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Should I wear a weightlifting belt?
August 4th, 2010
Most people wearing weight lifitng belts in the gym think they look more professional wearing one, but are there any other purposes for the average gym goer. A weightlifitng belt has two main purposes-
It reduces stress on the lower back when the person is lifting in an upright position- it does this by compressing the contents of the abdominal cavity which will cause the abdominals to exert the pressure outward providing more support infront of the bones of the lower back.
By wearing the belt users become conscious about their lower back and therefore keep their posture in good form.
Weightlifitng belts however are no good for light weight loads and exercises such as the lat pull down, you will only notice the benefits on exercises like heavy squats or deadlifts for example.
Also wearing weight belts while only training with very light weights will make you weaker, as your core will not be challanged.
It is best to only use a belt when you are dealing with your upper limits of training perhaps 4 reps.6reps,8 reps exercises where the load,s can be unpredictable and hard to control safely.
abdominal hollowing, is the natural method to lift weight with out a belt, I encourage people to train with out a belt until a point, and then use a belt as a back up when they try to push past a personal best, as a precaution.