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QUESTION

I was wondering if working out my chest or just exercising in general would have any negative effects on my breasts? I've seen female bodybuilders with small chests and don't want to lose the already tiny ones I have, but I do want to be toned, is that too much to ask?

Lauren J.
Brentwood, CA

ANSWER

Excellent question Lauren, many women see some female athletes and bodybuilders on television and in magazines and wonder if working out might have an effect on the breasts since in some cases there isn't much there.

The answer to your question Lauren is...not really. I know you were expecting me to say either: No, of course not, exercise can do no wrong or Yes, what you see in the magazines happens to every women who works out her chest, smaller breasts. Both of these are incorrect. But let me break this down for you with two answers.

THE EXPLANATION

First, exercise in general helps your body lose fat and part of your breasts are fat but not all of it, there is also mammary tissue as well as muscle tissue. When your body drops excess fat it takes fat from all over your body not just one spot. Women and girls with very low body fat tend to have smaller breasts because they have very little fat anywhere on their body.

In order to get this low in body fat where you notice a significant reduction in breast size you have to be training really, really hard as well as dieting pretty strictly. Usually like you said these women are fitness athletes or athletes competing in another sport. These women are very disciplined and focused and have a specific goal in mind to keep up with their regimen. If you are like most women you do not fall into this category...so DO NOT worry! Keep working out regularly and watching what you eat and you will start seeing POSITIVE changes in your body.

Second, doing chest exercises DO NOT make your breasts smaller, in most cases working out your chest can actually improve the appearance or your breasts. Chest exercises help develop the pectoral muscle tissue under the fat an mammary tissue. The more developed the muscle tissue is then the better shape or perkier your breasts become, unless that type of thing isn't important to you but I'm pretty sure is.

So working out your chest helps you to 1. BURN overall body fat and 2. Tone your chest up while improving the shape of your breasts. That doesn't sound like to bad of a trade off does it? To find out what chest exercises are best for you check out the Personal Trainer section of this website or ask a local fitness professional. Oh and check out some of the other articles about proper exercise technique to see just what the right way is to exercise in order to get the most out of your workouts, Good Luck.

Here is a sample workout specifically for your chest:

THE WORKOUT