Should You Wear a Weightlifting Belt?
You may have seen people at the gym tightening their weightlifting belts before they pick up a heavy weight. It’s a common question: “should I use a belt?”. There might be some debate behind this on the internet, but we got to the bottom of it.
What are the benefits of wearing a belt?
Wearing a weightlifing belt:
Helps protect your back to prevent injuries
Reminds you to engage your core
Puts your back in an upright and optimal position to lift
Provides comfort to lift more weight
Do I have to wear a belt whenever I lift?
The short answer is: no.
Internally we all have a belt that runs from our abs to our lower back called our transversus abdominis. This deep muscle runs horizontally from the core to the back, similar to a weightlifting belt. However, tapping into this muscle can be a challenge for those who don’t know how to fully brace their core.
The added weight of a barbell or dumbbells also affects our ability to brace our core, therefore when enough weight is added, it might be the time to grab your external belt. This means, if you aren’t lifting heavy enough to struggle to brace your core, it probably doesn’t require you to “belt up”.
When should I avoid wearing a belt?
If you aren’t actively lifting, you should either ditch the belt or loosen the belt until you go back to lifting. Tightening your belt will constrict your breathing, and in turn your heart rate will start to rise. If you do an entire workout with a belt tightened around your waist, guaranteed your heart rate will be through the roof.
This is why you’ll see athletes use belts only when they are about to hit a heavy lift. That’s why quick release belts come in handy with the ability to quickly tighten or loosen your belt depending on what you have in your workout that day.
What belt should I get?
Our team has tried a ton of weightlifting belts, and here are some of our favorites!
Element 26 Self Locking Weightlifting Belt
Lifting the Dream Lifting Belt