LOVE YOUR BELT!! Red is an awesome choice. Mine is navy blue because it went with my chucks at the time. NOW my current chucks are red so I no longer match. 
Very nice lula, now all you have do is wait for meet day and kick some ass.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]scj119 wrote:
I think I asked you in PM, but what do you mean when you say you hit the rack with your weight? Like, the weights hit those side bars at the bottom of your squat? If so, that won’t matter at a meet since you aren’t using a power rack. Can’t tell exactly where you grip from your vids, but I think having the rack in would prevent you from gripping it normally. [/quote]
I took your statement to mean you bang the weights on the rack when walking out, which is what I do. Unless you grip wide, which I can’t tell from your vids, you shouldn’t have any problems with racks in. But I’d definitely experiment with this before you specify it at a meet.
[/quote]
I’m not really sure what you mean - rack in is specifically for people who grip wide, so why would that be a problem? I’d have to watch one of the vids of the bar being banged to know exactly what she means, but, it’s harder to bang the weights on the rack they use at meets since it’s basically just two prongs sticking up in the air, without any of the support structure of a real squat rack or power rack.
[quote]cholulalula wrote:
I’d like you all to meet someone.
Everyone, new belt.
New belt, everyone.
Thanks to Austin for gently suggesting (and reminding) me to step it up and get surrrious. [/quote]
Lever belt ftw.
love the belt color 
[quote]scj119 wrote:
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]scj119 wrote:
I think I asked you in PM, but what do you mean when you say you hit the rack with your weight? Like, the weights hit those side bars at the bottom of your squat? If so, that won’t matter at a meet since you aren’t using a power rack. Can’t tell exactly where you grip from your vids, but I think having the rack in would prevent you from gripping it normally. [/quote]
I took your statement to mean you bang the weights on the rack when walking out, which is what I do. Unless you grip wide, which I can’t tell from your vids, you shouldn’t have any problems with racks in. But I’d definitely experiment with this before you specify it at a meet.
[/quote]
I’m not really sure what you mean - rack in is specifically for people who grip wide, so why would that be a problem? I’d have to watch one of the vids of the bar being banged to know exactly what she means, but, it’s harder to bang the weights on the rack they use at meets since it’s basically just two prongs sticking up in the air, without any of the support structure of a real squat rack or power rack.[/quote]
I didn’t explain well. Most people who request racks in grip to the collars. You’re right. But there are also people like me who grip narrow but do better with the racks in because otherwise I bang the weights on the uprights during the walkout simply because I struggle a bit with stability during the liftoff and steps back. Canting the racks in gives me more wiggle room between the weights and the uprights and has resolved that banging problem for me. I should have said that racks in doesn’t work for people with a moderately wide grip. Thanks for clarifying that.
I like red. The thing it’s wrapped around? That’s pretty sexy too.
Thanks everyone!
Does anyone have tips for how to break it in? I saw a Dave Tate article explaining to wrap it up tight and them park your car over it…and to run it through the dishwasher (sans soap). Or do I just need to start using it for more than walking around my apartment, dead lifting imaginary 300# barbells?
Squats:
Worked up to a single of 185. I think I’ll open with this. (?)
Accessory:
Pistols
Box jumps
Front squats
Bridges/clamshells
Incline sprints
Incline walk
**A couple trainers at one of the gyms I’ve been going to have been getting a little bit too…comfortable lately. Today crossed a line, and I’m not sure exactly how to approach things. I’ll probably just try to lift with an iPod or something. If they had anything remotely intelligent to say, I’d be happy to chat. But please, just let me squat and leave me alone.
**Random but awesome: saw these girls perform at a half time a little bit ago. Best half-time show ever. Man, do I miss being a gymnast.
[quote]Mascherano wrote:
Well, helloooo gorgeous!!
Love the belt, Lula! Love the color especially. Red is my steeze, girl. snap
Are you going to name her?
Also, onslaught of noob questions in 3…2…
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what made you decide to get the belt finally? (aside form Austin’s urging)
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why did you decide on this particular belt (wide vs. tapered - i have no clue what you have, i’m guessing wide? um…the buckle?)
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what should the belt accomplish?
Btw, are you going to wear it at the meet? I’m so freaking excited for you!!! Like Jessie Spano excited!! You are going to blow shit out of the water!!! Dude, seriously. You’re an amazing lifter. [/quote]
As I answer these questions, keep in mind that I am a COMPLETE beginner and have NEVER used a belt so this is all from my own research and the reliability of the internet (HA!).
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I USED to believe the whole, if you’re using a belt, you’re not training the TVA to work correctly and your’e hurting yourself in the long run. BUT, once I started lifting weights that were more than body weight, I realized there’s NOTHING natural about squatting or dead-lifting significant amounts of weight, and it’s simply not built to be able to protect from that amount of force…and I noticed some developing back pain. SO, I did a little research and realized it wouldn’t go against everything I ever believed, and got one. but mainly Austin’s urging
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I kind of stalked a variety of forums that talked about wide v. tapered, but I think it was BG’s comment (?) that convinced me to get wide…why get a belt that’s tapered when the POINT of the belt is to push out against it. I also have a longish torso, so I think it fits just fine, whereas I could see getting tapered if you have a short torso.
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From what I understand (I’m totally new and inexperienced. Keep this in mind): the belt helps to support the spine when lifting, and also gives something to push out against when lifting weight. Just from practicing pretend squats and dead lifts, I can see how it helps to kind of “brace” everything. I’m not explaining this well. Other people would probably be better at explaining it.
I’m not going to wear it for the meet since I’ve never used it in training…HOWEVER, I might just wear it walking around the meet (when I eat my hot dog and nachos, that’s what happens, right?) just to look cool and to give me a waist in the not-so-sexy singlets (ha! I’m going to be such an embarrassment to the sport!)
And no name yet! But I think it (she?) needs one. Hmmmm
that’s the 10mm, so won’t be hard to break in. use it even with warm up weights and get it nice and sweaty. after a month or so, it will have a lot more play. you can try rolling it up in the reverse direction, but being a lever, might be a little tricky to keep it there. guess you could duct tape it. lol
you are on the right track. it helps support the spine by giving you something to push against, which in turns makes your core like a rock. tapered belts are only good for beating the shit out of the retards at the gym IMO, and I don’t stand alone. you see any top lifters using a tapered belt? no… people who think tapered belts are the way to know nothing of what the belt is used for, and needs to be beaten with it. I learned the hard way of the taper belt, and owe it to my disk between L3-L4 being herniated.
[quote]cholulalula wrote:
why get a belt that’s tapered when the POINT of the belt is to push out against it. I also have a longish torso, so I think it fits just fine, whereas I could see getting tapered if you have a short torso.[/quote]
I have both a full size and a tapered. I prefer the tapered even though I have a long torso. Quite long, in fact. I just couldn’t breath well in a full size and had a lot of trouble getting down to the bar for conventional DLing. I found the thickness of a full size actually worked against me with big weights. But my coach wants me to go back to squatting in the full size. So we’ll see what happens. Good luck to you with your new belt.
[quote]koubanator wrote:
you see any top lifters using a tapered belt? no… people who think tapered belts are the way to know nothing of what the belt is used for, and needs to be beaten with it.[/quote]
Shit. I’m going to be beaten. I’m certainly not a top lifter. So Koub might be right. But I have to say that a full-size belt is just too much for my little frame right now.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]koubanator wrote:
you see any top lifters using a tapered belt? no… people who think tapered belts are the way to know nothing of what the belt is used for, and needs to be beaten with it.[/quote]
Shit. I’m going to be beaten. I’m certainly not a top lifter. So Koub might be right. But I have to say that a full-size belt is just too much for my little frame right now.[/quote]
Ha! Yes, somehow I think the rules change when you are about 1/3 the size of the ‘typical’ lifter.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]koubanator wrote:
you see any top lifters using a tapered belt? no… people who think tapered belts are the way to know nothing of what the belt is used for, and needs to be beaten with it.[/quote]
Shit. I’m going to be beaten. I’m certainly not a top lifter. So Koub might be right. But I have to say that a full-size belt is just too much for my little frame right now.[/quote]
might look into a bench belt then. it’s only 2", not the 4".
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=299&pid=2481
[quote]cholulalula wrote:
I’d like you all to meet someone.
Everyone, new belt.
New belt, everyone.
Thanks to Austin for gently suggesting (and reminding) me to step it up and get surrrious. [/quote]
sweet
Hmmm…red belt names.
How about Hester? (sexiest name ever)…she was the woman in Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter.
Or Scarlett (as in Johansson) because you’re hot and she’s hot and there’s red…
Or Rose…too nice?
Or Carnage…too much testosterone?
Or BORTIA (Belt Of Red Total Is Awesome) 'cause you’re going to hit some big numbers with your new belt, it’s red and bortia sounds a bit like an abor…um, too classy?
edit: I have a 10mm lever belt. It required no break in period. As Koub said, just wear it. And try it with different degrees of tightness. If it is too tight you might find it awkward to get in position for DLs.
[quote]koubanator wrote:
might look into a bench belt then. it’s only 2", not the 4".
[/quote]
Yep. I have one of those too. I like the tapered for squat/DL because I get the benefit of the thickness in the back where I really want it and the narrowness in the front so that I can breath and get down to the bar. I don’t think it’s outrageous to assume that a smaller lifter would get more usability from a smaller belt. I’m less than 110 lb. right now, whereas many of you guys are double or triple that.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]koubanator wrote:
might look into a bench belt then. it’s only 2", not the 4".
[/quote]
Yep. I have one of those too. I like the tapered for squat/DL because I get the benefit of the thickness in the back where I really want it and the narrowness in the front so that I can breath and get down to the bar. I don’t think it’s outrageous to assume that a smaller lifter would get more usability from a smaller belt. I’m less than 110 lb. right now, whereas many of you guys are double or triple that.[/quote]
im a lean triple of you. lol if it works for you, go for it. just with that taper, if it’s not perfect on the low back, I don’t see anyone get that arch they need as it interferes with it. hence, why I blame it for my herniated disk. comfort over safety/performance just isn’t my way of training or giving advice. it took me a good 3 months to get use to the 13mm digging into my sides for deadlift, but now I’m use to it.
[quote]koubanator wrote:
I don’t see anyone get that arch they need as it interferes with it. hence, why I blame it for my herniated disk. comfort over safety/performance just isn’t my way of training or giving advice. it took me a good 3 months to get use to the 13mm digging into my sides for deadlift, but now I’m use to it.[/quote]
I don’t understand. A tapered belt is the same thickness in the back as a full size. It only tapers from the hip bones across the stomach.
Interesting discussion on the belt. A guy named Tom Mclaughlin had a bio mechanics lab at Auburn and did lots of powerlifting research some of which was abs/belt. His work showed that the greater the cross section of the abdominal that was covered the more effective the belt is.
I have had this convo with Up and i really believe a smaller lifter gets more from a (non tapered) belt than a larger lifter (if they can wear it without bruising ribs or hip bone) due to the fact that they have more of their abd area covered. His articles said the belt did 2 things, the obvious was increased intra abdominal pressure helping to stabilize the lumbar area.
Second which i though was interesting was that the erector spinae mostly compressed the spine when they contract during a squat and did very little work actually extending the back. High intra abdominal pressure actually counteracts some of those high compression forces taking some of the weight off the spine. In his opinion the tighter the belt the better which is why i am a big fan of tightening the belt as much as possible then bracing abs against it versus pushing abs into it.
As far as breaking in (again my opinion) as long as it can wrap around you let it be. The stiffer the belt is the better. I had a belt called named black death once that you could hold by the buckle and it would be straight out like a stick lol.
Good luck at your meet.