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Swimming – and why my sports tops are too small for me

Written by Fiona April 22 2013

I have been a size UK10 most of my adult life. But recently they have felt too small. In fact, most size 10 tops that I have been sent to review have felt like a squeeze. I worried I’d put on weight but I don’t think I have. Then I wondered (dreamily!) if against the odds I had suddenly grown bigger boobs. The tightness in sports UK10 tops is across the chest and upper back. But no, I’m still on the small side of small.

Expanding shoulder muscles!

Expanding shoulder muscles!

So I simply put it all down to aging and sports companies making their UK10s a tad smaller.

However, I have now worked out what has happened. During the recent Glasgow Triathlon Club annual spring training weekend a friend pointed out that my shoulder muscles are bigger. Normally a person who boasts skinny shoulders and arms I have trained my way to broader shoulders and almost pronounced shoulder and bicep muscles. The G-Force informs me that my lats are wider, too!

And all this must come down to swimming. For many, many months I have been swimming at least twice a week and this is not a leisurely kind of swimming. I have been swimming lots and lots of lengths and many at speed.

The result is that I have grown upper body muscles – and now my size 10 tops do not fit. In fact, I have just returned a number of small Helly Hansen running tops for review and requested the size medium.

Now at least I have the answer to what had become a little worrying. I hope that after the triathlons I can reduce the muscles so that I can return to all my favourite sports tops.

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