob squisher and things get way more sweaty/gross than they would with a nice supportive, tight-banded underwire that lifts and, god bless them, separates like the ones I linked in the last sentence.
posted by charmedimsure at 2:01 PM on January 6, 2014

Agreeing with others that she needs to be properly measured and fitted, ideally at a shop in person with sales ladies who can advise and where she can try on various options to see which brands look and feel best - but at minimum with a friend and the reddit link if that's not an option.

Learning that I was a 32F* made my life a lot better/easier when it came to exercise. (Nice to see other ladies in the thread also sporting the 32F.)

*when not pregnant ... all bets are off when knocked up, as my 36H bra can attest.
posted by data hound at 3:15 PM on January 6, 2014

I'm actually one of the expert fitters over at /r/ABraThatFits and strongly suggest that your friend remeasure herself with the sizing guide over there - yes, even before having a "professional fitting." Measuring yourself arms you with knowledge.

Unfortunately, many commercial fitters (even at Nordstrom's, and especially at Macy's, Dillard's, and similar) still use the outdated +4" sizing method. There's no guarantee that a person is a professional just because they work in a lingerie store, sadly (I've met more than one boutique owner - supposedly experts - who had absolutely no idea what sister sizes were, and insisted that 27"-ribcage me needed a 36-band).

I'd also like to plug the Bra Band Project, a public service project for demonstrating what properly-fitted bra sizes actually look like. I'm a 28FF/G and most people would think I'm "a C cup," which is only a reflection of how much misinformation regarding bra sizing is out there.

As far as awesome sports bras: this guide is extremely thorough. I highly recommend the Lynx for a compression bra or the Panache Sport for an encapsulation bra - but remeasure first!
posted by stolyarova at 6:52 PM on January 6, 2014 [6 favorites]

Another vote for the Panache Sport bra. 34GG here, and I ran a 5K in one, no problem.

And nthing getting properly fitted! It makes SUCH a difference.
posted by meggan at 2:12 PM on January 7, 2014

This allowed me to run for the first time in 30 years. For day to day use, the cup size is true, but for running you need to go down one cup size. And in the U.S., at least, these tend to run about $17.00!
posted by ravioli at 7:07 PM on January 8, 2014