The one piece of equipment that would help ladies exercise more

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Getting teenage girls to move starts with the “right” lingerie

There is something that seems to fly under the radar of the ESTABLISHMENT. It’s an anatomical idiosyncrasy of women. Breasts ! They impact exercising.

We all should move more…………moving more creates BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY, period.

And, there are loads of programmes trying to get people moving, especially teenage girls.

Getting teenage girls to move

Now , the reason for the focus on teenage girls – is girls have a tendency to swop their sneakers for high heels, around the time of puberty. And when comfortable practical shoes, replace the high heels, couch living is a way of life.

The sedentary way of life

Now to be fair, the same problem does happen in boys, but the onset of couch living is delayed. Puberty does not mark the moment, when boys hang up their sneakers. Men stop moving when life happens……… they too busy, too tired, whatever.

So, why do teenage girls stop moving at puberty ?

Puberty marks the arrival of estrogen …………………… and things change !

On the inside and on the outside.

The real reason some girls hate exercise

There is something that seems to fly under the radar of the ESTABLISHMENT. It’s an anatomical idiosyncrasy of women. Breasts ! We all have them, but they come in different shapes and sizes.

And, the shape and size of your breast, can impact our exercising habits.

Exercise goes AWOL at puberty

Breasts arrive at puberty, the moment in time, when the exercising habit…………. is lost.

Co-incidence ? Probably not.

A group of British researchers conducted a survey among 2089 British teenage girls, between the ages of 11-18 years, to test the idea, that breasts were impacting sports participation.

The breast sport connection

The survey revealed 73 % of the girls reported breast concerns, which included worries about

Breasts bouncing during exercise
Embarrassment getting changed because of breasts or bra
Breast pain during exercise

Unsurprisingly, breast worries were biggest in girls with bigger breasts.

That said, few of the girls were wearing sports bras. Only 10 % of the girls surveyed routinely wore a sports bra, during exercise sessions.

At the end of the day, girls with more breast worries, exercised less !

Oh dear !

It’s just not talked about

Mindful of the breast exercise connection, I had a careful look at the ladies in my zumba class. Since I don’t have X-ray vision, I couldn’t really tell who was or wasn’t wearing a sports bra, but it was very obvious…………….

The majority of ladies had small breasts.

Small breasts RULE in the gym

In fact, few of the woman attending my gym, have large breasts. None of the instructors do. And if you take, a quick look at the superstar lady athletes…………… these ladies don’t have big breasts either.

When it comes to physical activity, big breasts seem to be a disadvantage.

But, this shouldn’t be.

Breast education the key to getting girls moving

This research suggests, the way to get young girls, and older girls too, moving more………………. breast education. The survey revealed the girls were hungry for information about breasts in general (87%) and sports bras in particular (44 %).

It might feel a little awkward, but if you want her to enjoy the benefits of better body chemistry for a life time,

she needs learn about the birds and the bees, and
how to keep her breasts from flying away, during exercise sessions

Remember, small things can big difference to your health !

NOTE : This research also suggests, school authorities and gyms, might also want to re-think change room design – offering private changing facilities, could also increase sport participation.

The Influence of the Breast on Sport and Exercise Participation in School Girls in the United Kingdom. Journal of Adolescent Health (2016) 58:167e173. Joanna Scurr, Nicola Brown, Jenny Smith, Amanda Brasher, Debbie Risius, and Anna Marczyk.