Hey, i have seen a few people, that seem to walk around the gym with there lifting belts on really tight. what is the point of this? i always wear a belt on a heavy lift, and then realese it after the lift. is there any reasoning behind keepin the belt on the whole gym session?
It gives the illusion of a smaller waist and a larger torso. I see several ‘big’ (read as ‘fat’) guys in my gym who cinch their belts over a sweatshirt even before they walk in. Then it stays on through pressdowns, calf raises, even crunches.
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
It gives the illusion of a smaller waist and a larger torso. I see several ‘big’ (read as ‘fat’) guys in my gym who cinch their belts over a sweatshirt even before they walk in. Then it stays on through pressdowns, calf raises, even crunches.
S[/quote]
lol yeah, it’s pretty silly.
I’d imagine lifting like this is probably not so beneficial to your core.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
It gives the illusion of a smaller waist and a larger torso. I see several ‘big’ (read as ‘fat’) guys in my gym who cinch their belts over a sweatshirt even before they walk in. Then it stays on through pressdowns, calf raises, even crunches.
S[/quote]
X2 lol I’ve seen a man belt up tight before curls.
[quote]jackedup45 wrote:
Hey, i have seen a few people, that seem to walk around the gym with there lifting belts on really tight. what is the point of this? i always wear a belt on a heavy lift, and then realese it after the lift. is there any reasoning behind keepin the belt on the whole gym session?[/quote]
I’ll defend wearing the belt during entire workouts, as I do this 4x/week (two back days, two leg days).
I do a lot of volume on squats, and my Inzer belt is pretty thick. Taking it off after every set and then rebuckling it tight would be a major inconvenience, particularly because I rest roughly 90 secs between sets.
What you’re talking about would be reasonable if I had a lever belt and/or rested like 3 minutes between sets.
I wear it during back days for two reasons: first, I do some exercises that involve spinal loading and want to spare my lower back what I can; second, if wearing a belt all the time year round prevents one minor back strain a year, then it will have been worth it for me.
Stu’s point about creating the illusion of a smaller waist is true enough. It’s a perk, I guess, but there are certainly legit reasons to wear a belt throughout a workout beside that issue.
It indicates that they don’t know what a belt is for.
If you’re able to wear it for that long then I doubt it’s tight enough to be of much use.
[quote]SavagedNatiion wrote:
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
It gives the illusion of a smaller waist and a larger torso. I see several ‘big’ (read as ‘fat’) guys in my gym who cinch their belts over a sweatshirt even before they walk in. Then it stays on through pressdowns, calf raises, even crunches.
S[/quote]
X2 lol I’ve seen a man belt up tight before curls.[/quote]
I’ve seen a guy use that pad thing folk squat with for curls before. He was swinging about so much he had to use it to protect his junk
[quote]SavagedNatiion wrote:
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
It gives the illusion of a smaller waist and a larger torso. I see several ‘big’ (read as ‘fat’) guys in my gym who cinch their belts over a sweatshirt even before they walk in. Then it stays on through pressdowns, calf raises, even crunches.
S[/quote]
X2 lol I’ve seen a man belt up tight before curls.[/quote]
x3…ironically no one uses it for Squats or Deadlifts…only curls…go figure
When I use a belt I wear it tight, I couldn’t breathe enough between sets if I left it that way.
obviously their bodies would just collapse being that the belt has fully taken the place of abdominal muscles
[quote]BlueCollarTr8n wrote:
When I use a belt I wear it tight, I couldn’t breathe enough between sets if I left it that way. [/quote]
Here’s a question for BlueCollar and some of the other stronger dudes:
Right now, as I mentioned, I wear my belt (an Inzer bodybuilding tapered buckle belt) throughout the workout. That said, I don’t find that I need to wear it so tightly that it would restrict my breathing. I wear it what I consider “as tight as I can make it by myself” and tight enough that I am bracing my core against it.
I’m wondering whether there’s a certain strength level at which time you ended up needing to get the belt that tight. Right now, I’m only squatting in the 390-415 range for few reps (4-6) and in the 315-350 range for high reps (9-20). Should I expect that by the time I get to heavy weights (e.g., 500 or thereabouts), I’ll be needing to invest in a lever belt or something that can give me a much tighter fit than my current belt?
Intuitively, it seems like that might be the case, considering belts are rarely seen work for people squatting, e.g., 225, compared to 315. Figured that maybe the tightness factor would be the next step.
Thanks.
I like that I can keep wearing my belt, as it keeps rest periods shorter (90-120 secs)
[quote]The3Commandments wrote:
[quote]BlueCollarTr8n wrote:
When I use a belt I wear it tight, I couldn’t breathe enough between sets if I left it that way. [/quote]
Here’s a question for BlueCollar and some of the other stronger dudes:
Right now, as I mentioned, I wear my belt (an Inzer bodybuilding tapered buckle belt) throughout the workout. That said, I don’t find that I need to wear it so tightly that it would restrict my breathing. I wear it what I consider “as tight as I can make it by myself” and tight enough that I am bracing my core against it.
I’m wondering whether there’s a certain strength level at which time you ended up needing to get the belt that tight. Right now, I’m only squatting in the 390-415 range for few reps (4-6) and in the 315-350 range for high reps (9-20). Should I expect that by the time I get to heavy weights (e.g., 500 or thereabouts), I’ll be needing to invest in a lever belt or something that can give me a much tighter fit than my current belt?
Intuitively, it seems like that might be the case, considering belts are rarely seen work for people squatting, e.g., 225, compared to 315. Figured that maybe the tightness factor would be the next step.
Thanks.
I like that I can keep wearing my belt, as it keeps rest periods shorter (90-120 secs)[/quote]
Yeah brother, you a strong motherfucker, and with that in mind, when you’re doing heavy squats and full deads, wearing a belt to support your abdomen is spot on. I think the OP was, taking a shot at people wearing them for a cosmetic look vs. legitmate use. When i’m squatting over 315, I always strap in tight.
I remember Steely once posting about how he couldn’t get his belt unlocked after a particular set. It sounded almost desperately exasperating reading his account!
lol
Lol I know desperate feeling!
[quote]The3Commandments wrote:
[quote]jackedup45 wrote:
Hey, i have seen a few people, that seem to walk around the gym with there lifting belts on really tight. what is the point of this? i always wear a belt on a heavy lift, and then realese it after the lift. is there any reasoning behind keepin the belt on the whole gym session?[/quote]
I’ll defend wearing the belt during entire workouts, as I do this 4x/week (two back days, two leg days).
I do a lot of volume on squats, and my Inzer belt is pretty thick. Taking it off after every set and then rebuckling it tight would be a major inconvenience, particularly because I rest roughly 90 secs between sets.
What you’re talking about would be reasonable if I had a lever belt and/or rested like 3 minutes between sets.
I wear it during back days for two reasons: first, I do some exercises that involve spinal loading and want to spare my lower back what I can; second, if wearing a belt all the time year round prevents one minor back strain a year, then it will have been worth it for me.
Stu’s point about creating the illusion of a smaller waist is true enough. It’s a perk, I guess, but there are certainly legit reasons to wear a belt throughout a workout beside that issue.[/quote]
As inconvenient as it may be, try loosening the belt between sets. It will help your BP return to normal faster speeding your recovery between sets.
Commandments, OP wasn’t talking about you.
The dudes OP is talking about are NEVER in decent shape (in the gyms I’ve seen this at). In my experience, they’re almost always the guys who just seem to wander to different machines, dumbbells, cables, and do whatever the fuck happens to look shiny that day.
They also tend to take themselves very seriously. It’s really comical to see people curling in belts, to me it’s right on par with curling in the squat rack. But at least with the belt-curls it’s not taking up the use of a rack for someone else.
I know at my gym a few of the bigger guys wear a belt all the time because they claim it keeps their waist tapered. I think Ronnie said he did that at one point. Sounds bro-sciency to me, but whatever.
[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I know at my gym a few of the bigger guys wear a belt all the time because they claim it keeps their waist tapered. I think Ronnie said he did that at one point. Sounds bro-sciency to me, but whatever. [/quote]
Not Ronnie, but one of the more recent IFBB Pros did (I forget who at the moment). I remember seeing it discussed somewhere, and anyone with any education realized it was complete bunk. Usually the guys worried about keeping their waists trim are a good 50+ lbs from really needing to worry about their taper.
S
I use both a 4x2 and a 4x4 belt. I use the 4x4 for Squats w/wraps & Deadlift beginning at 4 wheels. I weigh about 210- 220 and squat 4 wheels in the 6-12 range. I usually limit deadlift to triples over 400. If I were to run a meet prep I would use the 4x4 to bench and I may use it when attempting max singles, doubles, or triples on O.H. Press, Bent Bar Row, etc. I use the 4x2 for everything else where I use a belt.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I know at my gym a few of the bigger guys wear a belt all the time because they claim it keeps their waist tapered. I think Ronnie said he did that at one point. Sounds bro-sciency to me, but whatever. [/quote]
Not Ronnie, but one of the more recent IFBB Pros did (I forget who at the moment). I remember seeing it discussed somewhere, and anyone with any education realized it was complete bunk. Usually the guys worried about keeping their waists trim are a good 50+ lbs from really needing to worry about their taper.
S[/quote]
When I started training in the mid-eighties it was common for ‘bodybuiders’ to wear their belt throughout the workout.