Performance swim recs with built in support?

[woowoo]

Does anyone have any recommendation for speedo-type performance swim suits will built in support?  I'm a 34DD and lap swim suits without support make me look ridiculous.  I have one athleta swimsuit, but would like another brand option if there is one. 

Thanks!

[mrs.jacinthe]

I have no personal recommendations, although I'm a 34D. I just buy a size down and smash the girls into oblivion. LOL

Are you just looking for it for lap swim? If so, can you buy a Land's End suit? They sell by cup size.
I'm looking at the Keifer catalog and Speedo Quantum Splice comes with a "hydrobra" (whatever the heck that is). It's here on amazon: www.amazon.com/Speedo-Womens-Quantum-Splice-Swimsuit/dp/B0067YFC6U

[Susie]

I know it probably seems foreign to people just starting to swim as adults, but competitive swimmers just size down as much as it takes to keep everything snug. Any suit that has built in support would either have underwire that could do some pretty painful things (plus what is underwire going to do in a no gravity water environment anyway?), or fabric support that would be thick and create weird drag when it gets soaked.  I would just aim for a wide strap instead of a skinny strap and size down.  (I am a 34B and wear a 28 lycra, 30 polyester.)  It's supposed to feel tight at first; suits are never as snug as when they're brand new.

Everyone always comes in here and says they look ridic in swimsuits and I just don't see it. I mean, I've been a swimmer for decades, lifeguarded for years and years and years (including 4 at the beach), I've seen all the body types I tend to think people draw more attention and look weirder when they're dressed unusually for the sport/task they're doing.  Pick a suit that will perform while you're swimming, not based how you look between the locker room and your lane.  You don't pick running shoes by how they make your ankles look, or a bike saddle based on how it makes your ass look, right?

[woowoo]

When I try on the speedo/TYR/regular lap suits, my breasts get squished down to my navel. It's awful and uncomfortable. The athleta one I have has a little bit of a build in, molded bra without an underwire, and I was thinking there might be other brands that have them, but maybe not? I'll just wait until Athleta comes out with more, they usually do in early spring.

Thank you!

[mrs.jacinthe]

Jan 30, 2014 14:23:11 GMT -5 woowoo said:

When I try on the speedo/TYR/regular lap suits, my breasts get squished down to my navel. It's awful and uncomfortable. The athleta one I have has a little bit of a build in, molded bra without an underwire, and I was thinking there might be other brands that have them, but maybe not? I'll just wait until Athleta comes out with more, they usually do in early spring.

Thank you!

Can you not reach down in there and re-arrange them?  That's what I do.

[woowoo]

In front of 35 other people in Masters Swim? Nah...but maybe I should. =) Honestly, they are huge and HEAVY on a not very large frame. Arranging them would do no good. But Susie has a good point that I probably shouldn't care.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Jan 30, 2014 14:31:40 GMT -5 woowoo said:

In front of 35 other people in Masters Swim? Nah...but maybe I should. =) Honestly, they are huge and HEAVY on a not very large frame. Arranging them would do no good. But Susie has a good point that I probably shouldn't care.

No, when you put your suit on.  If they're not staying where they're located/squished, I think the suit is probably too big.  Size down until they do stay where you leave them.

That said, I'd look into that speedo suit.  It claims a bra of some sort.  Or you could buy a tri-specific suit.  Since they're also designed for running, they probably have some variety of built-in.

[Susie]

Jan 30, 2014 14:39:41 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

Jan 30, 2014 14:31:40 GMT -5 woowoo said:

In front of 35 other people in Masters Swim? Nah...but maybe I should. =) Honestly, they are huge and HEAVY on a not very large frame. Arranging them would do no good. But Susie has a good point that I probably shouldn't care.

No, when you put your suit on.  If they're not staying where they're located/squished, I think the suit is probably too big.  Size down until they do stay where you leave them.

That said, I'd look into that speedo suit.  It claims a bra of some sort.  Or you could buy a tri-specific suit.  Since they're also designed for running, they probably have some variety of built-in.

Agreed with the bolded.

I don't know how helpful tri gear would be, since most tri gear is just sports bras and tight tanks/sleeveless jerseys, and the bra part provides the support to run.  You could look.  Your worries seem to center around how your boobs look though.  If you're going to seriously train there's some vanity that has to be shed.  Even the Athleta/Title IX "performance" "athletic" swim suits are designed to be "athletic chic" rather than for actual swimming training.  They are for, like, rec lap swim.  The seams aren't designed to stay out of your way, they're not designed to avoid chafing, they're not designed or sized to fit snugly and drag-free like a competition suit is, and the material will fade and stretch out if you're in the pool as much as you will be to swim with a masters group.  And I say with kindness, a Speedo/TYR/etc. suit is de rigeur at masters.  Showing up to masters in something from Athleta is kind of like... showing up to a group ride with a hybrid bike.

If after all is said and done you really aren't comfortable in anything but a cute suit, then that's what you need to buy.  But it is not what I'd ever recommend to anyone to try to train in, whether they are AA or DD.  Athleta is not to swimming what it is to running/yoga.

[woowoo]

Jan 30, 2014 15:04:27 GMT -5 Susie said:

 Showing up to masters in something from Athleta is kind of like... showing up to a group ride with a hybrid bike.

If after all is said and done you really aren't comfortable in anything but a cute suit, then that's what you need to buy.  But it is not what I'd ever recommend to anyone to try to train in, whether they are AA or DD.  Athleta is not to swimming what it is to running/yoga.



This is why I wanted to try and find something different, I felt silly in my Athleta suit (despite it being one of their performance swim/lap suits).  I'll give the TYR suits another shot, maybe one of the compression ones will make me feel a bit more comfortable.  Thanks guys. 

[emsumm]

I just got some speedos at Costco, they're cheap and they have a little support. They look nice and they're way more comfortable than my racing suit.
Also. Nobody in my masters group gives a shit what I swim in. I thought all that mattered was showing up and working hard?
And also also, it's hard to understand fitting a large bust into a suit if you don't have one. It's not vanity. It's fit and comfort and self-esteem. I think it's a perfectly valid concern.