As we watch the Olympics, one cannot help but notice the stress the women participants are putting on their bust lines. Watching Lolo Jones in the hurdles was painful and not only because she hit that last hurdle and finished out of the medals.

If you do not wear a sports bra when you exercise, you are crazy. Studies have revealed that during simple running, breasts may bounce up and down as much as six to eight inches. There are actual videos on YouTube.com showing this painful fact.

If anything, Americans do not get enough exercise. If you are being active, it is a good thing. That being said, you must protect yourself. You would not jog on a hot road without shoes, so do not do the same without a sports bra.

To understand the need for a sports bra, consider the anatomical support of the breasts. Ligaments are the primary support mechanisms, not muscles. Ligaments stretch and even break, which means you need an alternative form of support.

I will be honest. The average sports bra is not going to set the world on fire from a fashion point of view. In truth, you really should not care. Play hard and party hard, but do them different. Sports bras are for playing hard and seductive bras are for the remainder of the day.

For the longest of times, there was only one sports bra. It was known as the compression sports bra and worked pretty well. In recent times, the encapsulation bra has come on the scene and is receiving good reviews.

The compression sports bra has been with us a long time because, frankly, it is good. It is ugly as sin, but performs well. It flattens the breast to the chest wall and eliminates the breast bouncing that can stress ligaments and produce sagging.

The encapsulation bra is the new girl on the block. She was created for larger women. Instead of eliminating bouncing by flattening the breasts, this bra provides stiff support in the cup to allow movement but limited stress on the ligaments.

Since we have two basic sports bras, you undoubtedly want to know which one you should use. There is no real right answer. The compression bra is good for women with B cups or less, while the encapsulation bra is comfortable for bigger sizes.

The sports bra has not really changed all that much since it was first created, the encapsulation cup notwithstanding. The issue is not so much which version you wear as it is whether you wear one or not. You would be crazy not to.

Tags: weight loss, yoga, fitness equipment