So as you may well have gathered from the look of me I am not the sportiest of girls! My work is at the lower to middle end of being physically demanding, I enjoy the odd boogie when I go out in my sensible heels and every few months I vow to start some new exercise regime – usually running or the wiifit. I do own a sports bra as I mentioned in this post and previous to that I owned a very ill fitting 38FF Shock Absorber. I did like the Shock Absorber, despite its incorrect size and so I was quite pleased to have been sent two 36H bras recently as a way of saying thank you for attending the Playtex Focus Group – this white bra and this black bra.
Let me talk about the white one first.
I have found that the mark of a good sports bra is one that you really really struggle to do up! A lot of women seem to hate wearing tighter bands when it comes to regular bras due to back fat which is not ideal, but I have always firmly believed that when it comes to exercise you should aim to work out hard and not care about how you look. Therefore a tight band and a bit of back fat shouldn’t deter you, in fact it will help keep the puppies in place and relieve the strain from your shoulders. Even the least strenuous forms of exercise require proper support and uplift and you should not jeopardise your health for the sake of appearance.
This bra was so tight I had to loosen the shoulder straps completely to fasten the bra and then tighten them fully. The shoulder straps are only half adjustable which may be a problem for those with smaller shoulders than I. It is a three hook and eyes fastening which I love and always feel much more secure in. The straps themselves are cushioned which is amazing and a feature I have never had in a sports bra or indeed any bra – and I wish every bra had this feature, it is soooo comfortable! The straps are set slightly closer to the neck as well which is perfect as I used to find when I was running that no matter how tight I adjusted the straps they would always slip off my shoulders. I found that I had some slight side boob when putting the bra on, but this is something I get even with bras that are too big for me and it is probably due to me being lardy and wearing bras that were too small for many years, causing my breasts to migrate slightly. The shape is gave me was pretty darn good for a non underwired non padded bra.
Please excuse my appearance in today’s post, as I said working out should not be a fashion parade or about trying to look good…though I did try a little bit for the camera!
I put both bras through their paces by doing various things on the wiifit, including hula hooping, boxing, step aerobics, balance exercises, yoga, jogging, cycling and much more. I found this bra to give me excellent support, comfort and allowed me to be flexible and not cause any irritation or discomfort. The band is tight but I never felt like it was too tight, I just very very secure and would highly recommend it.
And now onto the black bra.
This bra was so tight and complicated that I did it up at the front and turned it round – something I do not normally do, however the snug fit felt spot on. It has two and then two hooks and eyes at the back which I will show you in a bit. I did not have to adjust the shoulder straps on this one but I did find it to be very small over my bust. Maybe a 36HH/36J could work for me a little better. I loved the straps and the fact that they were set almost next to my neck which would mean there would be no danger of them slipping off at all. The shape it gave me was not so favourable, but that could be due to the smallness of the cup.
Here is me in action on the Wii, try not to laugh!
I of course found the white bra to be the most effective and I loved how high it was as I really felt secure. However, the black bra was surprisingly good for something that didn’t fit well and so I would say that one in my correct size would definitely give the white one a run for it’s money! All in all I would say well done to Shock Absorber, there bras were pretty damn comfortable, firm and excellent at keeping my large assets nearer my head than my knees!
Check out Cheryl from Invest In Your Chest’s review
Fuller Figure Fuller Bust 
I loved Shock Absorbers brand bras. I had one went I was a bit smaller. Now my only option is wear a full cup bra and an xl sports bra. It works almost as well.
My experience with the “black bra” (the crop top) is that you have to take it in your usual size even if it looks a bit small, as the bigger size that seems to fit better doesn’t support as well. I wear a 32F and look the same in my bra as you do – the 32FF did hide my cleavage but didn’t support as well.
I find that the shock absorber bras run very small- I am used to having to go up more than one cup size, and the band of course comes up tight. I’ll inevitably give them another shot, though, much as I love the Freya underwired.
Freya underwired is amazing but I would defo give Shock Absorber a try x
Wow, thank you for this post. Although the white one doesn’t come in my size, the black one might work for me. I have been looking for a better sports bra for awhile and it’s nice to have someone else test it out for me. Once again, great post!
Do it!!! Let me know xxx
I wear a 34E shock absorber even though I wear a 30FF – the band is so tight in 32 I could not even do it yet alone breath. I have one which is a lower impact really then I should be wearing – think its a 3 when I should be wearing a 4 but it does not squish and has changeable straps.
I tried the black one you tried on and hated it – could not do it up and it just cut into me.
xx
I have the black model, in 34 ff. It’s tight, hard to get on and the shape it gives is not very flattering, but it’s by far the best sports bra I’ve owned. I can get through an aerobics class without any bounce at all. I’m a bit upset with myself for not buying another one when I visited the UK. I live in Norway and here they are twice the price… And we’re outside the EU so ordering from abroad means paying custom fees.
Thanks for the blog!! I’m not as busty as you (a 32E/F) but my boobs are big enough to hurt (a lot!!!) when I do sport. Here in Spain is very difficult to find nice good big-boobs-bras, but I found two in my city that are not so expensive and have my size. There is my fabulous sport bra!! http://www.hunkemoller.nl/bh/sport-bh-s/sport-bh-cup-a-e-2.html
Now I can do steps without die 😀
I tried the one with the double straps and found it’s so hard to get that top set of hooks done, I used it as an excuse to not wear it. Ugh. I have the white version and it works fairly well, but my boobs start trying to escape out the top of it so I’m constantly pulling it up. If I tighten the straps any more it’s painful. *sigh* Sports bras and I have a dysfunctional relationship.