Sorry to be dramatic, however there’s something diabolical about an uncomfortable sports activities bra. Significantly! On high of ruining your exercise, it could actually smash your complete day. Alternatively, there’s something actually magical a few sports activities bra that feels good—that provides you confidence within the gymnasium, helps you to sink deep into your savasana-cum-nap, or prevents your boobs from getting too slap-happy (actually) throughout a 30-minute jog.

Discovering a sports activities bra that’s as much as the duty can really feel like digging for a needle in a haystack. Enter SELF’s annual Activewear Awards, the end result of our final seek for the very best sports activities bras and leggings in the marketplace. This yr, we’re crowning eight bras we expect are worthy of your buying cart—together with one which’s receiving our inaugural Reader’s Selection Award. For extra on how we choose our winners and why we love each, hold studying.

Bounce to the winners.

How We Picked the Greatest Sports activities Bras

For the 2024 Activewear Awards, we requested SELF editors and a bunch of handpicked skilled judges (learn extra about them beneath!) to appoint their favourite sports activities bras of all time. The one rule? The piece should nonetheless be accessible for buy.

Concurrently, we revisited the splashiest new releases from the previous yr. We combed via these, alongside the editor and skilled decide submissions, protecting a watch out for items that have been nominated greater than as soon as. We additionally did some extra analysis: Is the product well-reviewed on-line? Is it accessible in a variety of sizes? Does it swimsuit a number of physique sorts? Is it an affordable worth?

As we have been doing this, we got down to discover our first-ever Reader’s Selection Award winner. We despatched a survey to SELF readers and followers, asking them to appoint their picks. Then we dug via hundreds of responses—the most typical bra our readers submitted is the Reader’s Selection Award–winner you’ll see beneath.

Now, let’s discuss store: There are particular elements anybody ought to think about when attempting out a sports activities bra, and we needed to verify our winners had excessive marks on each. When nominating sports activities bras, we requested our editors, judges, and readers to contemplate:

Help

• Low-impact bras must be stretchy and cozy however much less supportive; you’d sometimes need to put on them for strolling, yoga, Pilates, or lounging. For individuals with bigger breasts, low-impact bras could not really feel like sufficient for even mild motion—whether or not you go for one thing with extra assist is as much as private desire.
• Medium-impact bras ought to guarantee minimal breast motion whenever you’re leaping or working. You would possibly need to put on them for lifting, energy coaching, or exercises the place you’ll be doing a little cardio.
• Excessive-impact bras ought to provide loads of protection (suppose: little to no cleavage exhibiting) and prohibit all breast motion throughout exercise. You’d sometimes put on them for working, HIIT exercises, or one thing like a dance cardio class; they need to be tight-fitting however nonetheless snug!

Match, Minimize, and Model

• A sports activities bra ought to at all times be snug (sure, actually), significantly within the band/rib cage, shoulders, and chest/cup space. Contemplate whether or not it feels good to put on not solely throughout your exercise, however earlier than and after too.
• Pay attention to the sports activities bra’s strap fashion (racerback, crisscross, huge straps, and many others.), strap thickness and options (are they adjustable?), and the place the band sits in your torso. It’s best to like the best way it seems to be and in addition really feel unrestricted in your actions (like twisting, reaching, pushing, and pulling) and whereas respiration closely or taking deep breaths.
• Is the bra simple to placed on and take off? A zipper or hook-and-eye clasp would possibly assist with this. You shouldn’t should wrestle!

Moisture Administration and Material

• How moist does the bra get throughout a sweaty exercise? How lengthy does it take to dry afterward?
• You’ll additionally need the bra to be comfortable and cozy—it ought to by no means really feel scratchy or too stiff.

How You Really feel

• Maybe a very powerful issue of all, an ideal sports activities bra ought to really feel good bodily—and make you are feeling good on the within too. That may imply the design is tremendous cute, or perhaps the bra is so safe that you just neglect your deep-seated concern of a nip slip throughout a Barry’s class.
• So think about all of it: On the finish of the day, does the bra make you are feeling assured and excited to maneuver?