Weight lifting belt recommendation?

[miked8c]

"A belt should be used judiciously, possibly restricted to the last warm up and work sets, if then. Some trainees will not require a belt at all, for much of the early part of their training career, and if the abs are strong and the back uninjured, may prefer to never use one. This is a judgement call, one that must be made with the input of the trainee, but it is probably prudent to err on the side of safety if there is any question at all about it. A belt will not prevent the trunk from getting and staying strong-- there is plenty of work for the trunk muscles even if a belt is worn on heavy sets-- and it may help the trainee to safely squat enough weight to radically improve his strength, something he might not be able to do without it."


" A belt protects the spine by increasing the amount of pressure that can be applied to it by the muscles that support it... At the same time, the belt acts as a proprioceptive cue for a harder abdominal muscle contraction: you can actually squeeze harder with a belt on than you can without one, just as you can push harder against a loaded barbell than you can against a broomstick. This effect ultimately produces both stronger abs, due to the stronger isometric contraction facilitated by the belt, and a strong squat, due to the heavier loads made possible by a more stable spine"

-Rippetoe, Starting Strength

 

[audia316]

I normally use the belt when i am doing deadlifts or very heavy lifting i recently purchased the max strength belt from ammfitness


really helps with supporting my back i use to get lower back pain a lot not sure if this is to do with the heavy lifting or bad form but the belts do help

 

[Johnny 138]

I have lower back issues yet still never use a belt. Proper form. That's key. As Steve said belts, wrist straps and so on are not what we need if we are truelg trying to develop strength and not just trying to impress somebody we don't even know at the gym. Lift raw and minimal, IMO.