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Weight belts

Pseudonym

By Pseudonym
in Bodybuilding & aesthetics

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Pseudonym Veteran member

Pseudonym

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Well, I just went and bought my first weight belt. I'd resisted them so far, on the grounds that your core strength needed to develop just as much as anything else. I thought using a belt only trained you to rely on it, and not use your core muscles properly. But I've started trying to push my squats harder and lower, and my back began to buckle alarmingly under the strain.

The belt may have allowed me to squeeze a few more reps out in squats. But I did notice as soon as I put it on, you instinctively brace yourself against it by pushing your stomach out, and not by tensing the abs. So I'm not sure what I think about it just yet...

Do you guys use a belt? For which exercises? How do you ensure you keep good form in the abs?

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jono Veteran member

jono

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how much weight are you squatting man ?

i know you dont like to say but im interested.

personally i squat as low as possible fully ass 2 grass ive had no problems so far.. last week i was getting 125kg for 5/4/4.

edit: one thing i initially concentrated on when squatting deep was breathing/keeping abs tight.. and my squat is stronger than ever. infact ive never seen anyone every use a belt that actually needed it LOL.. all the people ive seen use it dont even squat or dead.

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Pseudonym Veteran member

Pseudonym

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I tend to go higher volume than you (I've seen what you think of high volume! :P) but I finished today's squats on 8x 110kg

Just re-reading my post, I'm not sure I explained myself very well... But ultimately I think the belt didn't make any difference until I puffed out my stomach against it - not good form!

Still, I know plenty of people who swear by their belts... :?

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jono Veteran member

jono

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I tend to go higher volume than you (I've seen what you think of high volume! :P) but I finished today's squats on 8x 110kg

Just re-reading my post, I'm not sure I explained myself very well... But ultimately I think the belt didn't make any difference until I puffed out my stomach against it - not good form!

Still, I know plenty of people who swear by their belts... :?

not to hijak this thread but hows your training going these days man.. havnt really heard anything about you.. whats ur weight these days

btw i doubt i will ever use a belt

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Pseudonym Veteran member

Pseudonym

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Jono - Training's ok. I wouldn't say it's great, but I'm making progress. Currently bouncing around 87kg. I'll get my act together and post some more pics soon. :wink:

Petey - I'm no expert, but it feels like pushing your stomach out into your belt while squatting heavy is just asking for a hernia. The difference between tensing abs "in" and tensing abs "out" is hard to explain. I dunno... maybe someone can shed some light on this? :huh:

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jono Veteran member

jono

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Jono - Training's ok. I wouldn't say it's great, but I'm making progress. Currently bouncing around 87kg. I'll get my act together and post some more pics soon. :wink:

Petey - I'm no expert, but it feels like pushing your stomach out into your belt while squatting heavy is just asking for a hernia. The difference between tensing abs "in" and tensing abs "out" is hard to explain. I dunno... maybe someone can shed some light on this? :huh:

progress is all that matters man.. looking forward to the pics

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Cornfed Member

Cornfed

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The reason I don't use a belt is that I consider doing squats and such an ab workout. A few years ago I met a former bodybuilder who thought that if you did heavy squats and deads, it was counterproductive to do specilized ab workouts. I was happy to believe him, and I think I've got stronger as a result.

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Marcus Senior member

Marcus

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I use a belt for mainly squats & deadlifts. However I will also use it if I'm doing an exercise where I'm feeling my lower back a bit. For example, heavy standing military press. I'm a believer in straps & such, as in the past my training has been based around a powerlifting routine. I strap my wrists every workout because they were taking a hammering from heavy dumbell work.

I do tense my ab's outward with the belt on, but I don't think this is anything you can avoid? Not when going extremely heavy anyway.

I've just got back from a 3 week holiday & the week before I left I was hitting 120kg for 12reps. When I hit 100kg for 20 reps again, I'll go back up to 120kg. Last night I managed 17 @ 100kg.

I also find that when my deadlifts go up, my squat follows. It's good to see everyone is squatting low.

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Varven Veteran member

Varven

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Never used a belt, dont intend to either. Want to develop my core.

From what I hear it is normal to "push" stomach into belt. This is what the belt is there for !

Non belt users on the other hand have to tense their abs to create an effect as though theres a belt around that section.

From what I grasp at least,

V.V.

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waldo Senior member

waldo

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Just a hint....I think you guys should do a bit of reading on a muscle called

Transversus Abdominis, and learn how to activate it. It's kinda like your own natural weightlifting belt.

I found that after I trained my whole 'core', not just my 'abs', weights started to go up.

In years of training, I only ever saw powerlifters and weightlifters use belts. Nigel Avery squatting 265 for 10 sort of stuff, and a Korean dude who placed fourth at Sydney 2000 in the super heavys. His name was Tae hun Kim, he weighed 125-130kg, and I watched him do reps on 340kg. THAT deserves a belt. Mind you, these guys took a holistic approach to core vs abs training as well as volume/strict squatting.

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Spitterkat Member

Spitterkat

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yup ur right on the money with core training, but its not just transversus, its the erector spinae etc, this just reduces the pressure on the joints, not the same as a belt, you guys done deep breathing before? (inhale into stomach, close windpipe & spincter and tense, then exhale with pressure aswel), well the belt is meant to do the same thing (the pressure creates a stable platform for the force to be transferred and make the lift alot safer, also the "coin" trick (law of irradiation etc, look into it)

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