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Weekly Poll #1 - Do you use a weight training belt?

Do you use a weight training belt?

  • Yes

    Votes: 12 24.0%

  • No

    Votes: 30 60.0%

  • Sometimes

    Votes: 8 16.0%
  • Total voters
    50
A

Admin

Administrator. Graeme
Staff member
Weight belts, also known as lumbosacral support belts or LSSs, are pieces of athletic equipment used by weightlifters to support the abdominal region and lower back during intense weightlifting

Weight belts are designed to protect the lower back and lower-body musculature during high-resistance weightlifting involving complex movements, especially during squats and deadlifts

Some people are for them, some are against them , so who here in Ausbb - Australian Bodybuilding uses a weight training belt?
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Haven't needed one as yet. If I find later on that my core isn't supporting my lifts I might consider it then but for the moment I am doing all my lifts raw
 
Not right now. Depends how heavy i'm lifting. I tend to wear one as I get fatigued and posture starts going a little out of whack.

Always use a dip belt though. In almost every workout.
 
Squats and deads here also, I have a bit of a fear with my abs when going heavy as I had an inguinal hernia from a work related accident in my early 20s, since then, I am always aware of putting stress on my abs, so when doing my heaviest sets I chuck a belt on most times.
 
Rambodian said:
Squats and deads here also, I have a bit of a fear with my abs when going heavy as I had an inguinal hernia from a work related accident in my early 20s, since then, I am always aware of putting stress on my abs, so when doing my heaviest sets I chuck a belt on most times.
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Doesn't using a belt make it feel worse? I had an inguinal hernia 4ish months ago and i've only tried a belt once after the surgery but the extra pressure with a belt on made me feel uncomfortable....
 
KungFooGoo said:
Doesn't using a belt make it feel worse? I had an inguinal hernia 4ish months ago and i've only tried a belt once after the surgery but the extra pressure with a belt on made me feel uncomfortable....
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That close to surgery it would make it feel worse because you would still be a little tender there, but I am 10yrs post surgery LOL. I just don't like over exerting my stomach muscles to much these days as I can still feel where I had the hernia when I put allot of pressure on my stomach muscles. I can only seem to get this weird feeling when doing heavy back/front squats and deads, direct gut work doesn't do it, and neither does overhead presses either. But when I wear my belt, I don't get that feeling from where the hernia was, so I'll keep wearing it on my max lifts.
When I am doing a weight I can get say 12 or so reps with, I don't need to wear it. Only on the heavy 1-3 rep stuff, sometimes 5 reps weight if I am feeling particularly strong that day. It is one of those things that I can tell if I'm gonna have to wear the belt as I am warming up really, its kinda hard to explain, but there is times when I have had to wear it for high rep stuff as well.
 
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@Gunner: Mate I would get one if I were you, people say they shouldn't wear one as you will not develop muscle etc, or your a pussy....I say whatever, they are a tool that allows you to continue to work hard without causing excessive injury. Used with a bit of bloody common sense, they are great. I don't use my belt religiously, just when I feel I need to. I also have knee wraps and wrist wraps that I hardly use, but I used 1 of my knee wraps the other day only repping 90kg on my squats as my knee was aching a bit, and it stopped it allowing me to finish my squat workout. They are just tools that allow you to do the work when you otherwise couldn't. I am in this game for the long haul, and one thing I was told early on is smart people learn by other peoples mistakes, so it is obvious to me that injury is a part of this game, so trying the best you can to stay injury free will allow one to achieve better results over the long haul.
 
Rambodian said:
@Gunner: Mate I would get one if I were you, people say they shouldn't wear one as you will not develop muscle etc, or your a pussy....I say whatever, they are a tool that allows you to continue to work hard without causing excessive injury. Used with a bit of bloody common sense, they are great. I don't use my belt religiously, just when I feel I need to. I also have knee wraps and wrist wraps that I hardly use, but I used 1 of my knee wraps the other day only repping 90kg on my squats as my knee was aching a bit, and it stopped it allowing me to finish my squat workout. They are just tools that allow you to do the work when you otherwise couldn't. I am in this game for the long haul, and one thing I was told early on is smart people learn by other peoples mistakes, so it is obvious to me that injury is a part of this game, so trying the best you can to stay injury free will allow one to achieve better results over the long haul.
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I always thought that if I wore a belt it would not allow my core to be worked as much. That is probabley my only reason for not buying one.
 
It could be true Gunner, I don't know. What I do know is my abs still get sore after a heavy front squat session with or without the belt. But when I hurt my back a few months ago doing a heavy squat, it was my belt that allowed me to work through it with NO PAIN, yes I went a bit lighter, but I also never missed a workout, without it I wouldn't of squatted.
 
Rambodian said:
It could be true Gunner, I don't know. What I do know is my abs still get sore after a heavy front squat session with or without the belt. But when I hurt my back a few months ago doing a heavy squat, it was my belt that allowed me to work through it with NO PAIN, yes I went a bit lighter, but I also never missed a workout, without it I wouldn't of squatted.
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Thanks mate. Some things to think about there. I am healing from a slight back strain myself. Maybe a belt is something I should investigate further.
 
I use them on my work sets of squats, and when the weight gets heavy I use them on work sets of overhead presses.
 
Gunner said:
I always thought that if I wore a belt it would not allow my core to be worked as much. That is probabley my only reason for not buying one.
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I saw an article, can't remember who by or from what resource, but someone who had always thought the same thing decided to train for a period of time using a belt (I think only on his working sets) in the name of science, and found that the end result was him being stronger both with and without the belt. The working theory (or perhaps just hypothesis) he went with was that because the belt gives your abs something to contract against, they actually get more work with a belt, thus get stronger for use with or without it.
 
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