Coopers Droopers - Breast Support

York sports bra retailer, Elizabeth Wells explains the importance of getting the right support for exercise.

What’s all the fuss about?
So you may, or may not have heard about Coopers Ligament. It’s the ligament that holds up and supports the breast, very important as we ladies try to defy gravity!

Why is it important?
Coopers Ligaments run from the nipple to the pectoral muscle; attaching the fatty tissue of the breast to the pectoral muscles of the chest wall. While we can exercise to improve the tone of the muscles behind the breast; they are just this – behind the breast. They form the foundation of what your breast tissue lies upon but they do not support the fatty tissue that makes up your breast. You may have strong pectoral and chest muscles but still suffer from saggy boobs! It is so important that we look after Coopers Ligament giving it extra support when exercising, as well as supporting properly it everyday.

Why do boobs sag?
Without the internal support of this ligament, the breast tissue sags under its own weight, losing its normal shape and contour. Naturally over time, and as we get older this ligament stretches, this process is accelerated by not supporting the breast properly. During exercise the ligament becomes pulled and stretched; loosing its elasticity leading to irreversible sagging. Portsmouth University found breasts moved in a 3D figure of eight, this uncontrolled movement strained fragile tissues and ligaments – sounds painful!

Exercise is painful!
Many women experience pain during exercise – sadly this puts them of doing it! Pain is often across your back, particularly if you have larger breasts, as well as general pain from the breast bouncing up and down and from side to side. A fitted sports bra will minimise pain and discomfort across your back and across your chest as the bust is lifted into place and held snugly, dramatically reducing movement caused by exercise. Now you will be able to exercise at a better quality as your pain is removed thus getting more from your workout!

How can I stop the sagging!
Poorly fitting bras and exercising in non-supportive bras will results in permanent stretching of the Coopers Ligaments leading to irreversible sagging, an average breast can bounce as much as 4.7inches up and down with minimal support! It is so important to get fitted every time you buy a new bra. There are non compression sports bars available in soft or wired styles; it is your choice as to which you prefer. An encapsulating bra minimises bounce and will lift, separate and support the breast a lot better than the old fashioned compression bras (they also have the added advantage of giving a great shape!). The importance of being fitted correctly cannot be stressed enough.

Where Now!
Dr Chris (GMTV) recommends the Freya Active range, which are unique in their non-compression design. There is no sports bra like it, due to its design Freya is set to revolutionise the sports bra market.

Health & Fitness Magazine put their running shoes on to rigorously test the best high impact sports bras and we at Elizabeth Wells are proud to say that Freya Active came out on top receiving 5 out of 5 in all categories which include style, performance and features.

Elizabeth Wells Lingerie, 23 Shambles has a trained bra fitter (who is also a keen runner!) ready to fit you out in a new sports bra which as well as being engineered to fit, makes use of the best fabrics with wicking properties and comfortable to wear. www.elizabethwells.co.uk

When and how to stretch

I was in London on Friday for a Power Plate training course. One of the issues that came up was the subject of stretching. It's an area that causes confusion within the fitness industry as well as to the general public.

Static stretching (holding a fixed position, usually for between 10-30 seconds) at the start of a workout is now generally frowned upon, unless done to address a specific muscle imbalance. Static stretching lengthens a muscle and if done before exercise can cause an instability in the joint.

I use Muscle Activation Technique when working with clients. The principle behind MAT is fantastically simple. If it's tight stretch it. If it's weak strengthen it. The difficult part is identifying if a muscle is tight through overuse or if it's tightened up to protect a joint due to another muscle being weak. If muscle tightness is caused by muscle weakness (which in my experience is often the case) a series of strengthening exercises are more effective than stretches.

Static stretching after exercise is still prescribed by many fitness professionals, particularly in classes. Research suggests that this may not always be a good idea. If the exercise has caused micro tears in the muscles, stretching can increase the size of these tears which isn't a particularly good idea. This is more of a problem with high intensity exercise, though without scanning muscles after exercise it is impossible to tell if any damage to the muscles has occurred.

So am I suggesting that people don't stretch at all. Absolutely not. A full warm-up is extremely important, but this should involve mobility type exercises and dynamic stretches to gently warm the muscles and increase range of motion through the joints in a way specific for the activity to follow.

Flexibility is important, but making time for specific stretching sessions, particularly activities such as yoga which are designed to stretch and strengthen muscles is a much more effective approach.