Hell yeah, I was sitting here at work and my hip squat belt came in~!! I’m kinda excited to use it, and it is great b/c today is leg day. Does anyone here use a hip belt for their leg workouts? If so, what can I expect from it?
Never used one but I’d be interested in hearing what your experience is with it in comparison to your regular leg workouts.
Dank, how’s the hip squat belt working out for you? Did you have to buy an EZ bar to use for loading?
I know this thread was from way back in the archives, but I thought I’d give my opinion of the belt since I’ve been using it since January. This is a really good piece of equipment for those who work out at home and don’t have access to a squat rack, which I am one of those people. I already had an ez curl bar BTW, so that wasnt a problem. The belt took a little getting used to, but after trying a few sets w/lower weight I fell in love with it. I have found that the placement of my feet has made it a great exercise not only for the quad, but also the hammies too. It does feel a little awkward when you squat, almost like you are gonna fall forward, but i fixed that by lightly holding onto my dip station when I descend for the squat. I’ve had some pretty good workouts w/this belt, and the great thing about it is that there is no strain whatsoever on the lower back. As of today I have gained 1.5 inches on my legs, which is a great feat for me considering I have had 4 knee surgeries since '96(2 ACL tears w/ meniscus repair, one scope and one that removed 25% of my medial meniscus…these surgeries were all in the same left knee) and since then my VMO was prretty much non-existent. All in all I would tell people that don’t have squat-rack access or just want to alleviate some lower back pain to get a hip squat belt.
Dank, do you elevate your heels when you do the hip belt squats?
No, I don’t elevate them b/c I feel that when I do that I am putting too much pressure on my knee joints, although those that have healthy knees would probably benefit from it. I really try to make it as painless as possible when I do lower body work because I don’t want anything to happen than may put me back on the operating table. I don’t feel the need to elevate also b/c I really get a great pump in my quads by the time I’m done w/hip-squats, although I could see why one would want to do so.