When to start using a belt?

dioltas

For lifting weights I mean, not holding up your pants :P

I've noticed in a few vids put up here that a lot of ye wear belts for squatting and deadlifting.
Just wondering how heavy should the weight be before you start using a belt.

Does it take from the strengthening your core when squatting and deadlifting?

My gym has those belts that are thin at the front and wide at the back, I remember in starting strength he says to use ones that are the same thickness all the way around.
Is it ok to use the thin at the front ones? And where can you buy a decent, cheap belt otherwise?

The reason I'm asking is usually I don't wear one, but on the last rep of a deadlift set yesterday my grip slipped and caused my back to round if that makes any sense. Just thinking maybe it would be safer to be wearing one.


tl;dr: At what weight should one start wearing a belt? Does it have a negative impact on core strength?

cardio,shoot me

use it when you feel like it, i wear it when i go heavier than around 80% on deadlifts, 85% on squats. and no it doesnt have a negative impact on core strength, my abs and lower back are still knackered after squats and deads.

www.irishlifting.com do a good belt or you can buy it in their shop for around 50 quid on camden street, go for a thick one thats the same all teh way around, mines 13 milimetres thick and about 10 centimeteres tall i think.

dioltas

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

use it when you feel like it, i wear it when i go heavier than around 80% on deadlifts, 85% on squats. and no it doesnt have a negative impact on core strength, my abs and lower back are still knackered after squats and deads.

www.irishlifting.com do a good belt or you can buy it in their shop for around 50 quid on camden street, go for a thick one thats the same all teh way around, mines 13 milimetres thick and about 10 centimeteres tall i think.

Thanks, so you mean for 80% of a 1RM? I suppose that would probably be around the 5RM mark. Might start using one for my work sets on the deadlift so!

I saw the one on irishlifting alright. €50 is a bit out of my price range at the moment, will have to wait a while. Are the other ones ok for the moment, better than nothing I suppose?

cardio,shoot me

ive never used a bodybuilding one to be honest, but dont cheap out on a belt, really good piece of equipement and they will last for ages like! my squat max is around 130 but i use my belt on 95 and over. i have the one from irish lifting and i love it.

dioltas

Ya, I'm think I'll just go for one of them. €45 isn't that bad. The only cheaper ones on ebay are suede, not leather.

I'm a 36'' waist so I'll probably go for the medium one.

This one in argos looks fairly good too mind you:
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/0819325/Trail/searchtext%3EBELT.htm

Hanley

If you've the option between 10/11mm and 13mm, go for the 10/11mm belt. 13's overkill and could easily break a rib if it gets up under one.

The big benefit the mono-width belts is that you can push you stomach out against them which will help stabilse and lock in your core.

Tbh, you don't "need" one, but they're a helpful tool to have. Just don't rely on them. I did a very handy single with 80% of my 1rm beltless last night, and would be happy enough to go to 85-88% without one.

dioltas

Thanks. My main worry is that the belt is going to do the work of my lower back and abdominal muscles for me. I don't want it to just let me lift more weight. I suppose if I'm taking it seriously I'll want one eventually so might as well invest. The Irish Lifting one is 1/2 an inch, so 12.7mm.

Like at the moment I'm squatting about 110 kg 3x5 and it's feeling very heavy, but I'm kinda having an off week anyway. My max for 3x5 would be 120 - 130 kg in the past. So I'm not sure if I should be using it for that kind of weight or not.

For deadlifting I'm not too sure what my max is, lifting 125 at the moment and while it feels heavy, it's only my grip that's letting me down so I'm just going to switch to alternate grip.

Hanley

dioltas wrote: »

Thanks. My main worry is that the belt is going to do the work of my lower back and abdominal muscles for me. I don't want it to just let me lift more weight. I suppose if I'm taking it seriously I'll want one eventually so might as well invest. The Irish Lifting one is 1/2 an inch, so 12.7mm.

Like at the moment I'm squatting about 110 kg 3x5 and it's feeling very heavy, but I'm kinda having an off week anyway. My max for 3x5 would be 120 - 130 kg in the past. So I'm not sure if I should be using it for that kind of weight or not.

For deadlifting I'm not too sure what my max is, lifting 125 at the moment and while it feels heavy, it's only my grip that's letting me down so I'm just going to switch to alternate grip.

Absolute weight doesn't matter. It's relative to what your core is currently able to handle.

Like yesterday I did 180 x1, 160 x3 and 140 x5 beltless. They were all easy and could gone higher. I've done 225 x1 and 185 10x3 recently with a belt.

If your form is good, core strength is solid and you don't try anything incredibly stupid, you should be ok squatting without a belt. I think you'll probably make better progress in the long run using a belt on your heavier sets tho. Like if you get to 150 x5 with a belt, 120-130 x5 won't feelt all that bad beltless.

narwog81

dioltas wrote: »

tl;dr: At what weight should one start wearing a belt? Does it have a negative impact on core strength?

was wondering this myself after the last time i squat, thanks for asking this!

The Guvnor

Pretty much all covered above.
By and large use it when you feel you need it, even it's only helping you mentally that's still ok!

The belt will never be doing the work, same as knee wraps, suits whatever, they will only ever give assistance.

I personally prefer the lever action belts and if I were buying a belt tomorrow I would buy (have bought three in the past)

http://www.inzernet.com/detail_belt.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FOREVERBELT_LEVER13

in royal blue or red.


I do agree with 10mm over 13mm but both mine are 13mm

Sacred_git

Hanley wrote: »

Absolute weight doesn't matter. It's relative to what your core is currently able to handle.

Like yesterday I did 180 x1, 160 x3 and 140 x5 beltless. They were all easy and could gone higher. I've done 225 x1 and 185 10x3 recently with a belt.

If your form is good, core strength is solid and you don't try anything incredibly stupid, you should be ok squatting without a belt. I think you'll probably make better progress in the long run using a belt on your heavier sets tho. Like if you get to 150 x5 with a belt, 120-130 x5 won't feelt all that bad beltless.

I somewhat agree with this, if your tall though, i would ask questions about the validity of the above, if your tall wear a belt!

Hanley

Sacred_git wrote: »

I somewhat agree with this, if your tall though, i would ask questions about the validity of the above, if your tall wear a belt!

Tall, relatively long legs, relatively long torso?