Weightlifting Belts

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Flippa

New member
Hey guys, it's time to buy a new belt. The one I have now is the same one I've had since high school (I'm 30yo). It's the old plain brown leather that has done it's time. R.I.P. you brown piece of shit, we had some good times.

So anyways, I'm looking at purchasing a new belt and haven't really kept up with whats going with belts these days. Any suggestions? What are you guys using or prefer? Anything I should look for or stay away from? Thanks.

P.S. It would just be used for basic body building workouts, not powerlifting competitions or anything.
 
conan

conan

New member
i use the valeo series that dorian yates endorsed.....shit, he wears a different one in his video for each workout.
 
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gymfreak81

Banned
inzer

get yourself a belt made by inzer, they make a really good thick ass belt, it cost 70$ but if your into heavy deads , squats etc its well worth it. THese belts are way more supportive than the shitty ass thin belts they have at any store.
 
macattack

macattack

New member
I use something similiar to what Yates has, mines velcro with a double velcro catchs and you can sinch the living shit out of it if needed not like a buckle belt where you have to depend on where the eyes are at, velcro you can adjust to whatever you're specific sinch need is better.

LMAO @ toyoda thats pretty!!
 
PresaDog

PresaDog

Member
gymfreak81 said:
get yourself a belt made by inzer, they make a really good thick ass belt, it cost 70$ but if your into heavy deads , squats etc its well worth it. THese belts are way more supportive than the shitty ass thin belts they have at any store.
Click to expand...

You can't go wrong with one of these, just be prepared to spend about a year breaking it in!
 
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biggriz

New member
Bro, if your not powerlifting and competing DON'T USE A BELT!!! They only make your back weak! Yes weak, because they limit the amount of stress being applied. We want stress to be applied to our low back to keep it strong and healthy. Save your money!
 
macattack

macattack

New member
I don't recommend using a belt either unless you're using some heavy weight .

Incline Dumb bell work i almost always use the belt, thats how i got herniated, but i ONLY use the belt when going Heavy, you need to learn good form on all lifts thats the secret to not becoming injured, bad form has caused me more injurys then anything has.
 
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HardHat87

New member
I only use a belt for heavy deads. Why do people wear belts when working their arms etc. These are also the people who never deadlift or squat(the majority).
 
Hardcore210

Hardcore210

Well-known member
I agree w/gymfreak. If you're going to get a belt, get one from INZER. You can design your belt from the thickness, width, length, buckle configuration/lever lock, color, & finish. These are the REAL belts....not the poser stuff that you see guys wearing that work out on "Body By Jake" machines. Also, I agree w/some of the other guys about when to use a belt. For me, I only use it on my heavy sets of squats & deads. Any other time than that, you're just weakening your core.
 
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biggriz

New member
One of the bro's above gave the Co. that makes some of the very best belts. Just a tip..get one the same width in front as in back.
 
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deisel28

New member
cardillo's are sweet. I had the buckle belt, where you put the two prongs in and snap it shut. Shit got supertight. Only used it for singles, doubles and triples in the squat though.
 
D

DADAWG

New member
biggriz said:
Bro, if your not powerlifting and competing DON'T USE A BELT!!! They only make your back weak! Yes weak, because they limit the amount of stress being applied. We want stress to be applied to our low back to keep it strong and healthy. Save your money!
Click to expand...
imo people who make their back weak by wearing a belt as you call it are useing the belt wrong , many beginners think the belt should be cranked down so tight that its gonna take the jaws of life to get them out , they are relying on the belt to do all the work for their midsection [ as you point out :) ] but the proper use of the belt is totally different imo , wearing the belt a little looser allows you to flex your abs,erectors,etc. to support yourself while at the same time your abs are pushing against the belt to create internal pressure and stabalize your whole torso . also beginners rely on the belt from start to finish instead of useing the for their heaviest worksets on squat,deads,rows etc. .
as for useing the belt while working arms , considering how newbies do curls with a huge pelvic thrust combined with jumping up with the legs and leaning back as far as possible its probablly safer that they use a belt :D
 
rationalist

rationalist

New member
Belts should only be used during your heavy (>90% 1 rep maximum) squats and deads. And on heavy bench to hold down your bench shirt :) Belts should not be used for anything else (even bent rows) as they have been proven to cause more injury in those situations by weakening you.

Here is a neat paper showing that belts do increase intra-abdominal pressure and produce less lower back shearing force than no belts, but notice the belts only separated out at the heaviest loads.

"Med Sci Sports Exerc 1990 Feb;22(1):117-26

The effectiveness of weight-belts during the squat exercise.

Lander JE, Simonton RL, Giacobbe JK

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of weight-belts during the performance of the parallel squat exercise. Six subjects were filmed (40 fps) as they performed three trials at each of three belt conditions (NB, none; LB, light; HB, heavy) in random order and three load conditions (70, 80, 90% 1RM (one repetition maximum] in increasing order. The parameters examined were collected and interfaced to a computer via an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter: ground reaction forces, intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), and EMG for the rectus abdominus (RA), external oblique (EO), and erector spinae (ES) muscles. Most differences were observed during the 90% 1RM condition, and only they are presented in this paper. Maximum IAP values were always greater (P less than 0.05) for the weight-belt conditions (LB, 29.2; HB, 29.1 greater th an NB, 26,8 kPa). Similar results were observed for the mean IAP. The integrated EMG (iEMG) activity of the muscles and adjusted mean values for back compressive force and back muscle force followed a similar but opposite pattern, with NB being the greatest. ES mEMG/(L5/S1) values for HB (18.1%) were the least, followed by LB (20.01%) and NB (22.3%). Few differences were observed between belt types.

These data suggest that a weight-belt can aid in supporting the trunk by increasing IAP."

I would suggest a real belt, best ordered online to avoid crap sold in sports stores. An Inzer belt is great. I'm a Titan man, and the Titan belt is very good. Lever belts and prong belts have been shown to be effective. Velcro belts microscopically slip and thus provide no real support; be careful.
 
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