One of my biggest regrets in training was not getting a belt much earlier. I had imposed some manner of gatekeeping on myself and insisted that I had to hit certain lifts before I ever used a belt. After blowing out my back on some pin squats, I finally got a belt, and it was just night and day difference. Learning how to use one earlier would have been awesome.
It cost a good amount of money, yeah, but a good belt will last a lifetime. If a kid is too poor to afford drugs and booze because they spent all their money on lifting gear, itās not the worse thing in the world, haha.
Iād say go for it. For someone totally new to lifting, I donāt really think a belt is worth the purchase. But if itās something a person is serious about pursuing, as I believe @duketheslaya is, itās an investment that will return for years.
Not sure about shipping to Aus, but I bought my belt off of the Lifting Large website and I love it. I bought the āTexas Training Power Belt 4x4ā, but there are also a couple different economy versions that I was going to buy but they didnāt have my size in stock.
A belt is the absolute most essential piece of equipment for a lifter. Yes, he should get one. It doesnāt sound like moneyās an issue from what heās said to this point, so Iām working off that assumption. Duke doesnāt seem to be interested in spending money on anything other than lifting-related stuff. So yea, it sounds like heās already made the decision that this is how he wants to allocate whatever funds he has. If he knows he wants to spend the cash, he should get a high quality belt now. These things last forever.
Solid advice. I was getting nicked up doing squats and deads with ālight weightsā (heavy to me) because I was still learning and I didnāt have belt support. I bought a cheap fabric belt on Amazon, and it worked fine for a while. Eventually, I bought an Inzer and am sure it will last a lifetime - wish I had bought it right away rather than waiting.
Iāve heard great things about Inzer so I bought one of their belts a month ago. Just a heads-up to duke: if youāre going for an Inzer, they take forever to ship. Thatās why theyāre called Inzer Forever belts. 6-8 weeks to be manufactured and another 2-5 business days for shipping I believe. I should add that I bought a double prong red white & blue beltā¦ single prong black is the only thing they keep stocked all the time I think. So that would probably arrive in a fraction of the time as a custom one.
It was a toss-up between Crain, Pioneer, and Inzer. Someday when I have money, I might buy a Pioneer for fun. They seem to be just as well-reviewed as Inzer
I mean, if youāve already got an Inzer there really isnāt a point to that. It really is about the same as the Inzer forever belt. Iāve had both. I only bought the Pioneer because my Inzer was stolen, and I asked some lifting friends for advice on direction for my next belt. It was basically unanimous in support of Pioneer.
How long did you have your Inzer before it was stolen? That blows. Watch it magically appear on someone squatting in your gym. And do you think the inzer wouldāve actually lasted your entire career? Because if so, Iāll take that Pioneer belt money and start saving for a cycle in 10 years. (Kind of kidding, but not really)
I had pretty quick shipping on an Inzer belt. I think itās because I ordered a black one. Trying to get one in a color is a chore from what Iāve seen.
I believe the inzer would have lasted indefinitely, and I expect the pioneer and sbd belts I have to do the same. They just donāt wear out. I had the inzer for 4 years I believe. It had sweat stains on it. Thatās it. All the holes were still in great shape. Hardware was like new.
I had my gym bag in the backseat of my truck, which was parked in my parking garage. I left the door unlocked to the truck over night, and I lost the gym bag with all my gym gear, 2 pairs of expensive sunglasses, and my wallet, which I tend to leave in my car. It did blow. The gym bag had my weightlifting shoes as well, along with a rehband soft belt, wraps, straps, etc. 600 dollars or so worth of gear. And I assume whoever stole it opened up the bag, said āI canāt use any of thisā and tossed it in the nearest dumpster.
Your account should have a 100 Likes/day max, but I have to look more into what happens in the (extremely rare and hard to do) situation that itās reached.
EDIT: Seems like the hundreds of thousands of hours-thing was a bug in the system that should be sorted out now. If itās still an issue, do me a favor and toss a thread over in the Forum Feedback section.