We are a mammocentric society. I won’t go in to how a functional body part became a sex object.
Many women worry about losing breast size when embarking on a weight loss and weight training journey. Breast tissue in younger women is most often made up of glands and milk ducts. Later in life it is mostly fatty tissue. Breasts also contain lymph vessels and nodes.
When I was a teen I was a bone rack and my breasts were in proportion. Most of my friends had early development and from age 12 or 13 were extremely well endowed. I was jealous for a nanno second. They wore baggy clothes to hide the objects. Why? They were annoyed by the fact that the only thing noticed was their breasts as evidenced by cat calls and whistles, not to mention that during conversations with the opposite sex, there was no eye contact. The males just could not seem to focus on their face.They complained a lot about their shoulders and backs from the stress of the weight of the breasts. You will find very few large chested women displaying their breasts except perhaps those who display them for a living. Women with large breasts generally dress conservatively.
I hear comments from women worried about the flat chested women in body building but mostly I hear comments from their significant others about not wanting their wives to lose their breasts. Glad my partner is a butt/leg man. However, after attending the body building show with me he was a tad alarmed. I explained a) I am not training for body building – I am training for figure and b) the leaning out or cutting is for a short period so the muscles are predominantly in view and any fat loss from the breasts will resolve when normal body fat is restored after competition (if I competed).
A body building trainer Karen Sessions told me she has been body building for 20 years - she leans out for competition and after - she is still full chested!
Have I lost breast size during my weight loss body transformation? You bet. Thankfully. In my obese stage I was fat everywhere. I did not appreciate my breast size. It was not comfortable and I hid it with elastic garments and baggy clothes. Being a 40 DD was not a pleasant experience for me. Not to mention that the weight was causing drooping and I fully anticipated my breasts would end up at my knees eventually. There was nothing attractive about it at all.I am still reducing body fat. I can tell I still have a bit too much body fat by the size of my breasts and my waist but I am almost there. Am I flat? Not at all. My body fat is 19% and I am still a 36 D. I am hoping that comes down a bit more. It will be nice to have my chest in proportion with the rest of me but that seems to be the last place I an losing fat.
Interestingly, because my chest muscles are developing as well as my lats, traps, shoulders,
arms and abs – I have not only created an awesome frame for my breasts but the strong musclular support structures all developed through weight/resistance training have given me a non surgical lift and great cleavage which is scar free and better than any surgeon could accomplish with implants.
Body builders who compete a lot and have very low fat for longer periods (not healthy) may get implants. I can spot them from a mile. They are very fake, disproportionate and obvious. I don't know what is attractive about purchased breasts. I chuckled during the body building show when my husband could pick them all out. He did not find them the least attractive. Who likes ‘fake’?
What I really enjoy is buying bras again. I have not worn them for 20 years because it was too painful and the large support bras are so ugly. I am having a blast buying sexy clothing from La Senza and Victoria’s Secret. I have the right to be sexy even at 60. Now that I am more balanced I can wear anything and it is much easier to get clothes. It will be easier still when I reduce body fat a tiny bit more and reduce bust size a bit.
Here are some body building myths plus awesome chest exercises to build great support for your beautiful new breasts (built from weight loss from resistance training and great nutrition).
Don’t forget the whole body should be trained – all the other muscles act as a frame and create balance. I have provided links on various methods of performing these chest building exercises.
The message is, don’t worry about your breasts. Unless you are competing and lowering your bodyfat % briefly to around 12% or lower (for some - 18% or lower), your breasts will be fine and very much in proportion. Support them well during exercise. Don’t overdiet or overtrain – lose weight and tone up at a steady reasonable pace and watch out! You will have awesome breasts and outstanding cleavage. Have fun shopping.If you are competing there are plenty of bra types with uplift, push up etc to get you thru until your body fat is back to normal. For goodness sake think twice or a dozen times before considering implants.
From Pauline Go an article on myths of weight training
“Many women associate weight training with reduced breast size. This again is a misconception garnered from watching professional female bodybuilders. A woman's breast is made up mostly of fat tissue and when this tissue reduces, breast size gets smaller. However, weight training strengthens and firms the underlying chest muscles and helps to perk up the breasts. Women will find their breasts getting more curves and a cleavage, which was earlier non-existent.
”This link discusses the topic and explains how developing the underlying chest muscles is uplifting to your chest and provides beautiful cleavage.
Here are some links on performing chest exercises
And this link also for chest dips
Note the difference in the hold of the dumbbell and direction of arms between the press and the flye .
