Can Exercise Reduce Breast Size?

Can Exercise Reduce Breast Size?
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As a woman you might scrutinize over the size of your breasts. Some women may want their breasts to be larger, while others suffer from back pain and desperately want to decrease their bust size. As you participate in exercise, your body burns calories and builds muscle, which can lead to physical changes. To understand how exercise will affect your breast size, you need to understand what your breasts are made of and how exercise affects your whole body.

Facts

Regardless of the size of your breasts, all women have the same basic anatomy. Your breasts are made up of connective tissue, blood vessels, lymph nodes, lobes, lobules, milk ducts and fat. Fat tissue, or adipose tissue, makes up the majority of your breasts and accounts for the size. The size of your breasts varies based on genetics, pregnancy and the amount of body fat you have. When your body experiences a shift in body fat percentage, you might see this change in your breasts first.

Cardio

Cardio exercise is often used for weight loss and to improve cardiovascular health. Exercises such as jogging, tennis, elliptical trainer and swimming are all forms of cardio exercise. When you engage in this form of activity, your body burns calories as you expend energy. When daily cardio exercise is used in conjunction with a healthy diet, you can create a calorie deficit, which results in weight loss. You need to create a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb.

Strength Training

Strength training is another form of exercise designed to condition your muscles. You can use your own weight, resistance bands, free weights or weighted machines during an exercise. Strength training can help you to build new muscle tissues as well as tone your current muscles. When you focus on the pectoral muscles of your chest, you can alter the appearance of your breasts. Exercises such as pushups, the chest press and the chest fly are beneficial pectoral exercises. If you build new muscle tissue in this area, you can lift and firm your breasts. If you have smaller breasts, it is likely that you might even experience an increase in your chest region.

Alternatives

If you are looking to make dramatic changes in your breast size, you may need to consult a doctor or surgeon. If exercise causes you to lose too much breast size you have the option of getting breast implants at a plastic surgeon's office. Breast implants can be inserted beneath your current breast tissue to increase your size, but they do present the risk of rupture or leaking and could potentially require repeat surgery. If you find that exercise does not reduce your breast size as much as you would like, a surgeon can also help you with a breast reduction surgery to remove fat tissue.

References

Article reviewed by John Hagemann Last updated on: May 26, 2011

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