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Should belts be used during anything other than heavy squats/DLs?

Rock Lee

Member
I use them for my last sets on squats and DLs but see lots of others using them for basically every pressing movement (bench and military) and even sometimes while doing curls and stuff...is there any point to using them for exercises other than squats and DLs?
 
There is no purpose for a belt on most exercises. It keeps your stabilizers from developing to where they need to be. I think its ok on exercises like heavy DLs & squats. I used one all the time when I was a teenager & I had low back pain, probably from weak stabilizers. I don't ever use a belt thses days, & I have much less back pain than when I did. But I rarely squat real heavy, I normally do 6-8 reps. Keep in mind that most guys in the gym don't have a clue. I saw an idiot use a powerlifting belt, gloves, & straps for db bench presses with 55s the other day.
 
Haha yeah, it seems that at Bally's no matter how new you are to lifting, everyone thinks they HAVE to have the $20 pair of Nike gloves.

Don't think anyone there knows what lifting straps are though. :D
 
I am stuck at a Bally's too. It sucks, but its just so close to where I work & you can't beat $9 a month. It's usually at least good for some comic relief on rough lifting days.

I saw a guy a there few months ago squatting with straps on. Not just hanging off his wrists, wrapped on the bar. I **** you not...
 
What an idiot; though I'll offer a wild guess that he was prob going down a whole 2-3 inches so I guess he wouldn't have to worry about losing control and then falling backwards with the bar that he's attached to.
 
When I was younger I thought it was necessary to have a belt for most lifts, excluding bench presses. Like Longdog said, it keeps your stabilizers from developing. I've had lower back problems from an incident at work years ago. Because of this, I do wear a belt when going heavy on squats, deadlifts, and military presses. I found by not wearing a belt on all other lifts has helped me a great deal, and I have not had a problem with my back now for over 5 years. It has also helped with the development of my abs.
 
for alot of the old school guys it was engrained that it was safer to use a belt.
It mainly helped me to remember to stay in form. but after time it seemed like i relied on it. alot of those same guys have split there guts with hernias because they were under developed.
I think there might be some merit to it on max out balls to the wall movements.
mostof the guys on Invalid Link Removed are wearing belts for there 1rm stuff.
I would say these guys know strength.

I personally max dead and squat belt free.
 
Ummm.......no belt necessary if you watch your form and it's actually better practice in the long run for the reasons mentioned above.

As for hernias, that has nothing to do with the strength of the stabalizer muscles around the spine. It's a genetic weakness in the lower abdominal wall. There's an area where the wall was open during development. These are the "holes" that the testicles move down through and into the scrotum during development. In some this area does not completly close over and a hernia develops later in life. Just FYI. Peace.
 
yeah,,I have personally never heard of anyone getting a hernia in there back. (it might? be able to happen, I don't know).

But what I have heard of is :

Invalid Link Removed


we're on the same page,, hernias= serious pain
 
Well a herniated disc can occur but that is an entirely different thing. Basically that's when a disc in the spine gets "pushed out" from between the vertibrae. Now THAT is painful!

Abdominal hernias on the other hand aren't necessarily painful. I have had one and got it repaired. It wasn't really painful at all. It's just uncomfortable knowing that it's there....kind of like part of your insides is trying to get out. lol But yeah, either way, it's bad news. Hernias if left untreated can become strangulated leaving the bowel impaired or, at worst, dead because of lost blood flow. Anyways, enough of that....bottom line is that it isn't caused by strain as our grandparents once believed. Or atleast that's what my doc tells me. Those who are predisposed to them will get them eventually, however my heavy lifting may have comtributed to me getting them so young (i'm only 28). Thank God the surgery is now only 15-20 minutes and only one day of recovery! :)
 
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