Weight Training Belts

What is the purpose of a weight belt?  I think that may be the easiest question I ask throughout the course of this article.  Everyone can agree that a weight belt is used to prevent injury, right?  Do you know how a weight belt prevents injury?  I’ll admit, when I first purchased my weight belt, I had no idea how it really worked, or why I should choose a particular belt over a different one.  So, I chose one that looked like it provided plenty of back support.

This looks. . . Supportive. I think.

I’m about to tell you that you probably don’t know the main purpose of a weight belt.  There are two ways that your weight belt prevents injury.  Somewhere along the way, people stopped understanding the mechanics of the body while lifting;  Instead, people focus only on the secondary method of injury prevention that the belt offers  (And even then, people don’t use it properly / know what’s going on);  This, incidentally, is not nearly as important, or employed nearly as often.

Think about it. . .  When you look at a weight belt, most of the time, the backside of the belt is larger than the rest of the belt.  In reality, though, I would be better off wearing my weight belt backward.

Why is this?  How can we be so wrong about weight belts?  Well, here’s how it actually works, and to demonstrate, we’ll talk about a hypothetical dead lift.  You approach the bar, and put your weight belt on and make sure it is strapped ultra tight;  It should also be strapped across your “gut,” not below it. You take a deep breath and flex your abs, pushing your abs hard against the weight belt.  You then perform your lift, and when finished, immediately unstrap your belt.

Let’s deconstruct that.  The belt needs to be strapped ultra tight, and (specifically) across your gut because that is how it works.  The weight belt helps to brace your back internally.

Internally!?  What does that mean?  Basically, you need to support your lower back by increasing “Intra-Abdominal Pressure.” (IAP)  During your lift, by increasing the pressure inside your abdominal cavity, you’re putting immense support in front of your lower back.  By bracing your lower back from the font, you’re deflecting strain from your Erector Spinae, which would otherwise be unsupported.  In addition, an increase in IAP helps decrease lower back compression, which some people may experience during heavy lifting.

That is the main purpose of a weight belt–  It gives your abs something to push against in order to dramatically increase your IAP, in addition to physically compressing the contents of the abdominal cavity, thus also increasing IAP. (It’s for this reason that, if a belt is worn properly, which is really tight, you shouldn’t wear it for extended periods, and typically, will need to take it off [or loosen it] directly after your lift.)

If all of that seemed a bit wordy, here’s a sentence from one of my sources: “In a nutshell, a lifting belt provides a wall for your abs to push against.” – Matt Biss

So, what is the secondary method of injury prevention?  Well, a proper weight belt will be the same width all the way around, made of a very rigid material (such as leather), and ideally 3 – 4 inches wide.  When worn over your stomach in the proper fashion, this will create a sort of rigid cage that will keep you from hyper extending your back by connecting your ribcage to your hips.  This is only really necessary with overhead lifts and overhead squats, as the load above you can cause you to bend or twist in a way that could cause injury if you’re not in complete control through the lift.

When should weight belts be worn?  Well, when you look around your gym, I’m sure you’ll see some crazy people using them for Bicep Curls, Bench Presses, and other exercises, but the list of exercises where it will do any good is very small:  Squats (and all squat variations), Good Mornings, Deadlifts, and Military Press.  That’s about it.  If you’re wearing it during any other exercise, you’re just showing people that you don’t know what you’re doing, and you can’t claim ignorance now that you’ve read this article.  You’re welcome.