Can anyone recommend a decent weightlifting belt? I have no idea what qualities to look for. I have a slight hernia so I wanted to wear one to be careful. Last time I front squated I felt some pain in my lower gut right above my manhood. Didn’t feel right.
10mm buckle. Inzer, Titan, Crain, BobsBelts, EFS, etc… They are all pretty similar.
I dunno if they’ve changed the buckle since then, but I’ve got a 3 year old 13mm lever buckle Inzer “Forever” belt. The leather is good, but the buckle had problems with…ummm…shattering.
With me it happened when it got dropped, but another guy had it snap while at the bottom of the squat. The material was, to put it bluntly, total shit. I literally could snap it with my bare hands. Just a heads up to you or anyone else looking around for a belt.
(I replaced the buckle with a titan one. No problems, despite numerous droppages and attempts to break it)
I’ve got this one: http://www.clutchfitness.com/files/2005-10-09_111823_front_open1.jpg
and like it a lot. Take a screw driver to the gym with you your first time to get the correct setting under use…after that you’re golden.
I only tighten it when I do a meet.
Thanks for the suggestions. Couldn’t find any of these at Modells or Home Depot. Are Altus or Scheik belts OK? I’d really like to try one on before I order and I can’t find a sports store that sells the ones mentioned above.
Not that a simple search couldn’t have answered this, but I recently bought a 10mm Inzer Forever Lever Belt. It is my first Lever belt, and I love the feature. I got black so it shipped quickly. I had it in about 4 days.
[quote]sam_sneed wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions. Couldn’t find any of these at Modells or Home Depot. Are Altus or Scheik belts OK? I’d really like to try one on before I order and I can’t find a sports store that sells the ones mentioned above.[/quote]Home Depot? Wait wat?
[quote]elih8er wrote:
sam_sneed wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions. Couldn’t find any of these at Modells or Home Depot. Are Altus or Scheik belts OK? I’d really like to try one on before I order and I can’t find a sports store that sells the ones mentioned above.Home Depot? Wait wat?
[/quote]
Haha, sorry meant Sports Authority.
[quote]DOHCrazy wrote:
Not that a simple search couldn’t have answered this, but I recently bought a 10mm Inzer Forever Lever Belt. It is my first Lever belt, and I love the feature. I got black so it shipped quickly. I had it in about 4 days. [/quote]
I tried searching powerlifting belt and weightlifting belt before I made this post. But thanks for recommendation.
I don’t like the lever belt. Seems incovenient and not very versatile, plus I don’t know why you’d want your belt that tight in the first place.
I like a single prong buckle and the belt to be a size to big so I can do stuff with it like tuck weights into it or wear it loose and pull a sled with it.
[quote]conorh wrote:
I don’t like the lever belt. Seems incovenient and not very versatile, plus I don’t know why you’d want your belt that tight in the first place.
I like a single prong buckle and the belt to be a size to big so I can do stuff with it like tuck weights into it or wear it loose and pull a sled with it.[/quote]
I think it is very convenient. It is much easier to tighten and loosen than a prong belt. As soon as I’m done with a heavy set and the wraps are about to make me faint, I want my belt off, and I want to be able to do it myself. As far as versatility, I only use it for squatting, so I can’t comment much on that.
Sam -
Look for a store called “Fitness 2000” or “Reps Fitness”. Fitness 2000 used to be in Union on 22 and Reps is in Bridgewater. Both of them carried “training” power belts which are two prong 10 mm 4" wide belts for around $40. This is going to be your best bet for something that will be supportive, versatile, and will last. You may want to call ahead to both of these stores just to make sure that they have one in stock.
If you were going to go with a soft belt then I would probably pick up a Valeo belt, but they are going to be less supportive than the leather belts (and in many cases also more expensive).
[quote]Shakes wrote:
Sam -
Look for a store called “Fitness 2000” or “Reps Fitness”. Fitness 2000 used to be in Union on 22 and Reps is in Bridgewater. Both of them carried “training” power belts which are two prong 10 mm 4" wide belts for around $40. This is going to be your best bet for something that will be supportive, versatile, and will last. You may want to call ahead to both of these stores just to make sure that they have one in stock.
If you were going to go with a soft belt then I would probably pick up a Valeo belt, but they are going to be less supportive than the leather belts (and in many cases also more expensive).[/quote]
Awesome. Just the info I was looking for. I’ll be in that central Jersey area tomorrow. I’m gonna check those places out. The belts at Modells sucked ass.
[quote]smokotime wrote:
I dunno if they’ve changed the buckle since then, but I’ve got a 3 year old 13mm lever buckle Inzer “Forever” belt. The leather is good, but the buckle had problems with…ummm…shattering.
With me it happened when it got dropped, but another guy had it snap while at the bottom of the squat. The material was, to put it bluntly, total shit. I literally could snap it with my bare hands. Just a heads up to you or anyone else looking around for a belt.
(I replaced the buckle with a titan one. No problems, despite numerous droppages and attempts to break it)[/quote]
On this… I saw a guys Inzer lever belt buckle shatter under a 320kg bench attempt in 2006. It wasn’t pretty.
[quote]DOHCrazy wrote:
conorh wrote:
I don’t like the lever belt. Seems incovenient and not very versatile, plus I don’t know why you’d want your belt that tight in the first place.
I like a single prong buckle and the belt to be a size to big so I can do stuff with it like tuck weights into it or wear it loose and pull a sled with it.
I think it is very convenient. It is much easier to tighten and loosen than a prong belt. As soon as I’m done with a heavy set and the wraps are about to make me faint, I want my belt off, and I want to be able to do it myself. As far as versatility, I only use it for squatting, so I can’t comment much on that.
[/quote]
My new Inzer lever belt arrived by UPS today. I got the lever for the exact reason you mentioned above. I train alone quite frequently in full gear. Nothing is quite as exciting as not being able to get your buckle undone when your knees are wrapped and your feet are screaming and you can’t get to them. Good times. Hopefully the lever will help with that.
I don’t have much belt experience, BUT, I love my retro (10 mm) belt from Elitefts. Its a black single prong, I have only been using it for about 2 months and its the only real belt I’ve ever used, but its definitely a solid belt.
13mm lever belt. I use Inzer, but any brand will do.
Glad that I could help. Hopefully Fitness 2000 is still in business… they are a little hard to find, if you are driving on 22 East it is on the right side immediately after that huge flagship in the center isle. They are right after a Hess Station. The first couple of times I went flying past the store, it is in a small complex with a video store (used to be) but they have a great selection of supplements and equipment.
Reps is right near the Bridgewater Mall, also on 22 East.
If you are going to order online APT Pro Wrist Straps is going to be your best value ($45 range for a quality belt) and Inzer’s are probably the highest quality ($80). Inzer sometimes has been known to have customer service issues, whereas APT ships quickly and is very responsive.
You should be all set with the local stores and they can probably order the power belt for you if they do not have one in stock. I actually have an extra one that I would give to you but I don’t live in Jersey anymore.
Good luck with the belt search and let us know how it turns out…
Both of the places you mentioned were in business. But neither had any of the higher end belts mentioned in this thread. REPS is a cool place. They got tons of shit in there and nice power racks (pricey though). So I ended up getting a $20 Harbinger belt from REPS. I tried it yesterday and it worked just fine. I only need a belt for front squats and I doubt I’ll ever get much past 400 on that lift so I think it’ll hold up.
Get a belt that is four inches thick all around – that is what starting strenght recommends at least.