Here’s what you need to know…

•  Breast augmentation is a big decision. An athletic woman needs to consider things like: risk factors, over vs. under the muscle, the best size for her frame, recovery time, her sport, and more.

•  Generally speaking, over the muscle is faster and less painful, but looks a little more fake. Under the muscle means more pain and a longer recovery, but provides a more natural look.

•  A woman should not get implants just to compete in physique contests, but the category she competes in may play a role in the choices she makes if she does decide to buy new knockers.

•  Women can have amazing, sexy bodies even without bigger breasts. The way she feels about that body is what really matters.

Good girls don’t get fake boobs. They train hard. They eat well. And then they let Mother Nature take care of the rest. That was my thinking beforegetting breast implants.

Then one day it occurred to me: My boobs have been fake since the seventh grade, but back then they were made of cotton. Mom said I was just a late bloomer. But by age 29 nothing had changed, and I was still wearing the same sized bra. I felt deformed, embarrassed, and jealous of women who had breasts. It wasn’t an easy decision to get implants, but neither was trying to look normal as a 5’10” muscular female hiding mosquito bites in NA-sized bras (that’s Nearly-A cup).

It was frustrating to have a mismatched body. I wasn’t a small woman. Why did I have small breasts? I just wanted to be proportional and there was nothing I could do to get them bigger naturally. Extra body fat went straight to my thighs, and even at my heaviest, I still wore an NA-cup. Boobs can’t be trained on, dieted on, supplemented on or even drugged on. For women looking for better proportions, the only choice is surgery.

So I discussed it with my husband, slept on it for many nights, then booked a consultation with a doctor to learn more. I scoured the internet for advice from other female lifters, but couldn’t find much. It was like they were too embarrassed to go public about their augmentation. Most bikini and figure competitors had them, yet no one talked about them.

Boobs will never go out of style. And many of us are simply not born with a voluptuous chest. So why not discuss the details? If you’re kicking the idea around, here are the big things you’ll need to know about bigger boobs.

What’s Best: Over or Under the Muscle?

This is one of the first things that women tend to worry about, but you really don’t need to stress over it. Your surgeon will be able to help you make the best choice given your genetics, preferences, and biggest concerns. Here are the pros and cons of each:

Under: Pros
Natural looking for very small-chested women.
No perfectly round headlights.

Under: Cons
There’s a longer recovery time.
It’s more painful.

Over: Pros
If you have more breast tissue to begin with they’ll look natural. Recovery is faster and less painful.

Over: Cons
More obvious if you’re very lean, have thin skin or little to no natural breast tissue.

The newest category of implant placement is called subfascial which is underneath the fascia but not under the muscle. It’s so new that many surgeons are not yet doing it. It’s something to ask about when going in for your consultations.

Some surgeons will refuse to place implants over the muscle if there’s not enough breast tissue there or very thin skin on your chest. Getting them under the muscle simply conceals the implant better if you’ve got nothing to work with.

Something else to keep in mind: With implants that are under the muscle, it’s normal to see the implants spread while you’re using your pec muscles. So if a perv at the gym is looking really closely at your chest while you’re on the pec deck, and if you happen to be wearing a plunging neckline, you might freak him out a bit. This is both a pro and a con. Some women are annoyed by the look of it, but unless you plan on getting glamour shots while bench pressing there’s really no need to worry about it.

When I went in for my first appointment I was dead set on getting implants over the muscle. But the surgeon explained that I didn’t have enough breast tissue and they would look obvious if he placed them over the pecs. So we went with under.

How Do I Choose a Doctor?

Hire a surgeon with so much experience that putting in breast implants is as routine as brushing his teeth. This isn’t the time to be frugal, so be ready to spend somewhere between $5,000 and $7,000 in total. Be suspicious of anything cheaper.

Consultations are free, so try visiting multiple doctors and go with the one who makes the most sense or makes you feel the most comfortable. I went with the first one I met because he was an artist of natural looking breasts (his clients included top beauty pageant contestants and fitness competitors) and he refused to place implants over my pecs. This let me know that he was doing his best to be an artist, not just taking my money and throwing in whatever I asked for.

The best surgeon won’t encourage you to go huge. He should want his work to look tasteful, balanced, and aesthetically pleasing, so that when you tell other women about it they’ll want what you have, and hire him. My surgeon turned down women who wanted to look like they were shoplifting basketballs.

Your surgeon will probably have you bring in pictures of racks you admire. I did that, but while I was under the knife, he tested out different sizes inside of me to see what would look the best and most proportional with my frame. It wouldn’t hurt to find a doctor who routinely does that.

What About the Risks?

The risks you’ll hear about most are usually related to the old implants made of saline or liquid silicone. The newest, safest material is a silicone gel that holds itself together and doesn’t release anything into your body even if “ruptured”. In other words, the gel implants hold together better than your own tissues.

Capsular contracture is another thing you might hear about. The capsule is just the lining that forms around the implant (good); contracture is what happens when that lining hardens and creates too much scar tissue (bad). The risk of capsular contracture goes down when the surgeon uses the newest implants.

Implant migration is another rare thing that can happen. Some female lifters say that their implants have migrated outward because of weight training, but medical professionals will tell you that migration happens randomly, and it happens to non-lifters just as often. I was told not to let the concern of migration impact my lifting.

Other risks occur when a female decides to start working out too soon after the surgery – yoga, weight training, dancing, running, you name it. Tissues need time to heal and collagen needs time to rebuild. Activity too soon can cause a blood vessel to pop and fill the breast up with blood. This would result in a hematoma and an expensive “re-operation” to fix what happened.

Patience is like breast insurance. Even if you think you’re good to start working out, give it the full amount of time that your doctor recommends. The better you are at waiting, the better they’ll look when you’re fully recovered.

How Big Should I Go?

Do you compete? Cool. But that shouldn’t make a difference. Think of your life beyond the competition. Will you want larger breasts then? Never get cosmetic surgery just to please a panel of judges (or your boyfriend). Talk it over with a loved one and make sure it’s a wise investment for your life, not just for the local stage.

With that said, there aren’t very many bikini competitors with flat chests. And while enormous fun bags aren’t a prerequisite you’ll find in the official judging criteria, everybody seems to know that if you’ve got your heart set on going pro in bikini, your boobs will probably need to be set on it too. Figure and physique competitions are a lot more forgiving in the boobs department. There are plenty of competitors who’ve competed and turned pro without enhancement.

If you train to make your body look amazing then why would you want your breasts to be the most prominent feature on your body? Get implants tocomplement your hard work, not to overshadow it. You want people to say, “Wow, look at that super fit woman!” not “Hey, look at that stripper over there doing lunges!”

How Will They Look?

Chests are just as diverse as faces. No two chests are exactly alike. Women who have breasts that are spaced wide apart won’t have inner cleavage, even after augmentation. Women who have breasts that are closer together will have cleavage. Their nipples will be narrower as opposed to pointing outward.

Genetics determine where boobs are on the chest and what direction the nipples point. The surgeon can’t rearrange your nips so if your breasts are structurally spread wide apart on your chest then they’ll remain that way. Don’t freak if your sweater puppies point outward. The tradeoff for great cleavage is great side-boob. Both structures have their benefits.

By the way, your new love muffins won’t settle in for weeks. Especially if they were inserted under the muscle. You’re going to be very, very swollen too for quite a while so they’ll look a little weird at first. Like footballs or alien aircraft. Don’t judge the final look of your breasts until at least five or six weeks after. Your doc may even take “after” pics somewhere around six weeks after your surgery.

How Do I Stay In Shape During Recovery?

The first couple days will be all about rest and recovery. If your surgeon went under the muscle, then plan to take it easy for six weeks. Rein in your diet. Edit out unnecessary indulgences. Remember, you won’t be holding loaded barbells, dumbbells, or using any upper body machines for six weeks so your appetite won’t be raging anyway.

If you got them over the muscle you’ll be able to ease into training sometime after two weeks. But recovery time is really an individual thing.

Just as a point of reference, my implants were under the muscle and this is how my fitness timeline went: For the first four days I slept. For the remainder of the first four weeks I walked about an hour a day. Around the four week mark I eased into training legs. After six weeks, I began training upper body with no direct chest work. After about two months I was able to do direct chest work with no issue. But I didn’t go all-out on upper body for about three months.

What About the Pain?

What the plastic surgery websites won’t tell you is that if you get your implants under the muscle, and if you have a lot of muscle on your chest, you will be in excruciating pain. For me, that pain was almost constant for three weeks. It only subsided when I was on heavy duty pain killers and sitting very still. A girlfriend of mine got hers over the muscle and said she felt great within three days.

Another thing you won’t find on the breast implant websites is what those heavy duty medications do to your digestive system. Just in case, have something on hand that alleviates constipation. I didn’t poop for a week after surgery.

Pain will also depend on how big your implants are. Many surgeons will require you to get moderate-sized implants before you get monster-sized implants because you’re having to stretch your body’s tissues in order to accommodate the extra stuff. Again, if the implants are going under the muscle, that’s more tissue getting stretched. Women who get a breast lift and augmentation at the same time will experience more pain simply because of the extra work being done.

When you come home from the procedure you won’t feel anything, and you might not be conscious. (I have only a blurry recollection of leaving the hospital and the ride home.) But that first week you definitely will be feeling it. Let your husband know that he’ll be doing all the chores for a while, as well as waiting on you hand and foot. That part is kinda nice.

Keep in mind that breast pain later on may not be caused by the implants, though that’s what we tend to blame first. But even women without breast implants experience pain in their breasts that can be caused by a whole host of things, including monthly hormonal fluctuations.

What About My Job?

Breast augmentation is considered a day surgery, no overnight stay required unless there’s a complication. You won’t want to go back to work the day after you get them either. Ideally, if you work weekdays, get them on a Thursday and go back to work on a Monday. If your job requires lifting of any kind, try to take more time off and ask your doctor for advice.

Can I Stop Training Chest If I Get Implants?

Don’t let bigger love pillows keep you from building bigger pecs. Muscle definition on the female chest is a sign of leanness and heavy training, so you’ll want to keep that around.

Muscle separation between the chest and the delt is stunning and it’ll complement your bigger boobs by building muscle in the area. And remember, bench presses and dips work a lot more than just your pecs. Keep training the area after you’re enhanced so that your chest will stand out for the work you’ve done on it. Just make sure you’re fully recovered first.

What about Sex and Everyday Life?

Sex increases blood pressure, so to avoid the risk of a hematoma, abstain for two weeks. The likelihood of wanting to get it on shortly after surgery will be slim… especially if you got them under the muscle. You’ll be propped up in bed at night and you won’t want your pillow set-up moving a whole lot. Even getting into bed will be an ordeal and it might be wise to sleep alone for the first few nights. But life and sleep will start getting back to normal after two weeks.

Some women complain of losing sensitivity in their nipples or having nipples that are painful to the touch years after surgery. If that’s a major concern for you, then talk to your doctor about it. If you’re not one who enjoys the nippies being touched in the first place, then that risk is inconsequential. Keep your spouse or significant other from doing anything fancy with your yum-yums for a while. He’s going to be amused no matter what and curious about what they feel like.

What about Scars?

Scarring will depend mainly on the incision site, and your skin’s ability to repair itself. If the surgeon does an axillary incision (near the armpit) there won’t be scarring on the boob, but there will probably be scarring on the armpit area. Inframammary (under the boob) is a common incision site because it doesn’t endanger the functions of the breast: pleasure and breast feeding. Under the boob scars are common and they’re not noticeable unless you’re topless. Bikinis hide them well. Another insertion option would be peri-areolar (right under the areola which surrounds the nipple). Surgeons often avoid this area because there’s a higher risk of complications.

To minimize scarring, you’ll want to avoid tanning for a few weeks while the scar tissue is building. Then if you do start tanning again you’ll need to add a high SPF to the incision scars. I wasn’t diligent about that and wound up with some dark scars under my boobs… which nobody sees but my husband.

What are the Biggest Perks?

Confidence. Confidence in the bedroom. Confidence wearing the clothes you like. Confidence at the gym when you catch a glimpse of your curves. A great rack is like an accessory that you never have to take off. Life without padded bras is pretty sweet.

Decision Time

If you feel sexy and beautiful in your body without implants, save your money. But if every outfit you put together requires a 20-minute Houdini-boob strategy, if you feel self-conscious during sex, if you feel discouraged about wearing half the things you want to wear, and if you’re training hard and eating well but still feel like you’re missing part of the package, then it’s something to think about.

Yes, you can absolutely have a beautiful body with nonexistent boobs. But the way you feel about that body is what matters the most.

---

Original Article by: Dani Shugart at T-Nation.com