Think about 100 years in the past, when individuals picked up enormous bales of hay. Or Historic Greece, when wrestler Milo of Croton began power coaching by carrying a calf on his again day-after-day till it was totally grown. Within the midst of this carrying and lifting, did you ever assume these individuals would say to themselves, “I actually want I had a lifting belt proper now to assist me raise this weight.” No, they most likely by no means considered one thing so unusual. Nevertheless, now that power coaching has advanced and we now know {that a} lifting belt is critical in sure conditions, it must be mentioned thoughtfully.
What’s a Lifting Belt?
Most individuals have most likely seen a lifting belt and know what it’s, however for lifters who don’t, I nearly reward you for not figuring out, as a result of no less than you’re not the lifter who’s utilizing one unnecessarily. A lifting belt is just a bit of apparatus aggressive lifters sometimes use, however it’s one thing that leisure lifters ought to sometimes use. This leads me to my subsequent level.
Why Use a Lifting Belt?
All lifters primarily use a lifting belt for a similar cause—to assist brace their backbone throughout lifting. Way back, individuals discovered that sporting a belt helped to assist their again and, in flip, assist them raise heavier weight. Some individuals put on one strictly to assist them raise heavier weights, whereas others solely put on it to guard their again. Typically, the lifting belt helps with each jobs.
You may see individuals within the fitness center who appear to put on some piece of apparatus for something they do. You may also see lots of people who usually don’t put on any tools and won’t even accomplish that a lot as even grow to be a brand new pair of footwear after they get to the fitness center. This may clarify why utilizing a lifting belt is likely to be complicated to the untrained eye of an observer. Do you put on one to simply raise heavy weights? Do you put on one on a regular basis in order that your again doesn’t get injured? Or is it strictly a vogue assertion?
These are all related questions. I’ll clarify our philosophy at Pressure Barbell relating to sporting a lifting belt. And, greater than possible, most power coaches throughout the board will agree.
Carrying a lifting belt has one objective—assist. It’s made to assist the backbone and, extra particularly, the decrease again. As a result of it’s meant to offer assist, you may assume a lifting belt must be used on a regular basis to keep away from the chance of injuring the again and backbone. Nevertheless, the human musculature does this on a regular basis. We’ve got muscle chains that work collectively to assist our total physique. This doesn’t change when speaking concerning the backbone. The backbone has gotten a nasty rap and has been the subject of quite a lot of worry mongering, as a result of it’s generally related to lifting accidents. Most probably, that is as a result of dangerous posture our tradition encourages. Nevertheless, in actuality, the backbone isn’t any completely different from different components of the physique. It’s surrounded by muscle mass whose job it’s to assist the backbone.
So, why use a lifting belt in any respect, then? Our philosophy at Pressure is to limit lifting belts as a lot as attainable relating to our field-sport athletes. They should learn to stabilize and assist their backbone through the use of correct motion mechanics and never depend on an exterior piece of apparatus to realize stabilization, as a result of that is what’s going to translate into serving to to make them the most effective athletes on the sector. We sometimes use this philosophy with each considered one of our shoppers…till they attain a sure degree of power…which leads me to my ultimate level.
When to Use a Lifting Belt
Circumstances exist when sporting a lifting belt is suitable. Nevertheless, they’re not usually. First off, it’s a precedence to get an athlete as sturdy as attainable with out counting on a belt so she or he can learn to develop the power to correctly assist their again and transfer exterior masses with out one. Athletes or lifters ought to study to do 90+% of the work utilizing their very own power with out counting on a lifting belt.
For middle-school, high-school, and nearly all field-sport athletes, we at Pressure Barbell by no means enable them to put on a belt. It is because they derive little profit from sporting one. Sure, an athlete would be capable of raise extra weight, however lifting extra weight isn’t essentially what they want. They might truly profit extra in the event that they lifted much less weight and continued to strengthen the mandatory muscle mass that assist assist the again and use their total kinetic chain effectively and successfully.
The one kind of athletes who may doubtlessly profit slightly extra from sporting a belt can be these the place it turns into needed for them to place slightly extra weight on the bar. These athletes is likely to be soccer gamers, as a result of they’re always confused with heavy masses in video games, and doubtlessly throwers, as a result of maximizing power and energy is a certain option to throw a shot or discus additional.
The final group can be your general-fitness lovers and competitive-strength athletes. Within the case of your general-fitness fanatic, it’s uncommon for them to wish a belt, as a result of the objective is to show this inhabitants the best way to transfer extra effectively so that they have the instruments to reside more healthy, pain-free lives. Now and again you may get somebody who desires to go for an enormous PR (private report), and I don’t see a cause to not allow them to put on one. Setting a brand new PR is likely to be the most effective a part of that particular person’s day/week, and it could be higher for her or him to be protected and keep away from harm than be sorry.
For aggressive power athletes, lifting belts and tools are an odd phenomenon. Some lifters are strapped up like they’re going to warfare, and it looks as if there’s all the time a brand new model of apparatus out that everybody’s raving about. This may be the inhabitants that I usually don’t have the strongest opinion on their utilizing lifting belts. The only real objective of power sports activities is to raise as a lot weight as attainable, and a lifting belt goes that will help you do this, whereas protecting you protected within the course of. Nevertheless, I nonetheless stand behind the concept that you need to get as sturdy as attainable and not using a belt, and that’ll truly make you stronger in the long term, quite than counting on a belt for each single set.
With most issues in life, it’s acceptable to maintain a rational mindset relating to sporting a lifting belt. Know that your physique has its personal built-in musculature to assist maintain issues protected and secure. And you need to attempt to get as sturdy as you’ll be able to, utilizing this system first. For those who’re lifting heavy masses that you simply’ve by no means lifted earlier than and have a slight fear about getting injured, that’s when it’s higher to be protected than sorry. Simply keep in mind, the principle objective of a lifting belt is assist. It shouldn’t be used as a instrument to get stronger. That’s what consistency is for…not exterior tools. Don’t be that one who can raise quite a lot of weight however who crumbles beneath a barbell and not using a belt.
