How many of you guys wear a belt?

[mm107]

How to prevent pain in lower back when doing squats? Srenghten the lower back?

Reverse Hypers, Stiff Legs, Goodmornings, Hypers, and Squatting with good form + deads.

 

[krishna]

Weight belts make your core muscles weak because they don't have to work. It's not recommended that one use a belt, but instead, to train with cycles designed to improve core strength and structural integrity. Your core is your internal weight belt. If you replace it with an exterior belt, your internal one gets weak. Granted there comes a point when lifting huge amounts of weight that you should wear one regardless of your core strength, but for the most part, one should avoid using them and strengthen their core instead.

 

[mm107]

Weight belts make your core muscles weak because they don't have to work. It's not recommended that one use a belt, but instead, to train with cycles designed to improve core strength and structural integrity. Your core is your internal weight belt. If you replace it with an exterior belt, your internal one gets weak. Granted there comes a point when lifting huge amounts of weight that you should wear one regardless of your core strength, but for the most part, one should avoid using them and strengthen their core instead.

agreeeeeeed!

 

[maldorf]

i never used to wear one. . .even when i sqautted heavy (505). . .however, developed a small hernia over my belly button a few years back that required surgery. . .now i wear my belt when i'm eating cereal. . .

Exaclty! I have an umbilical hernia too, and I think I got it wearing a really crappy belt. It happend to me 19 years ago when I was just a beginning lifter. I now wear a good powerlifting belt and it feels much better. I do happen to be going in tomorrow to get my hernia patched up after all these years.

 

[maldorf]

Weight belts make your core muscles weak because they don't have to work. It's not recommended that one use a belt, but instead, to train with cycles designed to improve core strength and structural integrity. Your core is your internal weight belt. If you replace it with an exterior belt, your internal one gets weak. Granted there comes a point when lifting huge amounts of weight that you should wear one regardless of your core strength, but for the most part, one should avoid using them and strengthen their core instead.

I used to think that made sense until I read a study online, I cant remember where I found it but it was a ligit study by a university. They compared the stimulus the core muscles get while doing squats with and without a belt. They had an instrument hooked up with electrodes to the muscles. The study showed that those wearing the belt actually had more muscles stimulus to the core than those not wearing one. Counterintuitive, but thats what they found.

 

[Mac173]

I Always wear a belt when squatting. Helps w/ form. I don't believe it takes much away strengthining my core. I squat almost the same w/ or w/o the belt , I just like the extra support.

 

[krishna]

I used to think that made sense until I read a study online, I cant remember where I found it but it was a ligit study by a university. They compared the stimulus the core muscles get while doing squats with and without a belt. They had an instrument hooked up with electrodes to the muscles. The study showed that those wearing the belt actually had more muscles stimulus to the core than those not wearing one. Counterintuitive, but thats what they found.

Post the study.

 

[blut wump]

There's little doubt that, for most people, wearing a belt boosts the amount they can squat. As such, if you squat just to build legs then, I guess, there's little to suggest you shouldn't wear a belt since greater weight gives greater stimulus. You could apply the same argument to using a vertical leg press, too.

When it comes to being strong, though, and having functional strength then you need to know how to form a tight core without a belt. You use your abdominal muscles in very different ways belted and not-belted. When belted you push against the belt to create intra-abdominal pressure to create stability. When not belted you tighten the abs to squeeze the abdominal cavity to create pressure.

Regarding straps, if you really don't care about being able to hold onto things then there's no need to have a strong grip. I use straps when doing heavier ballistic shrugs and heavier rack pulls and that's about it.

I've seen many guys at the gym wrapping straps around the bar as a matter of course for every pulling movement, including warmup rows. Clearly, you don't want a weak grip to compromise a deads workout but a deadlift session is also a chance to improve grip strength. Don't use the straps until your grip is failing and use double overhand whenever that suffices. Your grip will improve.

If I need to move a log out of the way or carry it back to the house for firewood, I like the fact that I don't need to run home for my belt and that I can grip it and expect to hold on.

 

[mm107]

There's little doubt that, for most people, wearing a belt boosts the amount they can squat. As such, if you squat just to build legs then, I guess, there's little to suggest you shouldn't wear a belt since greater weight gives greater stimulus. You could apply the same argument to using a vertical leg press, too.

When it comes to being strong, though, and having functional strength then you need to know how to form a tight core without a belt. You use your abdominal muscles in very different ways belted and not-belted. When belted you push against the belt to create intra-abdominal pressure to create stability. When not belted you tighten the abs to squeeze the abdominal cavity to create pressure.

Regarding straps, if you really don't care about being able to hold onto things then there's no need to have a strong grip. I use straps when doing heavier ballistic shrugs and heavier rack pulls and that's about it.

I've seen many guys at the gym wrapping straps around the bar as a matter of course for every pulling movement, including warmup rows. Clearly, you don't want a weak grip to compromise a deads workout but a deadlift session is also a chance to improve grip strength. Don't use the straps until your grip is failing and use double overhand whenever that suffices. Your grip will improve.

If I need to move a log out of the way or carry it back to the house for firewood, I like the fact that I don't need to run home for my belt and that I can grip it and expect to hold on.

Very True.

I powerlift, i need to have a strong core.