The women’s sports industry is a booming business these days as more and more women have become active and taken on sports that were once solely the domain of men. For a woman to achieve optimum performance in sport, she needs the proper sports bra and sports panties, as well as the right technical outerwear, to keep her cool and dry throughout her training and/or competition.

Finding the perfect sports bra can be a tedious task, but here are some suggestions for finding the sports bra that suits you best:

• Pick a sports bra that fits: it may sound like ridiculous advice, but an ill-fitting sports bra will cause you discomfort at best and pain at worst during the course of a long run or an extreme strength-training session. If your normal bra falls in the smaller range of cup sizes, you may be able to wear a traditional compression-style sports bra. But if you have a larger cup size, you may want to find full-support, true cup size support with an underwire and internal construction.
• Know your sport: each sports bra is designed to accommodate not just a specific size range, but also a specific activity-level. Some sports bras are made for high-impact sports while others are really only designated for low-impact sports. The sports bra you wear for yoga will be significantly different from the one you wear for a 10K run.
• Check the little details on your sports bra: the little things count. When you look for a sports bra, look for things like heat-transfer labels that eliminate tags, wicking fabrics, flatlock seams, rollover edges, enclosed elastics and wires, and adjustability.

Sports panties are less likely to cause you pain, but they can cause discomfort if they don’t fit just right. Just like with sports bras, you want your sports panties to be made from quick-drying, wicking fabrics that allow your body to breathe. Generally, you’ll want a cotton-lined crotch and non-binding trim.

At Freshpair.com, we are excited to offer a variety of new brands in our women’s performance category, including brands that are constantly at the forefront of innovation with their sports bras and sports panties, like Patagonia, Falke and Bendon Sport.