[QUESTION] Bras/Shirts fitting strangely as chest develops more muscle?
Hi!
Stats: F29, 5'7, 176lbs. Currently cutting down to 145lbs and was previously 215lbs (don't know if this makes a difference).
I have been working out consistently for a few months now and over the last couple of weeks have noticed that my bras are fitting strangely. I am not sure how to describe it, but it seems that the area of my chest that is above the breast cup seems to be developing a lot of musculature and as a result, the cups on my bra don't seem to fit quite right... It's almost like they cup the breast, but the part of my chest above the breast is flat and more muscly and seems to just... pop over the top ever so slightly.
I am noticing this happening in some of my shirts where the top fits nicely across the bust, but where my muscles are developing it almost looks like the shirt is now too small in that area, even if it fits across the back and the breast.
Do any of you experience this? Is this a sign to change cup sizes or perhaps that my entire chest is not developing muscle equally? Perhaps this is just an awkward phase where I am finally building some muscle for the first time in my life and will correct itself more as my body fat drops.
TL;DR: Muscle in chest looks weird with bra and certain tops... does it get better.
Thanks!
Posted Nov 5, 2014, 4:16 PM UTC · edited
Hi! I'm one of the mods of r/ABraThatFits, which I would suggest checking out if you want more help figuring out how to adjust your bra buying habits.
But yes, building muscle in your chest can absolutely affect your bra size and shape (which is pretty much half the battle in bra fitting). Additionally, working out can lead to fat loss which of course can also affect your bra size.
I'm not 100% what you're trying to describe here but it sounds largely like a shape issue. Also if you've never measured yourself then you may have been in a less than ideal size to begin with, and these changes to your chest composition exacerbated the issue.
It's pretty hard to know for sure what the problem is and how to fix it without knowing your measurements (not like your typical bust-waist-hips, but the 5 underbust/bust measurements that the guides on ABTF ask for) and your current bra size, as well as some idea of your breast shape. Like I said, you may want to head over to ABTF and read through the guides for more help in that regard.
I have been measured by a few different people and have been out to A Bra That Fits and I seem to have fit nicely into a 36C. However, now that I am starting to get muscle in my chest it seems like something is just not fitting right anymore where the tops of the cups would be. The breasts fill out the cups but it seems like now it's almost tight where the top of the cup is, even if the band fits nicely. I notice it more in some styles of bras than others.
When I am home I'll bust out the measuring tape and see what everything says and whether or not I'll have to change the style/size of my bra. Thanks!