When I took up running I found a passion for sportswear I hadn’t known was possible. I went from being a pyjama aficionado to a compression junkie overnight.
Great gym gear really does help the motivation levels, but I may be taking that concept a wee bit too far. I’ve quite frequently caught myself eulogising about New Balance runners or compression tights (weirdly flattering).
But one element of my new, sportier wardrobe that more than deserves the attention I lavish on it is the Shock Absorber sports bra. (Have you been fitted for a bra recently? My favourite tip from Andrea was ‘bring a hip flask’ - too right!)
Man, there are a lot of bad sports bras out there. Sure they look good on the hanger – all shiny and seemingly supportive. But so many fail at the very basic elements of underpinnings. They’re overly tricky to put on, they can be sweaty and gross after two minutes of running, they contain seams that chafe the bejesus out of you, or they have wires. Bah!
I’ve also found bras that seem great on the first wear, but are completely kaput once they’ve seen the inside of my washing machine. Beyond useless.
I’m a 34B-ish, so I can only imagine what the search for decent support must be like for ladies with a proper bust. I actually spent a while in sweaty despair running while wearing two bras.
Advertised
Anyway, call off the bra-search dogs (yes, I have trained dogs for this purpose) I’ve finally found it.
As soon as I tried the Shock Absorber Run I could sense I was on to a winner. The fit is tight, and really compresses the whole chest area. There are no underwires, instead it relies on a half-inch wide band which runs around your ribs and works like a charm.
There are other strong compression bras I’ve tried which pushed my boobs down and apart and created a bit of escaping side-boob action, but the Shock Absorber doesn’t suffer from this problem. It keeps everything in check and I can honestly say there is zero jiggle.
I mean all the other areas of my body obviously still bounce, but my breasts are rock solid.
It’s got two fastenings at the back, which can be a bit tricky to fasten, but crucially are easy peasy to undo. (After running 10k the LAST thing I want to do is wrestle with my own underwear and lose.)
I machine-wash mine every couple of wears and it’s as supportive as the day I bought it.
There are a few places you can buy online, but I wanted to check out the fit, so I got one in my local sports shop. It was €46, so a real investment for me, but it’s absolutely worth every penny.
Advertised
Has anyone else tried the Ultimate Run Bra? And is there anything else out there that can match it!?
