fitness belt

The fitness belt is neither an IQ tax nor a must-have artifact for fitness. Its core function is to increase intra-abdominal pressure and stabilize the trunk through external support. It is only necessary to wear it when doing heavy compound movements (squats, deadlifts, strength lifts, etc.) that exceed 80% of your own body weight. Wearing it blindly during light weight training, aerobic, and core-specific training will weaken the strength of the core muscles and even bring additional risks of respiratory restriction and lumbar spine compensation.

The first time I really realized the role of the belt was when I was trying to PR in the deadlift in my second year of fitness. I had been working hard for half a month to sprint 140kg. After the deadlift without wearing a belt, the erector spinae on both sides of my waist were sore for three days, and I had to hold onto the wall even when I sneezed. Later, the big brother in the team gave me a cowhide belt that he had been using for five years. He stuck it between the hip bone and the ribs and tightened it. When I exerted force again, it was obvious that my core felt like it was being supported. The previous feeling that my waist was "loosening" was completely gone. After that stretch, I felt no discomfort at all.

To put it bluntly, the principle is very simple. You subconsciously hold your breath before exerting force when doing heavy weights, right? At this time, the diaphragm descends, the core muscles contract, and a stable pressure cavity is formed in the abdomen to help support your spine. The belt adds a ring of hard support to the outside of your abdominal wall, which is equivalent to welding the "outer wall" of the pressure cavity more firmly. The intra-abdominal pressure can be about 30% higher than when it is not worn, and the shear force on the spine is naturally smaller. It is the same as putting a hard ring on the outside of a water-filled balloon. No matter how much you squeeze the balloon, it will not bulge to one side.

At present, the attitude towards belts in the fitness circle is completely at two extremes. I have seen "belt dependants" who have to tighten the belt until their ribs hurt when doing biceps curls, and I have also seen "fundamentalists" who insist on deadlifting twice their body weight without wearing it, saying that if they wear it, they have a weak core. What both sides say makes sense, and there is really no need to argue about right and wrong.

It is indeed true that wearing a belt will weaken the core. I once taught a student who had just practiced for half a year. He started to wear a belt from the first time he squatted. He squatted with a weight of 60kg very stably. But last time I asked him to take off the belt and squat 40kg. The bar almost fell off and the core did not know how to exert force. All the pressure that your core should bear has been shouldered by the belt. The core strength will naturally increase slowly, and there may even be a situation where "it cannot exert force without the belt". Not to mention those friends who use their belts as a sweat girdle and wear them even when jumping on the elliptical machine. They are so tight that they can’t breathe. Fat is metabolized throughout the body, and tightening the belly to slim down the waist is purely an IQ tax. The last time I saw a girl in the gym, her face turned white and she was still riding the elliptical machine. After a few words of advice, she said that I didn’t understand “efficient fat burning”, which was quite helpless.

But on the other hand, it is too extreme to say that the belt is completely useless. Ordinary fitness enthusiasts don't have that much time to sharpen their movements and core. Many people squeeze in an hour from get off work to go to the gym. There are some small problems with their movements. When hitting heavy weights, once the waist slips, it can range from lying down for half a month, to severe waist protrusion. The price is much higher than a slow increase in core strength for two months. My friend who practices powerlifting weighs 75kg. When squatting 180kg, he not only wears a belt, but also ties his knee and wrist pads like rice dumplings. For them, the priority of protection under heavy weight is inherently higher than the effectiveness of core training. There is really no need to joke about their waist for the so-called "independence".

As for choosing a belt, you don’t really have to pay much attention to it. Just don’t buy a cloth belt that costs more than ten yuan. It’s just as soft as wearing a sweatshirt belt, and it can’t support intra-abdominal pressure. There is no need for novices to buy a 13mm thick powerlifting belt as soon as they start. It is as hard as a wooden board and can give you bruises on your ribs when you squat. A 10mm thick leather belt with the same front and rear width is enough. If you like to do dynamic movements such as CrossFit, you can choose the Velcro version. If you specialize in powerlifting, you can choose the lever buckle version. When wearing it, don't tighten it too tightly. Leave a gap where a finger can be inserted. It should be enough to push against the abdominal wall when exerting force. The position should not be too high to jam the ribs, nor too low to jam the hip bones. It should be stuck in the gap between the two, otherwise you will have to take it off in pain after squatting for two sets.

My current training habit is not to wear a belt during warm-up groups or light-weight groups where I can do more than 10 reps, specifically to allow the core to adapt to the feeling of exertion. I only wear it when I am sprinting for PR or doing 3-5 reps of heavy-weight groups to failure. To put it bluntly, the belt is an auxiliary tool, not a crutch. The fundamental thing is that your core strength is strong enough. Just don't reverse the cause and effect.