Answers from Expert: Michelle Cederberg

The firmness of your breasts is dependent on a few issues. Are you carrying excess weight at all or are you just big busted? Has there been a point in your life where you felt happier with their firmness? As a D-cup you're dealing with a lot of breast tissue that doesn't respond to exercise the way muscle does. Certainly exercise can help tone the muscle surrounding the breasts and provide a bit of 'support' as it were, but the breast tissue itself lies OVER the pectoralis (chest) muscles, so changes may be minimal. Most upper body strength exercises will provide postural improvements, especially chest, upper- and mid-back exercises. Exercises that work the chest are push ups, bench press or dumbells chest press, dumbells chest flys (to name a few). Exercises that work the back are seated row, lat pull down and chin ups. The reason why I advocate back exercises is because most of us carry ourselves in a very forward, rounded position, shortening our chest muscles, lengthening and rounding our back muscles, and negatively impacting POSTURE. If you are chest heavy, why not think about creating a tall, strong posture and being proud of 'what God gave you?' Please note that if you are carrying extra weight, some of that body fat will deposit in the breast region, so weight loss may mean a reduction in breast size. Finally, if your breasts are uncomfortably large and not due to excess body weight -- and if this creates back or neck pain -- talk to your doctor about options such as reduction. Michelle Cederberg www.liveoutloud.ca