I was just wondering what some of your thoughts on lifting belts were.
I’ve been training for a while, but LEG training is a pretty knew area to me, partially because I was in the marine corps and didn’t want to train legs and have to run 12 miles the next day, and partially because I was being a pussy.
I’ve read a lot of articles recently saying only to wear a belt for your 1RM because wearing one all the time weakens your lower back, but I’ve also seen a couple saying to always wear one because it increases your squat signifigantly.
I do deadlifts and other lower back exercises, so should I be wearing a belt when I’m repping on squats so that I can further my leg development by lifting heavier? Just looking for some opinions.
I like to squat with and with out a belt. When the weight gets over 315 or 355 I always put on the belt. Helps me squat more. My first few sets are done without one. I recommend these guys if you want to get one.
I generally wear one for the heaviest lifts too. But sometimes, I wonder whether I’m getting the full benefit from it (and I see lots of guys who certainly aren’t getting much benefit from theirs).
Does anyone have a pointer to something to discuss the “right” way to wear one? (how tight; how high or low; whether to push against it, or to avoid doing so …). I thought it was obvious, then I tried varying the parameters, and got differing results. Now I’m confused.
I practically never use mine, even on high weight sets. Not because I’m tough or cool, but because I usually forget to put it on and I haven’t blown out my back yet. I’m only telling my experience with no designs on saying what anybody else should do.
Just dont become dependant on the belt if you do choose to use one. I see people belting for lat pulldowns when going for reps of 10, to me thats just retarded
I only use a belt for heavy squats or deads as well. You need to train the stabilizing muscles for these exercises, this can be done at the lower weights.
I’ve caught more shit over this than any other aspect of training. But the truth is that every big squatter I know has learned how to use his abdominals while squatting. You must learn how to breathe into your belly. You want to pull as much air as you can into your belly, then flex and force your abdominals out.
Walk over to a mirror. Take a look at your shoulders and take a deep breath. Did they rise? If they did, then you’re pulling all the air into your chest, not your belly. You need to learn how to breath into your belly. This is how we teach everyone to squat. For the squat, we advise the use of a weight belt worn one notch loose. This is to teach you to pull air into your belly then push out into the belt. The belt acts as a great training aid to push against.
As a side note, we use the same technique for all of our max-effort work, but don’t use the belt in that situation. This is one aspect of our training that has been misunderstood for too long. We use the belt to teach how to use the abdominals for the squat, bench, and deadlift, and do not advocate its use for anything else unless the lifter feels it’s needed. Many in the gym have worked up to 600 and 700 pound good mornings without any adverse effects and have been doing them this way for over ten years.
This brings me to the next point. We’ve been told breathing and using the abdominals this way will lead to back injuries. Louie Simmons has been coaching this for the past twenty years at Westside and hasn’t had any lifters with these problems. Learning to use the belly has made a profound difference in all of our squats, especially for those who’ve never tried it. I’ve seen squats increase by 25 to 50 pounds on this aspect alone. Now that’s what squatting big is all about.
Filling your belly with air will also create a larger torso and give you a bigger base of support from which to drive. Ever wonder why those with bigger waists squat so much? Think about it. We want as much tightness and support as we can get from the gross muscles of the spinal errectors, abdominals, and obliques.
I use a belt because my mid section feels more stable with it with heavy weight especially when unracking and getting into position for the squat. Plus I don’t have a powerlifting belly to bounce off at the bottom ;o)
I don’t use belts because I want my back, not the belt, to support my weight when I squat. However, I find belts useful when someone is competing or when someone has an aggravated back from other exercises and wants to squat heavy.
[quote]undeadlift wrote:
I don’t use belts because I want my back, not the belt, to support my weight when I squat. However, I find belts useful when someone is competing or when someone has an aggravated back from other exercises and wants to squat heavy.[/quote]
What kind of insignificant weight are you moveing that when you put on a belt your lower back isnt getting worked?
My lower back is probably my strongest bodypart and I wear a belt for everything, shit if Im curling over 135 Il probably throw on a belt.
[quote]Uber N3wb wrote:
undeadlift wrote:
I don’t use belts because I want my back, not the belt, to support my weight when I squat. However, I find belts useful when someone is competing or when someone has an aggravated back from other exercises and wants to squat heavy.
What kind of insignificant weight are you moveing that when you put on a belt your lower back isnt getting worked?
My lower back is probably my strongest bodypart and I wear a belt for everything, shit if Im curling over 135 Il probably throw on a belt.[/quote]
I know it gets worked even with a belt, but I don’t want any belt doing some of the work. I want my back to do all the work.
There’s also a study saying that belts inhibit core recruitment in those DLs and squats. Not that I’m discouraging the use of belts, but it’s just a preference for me not to use them myself.
I will use one at 85-90% of my squat or deadlift to. But do not use them all the time, it can take away from the benefits of your core to…Because if you didn’t already know, doing un-belted squats and deadlifts help your core alot!! So i like to use them for the upper 15% of my max.
I used to wear one years ago for squats. Never reall did deads back then. But havent used one for more than 10 years now.
Just dont see the need anymore. Warm up properlly, use correct form and dont try to be a superhero.
[quote]Hagar wrote:
I like to squat with and with out a belt. When the weight gets over 315 or 355 I always put on the belt. Helps me squat more. My first few sets are done without one. I recommend these guys if you want to get one.
I don’t use them with stiff legged deadlifts though and I’ll go up to 315.
[/quote]
On a side note ATP is the shit, especially if you get their newsletter with amazing deals. A few weeks ago I got wrist straps + 12" wrist wraps for like $5 shipped… incredible. Their belts are good too.
I would agree with the other guys on saving it for the heavuiest lifts. OTOH, I am in a minority in my gym as most other “lifters” wear it for all exercises. It does set off your waist wonderfully…
[quote]undeadlift wrote:
There’s also a study saying that belts inhibit core recruitment in those DLs and squats. Not that I’m discouraging the use of belts, but it’s just a preference for me not to use them myself.[/quote]
Squat to squat, don’t squat to “work your core”. Do heavy ab and lower back work afterwards for that. Your squat will improve much faster that way.