Ask Lee:
When Should You Use A Weight Lifting Belt?
The next time you go to the gym you’re bound to see that guy who wears a weight lifting belt for his ENTIRE workout.
Have you seen him? If not keep a look out because he’s bound to be at the gym soon…
(He may even be looking back at you in the mirror LOL 🙂 )
Now his intentions are good and he really does think that because he wears a weight lifting belt ALL THE TIME that it’s protecting his lower back.
But It’s NOT…
Wearing a lifting belt ALL The Time is a mistake. You should only use it when you really need it. Over using things like belts, wraps, and straps will actually make you weaker and increase your risk of injury, rather than protecting you.
There is a RIGHT and a WRONG time to use a belt and that’s what’s covered in the video below…
Click PLAY To Watch The Video…
Note: if you can’t watch the embedded video clip above,
you can watch it right on my YouTube Channel by Clicking Here
Do YOU wear a weight lifting belt?
If so what exercises do you use it for, please post your comments below…
8 Comments
John Cranwell
Hi Lee Good advice again
I wear a belt simply becos of my back injury since 25 yrs ago when I lost my lower disk which hospitalized me for 2 weeks & off work for 6 months it took me a year to walk properly again my left leg was paralized for nearly 6 months. I made a huge mistake on the leg press with 4 30 lbs doing 3 sets of ten when I tried to change my feet position …OOOPS SOOOOO WRONG it squashed me & 2 big guys lifted the weight off me pls advise others NOT to put feet on the edge of the plate when using heavy weights . I had to work around my injury which I still do .most of my exercises are sitting down with a back support as well so I don’t put any undue pressure on my lower back. Unfortunately I used too much weight on the shoulder press recently & cudn’t train for 2 weeks Remembering I’m now 73 yrs young now…lol
Hope this is useful to you & others Lee?
Keep up the great work & thanx again for all your advise I look 4ward to getting your very helpful advice each day as I have changed many of my training ways since being under your tuterlige Gods best 2 u & your g/f Regards John
Steve
Hey Lee,
Your advice is always easy to understand and covers the basics very well.
I use a belt that is made of very heavy nylon webbing. My father bought it for christmas about 8 years ago. It is about 3 1/2 inches wide all the way around and has a velcro fastener. I use it exactly how you describe in your video and have never had any back issues when using it.
It is probably just a cheap one, but I don’t have a problem with it and I ‘m wondering what your thoughts are?
I only use it for deadlifts and squats, and only on 1-3 rep sets.
Rob
The only time I would wear a weight belt is,when doing standing heavy barbell curl and weighted dips.
Omar Elgawad
I use it when i feel that my pants is not holding tight to my thighs.
Mairaj
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David H
Exactly you have pinned down the problem there is always an Right time & wrong time to use a belt.It’s still possible to lift heavy loads safely without a weightlifting belt, as long as the lifter sticks to proper form and gives the muscles adequate recovery time to avoid back injury.In short Weightlifting belts shouldn’t be worn tightly for the entire duration of a workout. Only tighten the belt when it comes time to lift loads upwards of 85 percent of a one rep max.
Firdausi Baksh
Can I use waist trimmer belt in Biceps and triceps exercise?
leehayward
If it’s one of those vibrating or electrical muscle stimulation belts, it’s best to use it on it’s own, rather than trying to combine it with other exercises at the same time.