deadlifting - should i wear a belt now?

Hi i weigh just under 70kg, my deadlift is going up each week by say 2.5kg i am doing 120kg at the moment with no belt, So in around a month i will be expecting to do 130kg and progressively improve more my question is when should i start wearing a belt or should i just keep lifting with no belt? At my gym when i be doing 120kg i get people saying you should wear a belt but to my knowledge reading on here and other forums i have read no belt is better. Any guidance will be great. thanks guys

If it aint broke ;)

i wouldn't, it will lead to you relying on the belt to provide strength that isnt there. People who reccommend in the gym i would bet are the ones that don't deadlift.

i'd wera abelt only for maybe the last few reps of any set, if that. Im getting one myself just forsingles work when going for my 1RM.

200kg dead by 2010... bring it on
30kg to go 29/10/09.....
25kg to go 13/11/09.......
20kg to go 18/02/10.........

I rarely wear a belt at 2.5xbodyweight deadlift. The athletes I work with rarely wear belts. Your body has a weightlifting belt in the from of the muscle in your abdominal wall. I would advice you to use that instead.

I am pretty sure the people giving the advice to you don't realise also that it's not just a case of strapping on a belt, you have to know how to use it.

If you are powerlifting competitively then of course you would make use of a belt.

Registered Nutritionist
NSCA Strength & Conditioning Coach

Compared to the squat there is little need to wear a belt deadlifting. I don't have a problem with those that do but it's not a biggy

However below is not correct either, or rather too much of a blancket

i wouldn't, it will lead to you relying on the belt to provide strength that isnt there. People who reccommend in the gym i would bet are the ones that don't deadlift.

I deadlift and I wear a belt on nearly every set of squat and deadlifts for many years. So do most powerlifters I know. Off course I not only use the belt correctly, but train my lower back and abbs without a belt on.

For the deadlift a belt is neither that much a curse or a blessing.

My advice is that if you feel good without a belt then continue to not use one.

Powered by Zipvit - supplements - vitamins - minerals - sports nutrition

http://www.zipvitsport.co.uk/

I'd just echo what has already been said by the other guys.

I deadlift 205kg for reps @ 93kg and I have never used a belt, and never ever had the slightest problem, despite many P/T's at gyms saying "you should really wear a belt if you're lifting that much".

The fact is, many P/T's do not know what they're talking about when it comes to weight lifting.

I have even been told that deadlifting so heavy will make my vertabrae open up and could end up in a wheel chair (talk about scare mongering!).

You have done the best thing by asking the Q on here where you will get the right info.

Current big lifts:

Bench Press - 120kg 4 reps
Deadlift - 240kg 3 reps
Squat (ass to grass) - 145kg 5 reps
Leg Press - 500kg 20 reps

Body weight: 16 stone 4lbs

lol, my all time favourite quote from a PT was "that jay cutler has got a bloated gut from doin' weights without a belt" lolololol
i love the way that every single one of them "knows" the best and most effective methods of training for mass/strength, yet strangely, none of them ever apply these methods to themselves...?

calm down, its life, mate, its only a game

^^^ heyyyyy i do!

Best I saw, bloke yesterday strapping his belt nice and tight... for the seated leg extension!

S777


^^^ heyyyyy i do!

Best I saw, bloke yesterday strapping his belt nice and tight... for the seated leg extension!

Nicely highlights the problem with belt use. People wear one as a fashion accessory and/or with little thought.
 
Belt use per se will not lead to a 'weak back' etc etc. You develop a 'weak back' through inappropriate training.
 

Powered by Zipvit - supplements - vitamins - minerals - sports nutrition

http://www.zipvitsport.co.uk/

its true what you say about people wearing it as a fashion accersory.
most of the bodybuilders wear one for virtually everything, all isolation exercises. to be fair, most of them are hyooge (although a gram of test a week and 50mg dbol a day will do that lol) but they just seem to "like" wearing it.

and s777, i do apologise lol. you are one of the rare few PTs that actually know what they are tlaking about. the thing that gets me, is that most PT's, dont have a background in training, they just decide that is what they want to do, and do the course. and so all they know about training, is whta they have learnt in a classroom, what somebody else has told them, or drawn for them on a whiteboard.
a decent PT will have trainined for their own purposes, be it mass, strength or conditioning for a number of years, so they have a good "in the trenches" understanding of what works, and what doesn't.

calm down, its life, mate, its only a game

iaink


Compared to the squat there is little need to wear a belt deadlifting. I don't have a problem with those that do but it's not a biggy

However below is not correct either, or rather too much of a blancket

i wouldn't, it will lead to you relying on the belt to provide strength that isnt there. People who reccommend in the gym i would bet are the ones that don't deadlift.

I deadlift and I wear a belt on nearly every set of squat and deadlifts for many years. So do most powerlifters I know. Off course I not only use the belt correctly, but train my lower back and abbs without a belt on.

For the deadlift a belt is neither that much a curse or a blessing.

My advice is that if you feel good without a belt then continue to not use one.

Sorry should have noted that the more experience powerlifters will tell me to be quiet, I like my generalised statements though lol...!

200kg dead by 2010... bring it on
30kg to go 29/10/09.....
25kg to go 13/11/09.......
20kg to go 18/02/10.........

I will never tell anyone to be quiet!! lol No worries there pal.

Just wanted to make it clear that wearing a belt dose not make you weak in the back. Particulary whilst deadlifting as for most it dosn't aid the lift by much. Poor training will do it all by itself!

Powered by Zipvit - supplements - vitamins - minerals - sports nutrition

http://www.zipvitsport.co.uk/

Thanks for the replies, il continue without a belt for the time being. Yes it is also true the ones who say wear a belt blah blah i have not seen them deadlift or squat

No i get what you are saying, think I was a bit quick to answer!

200kg dead by 2010... bring it on
30kg to go 29/10/09.....
25kg to go 13/11/09.......
20kg to go 18/02/10.........

as stated above, to wear a belt you need to know how to use it effectively and fully,,, sometimes a belt can be a confidence booster and mean the difference in getting an extra rep....i for one wear my belt on every exercise, not always tight, but this is mainly down to if i take it off and put it down i tend to loose them...   as ian has pointed out, if you train the back and abs without the belt then there is no problem in wearing one when dead/squatting or even benching...

Wouldnt bother with it.

There is an article with a few studies by Paul Chek which shows becoming dependent on a belt may cause problems, but thats another topic.

Even if you were to compete, and get 5kg more out of a belt, might as well not use one except practise or 1RM test IMO. As if your deadlift without a belt goes up 10kg, so should your belted deadlift.

Depends what your training for...

If your a powerlifter, then yes as it may be the difference between making that rep or not.

If you a body builder then surely it would be better to try and avoid it, as it would only prevent you engaging the supporting muscles!? 

Personally, I never bother with a belt, unless i'm testing my 1RM.

Fun Meter. When I practice lifts I want it as per comp lift for the majority of the time. Hence I wear a belt alot. Off course most assistance work I won't hence why my lower back is still very stong... relatvly anyway.

Beltless work is fine to do a block of but it's not a case of just putting it on for a top attempt.

Powered by Zipvit - supplements - vitamins - minerals - sports nutrition

http://www.zipvitsport.co.uk/

I use my belt most often for standing bar bell curls. I dont care what anyone says, without it I've felt muscle twinges in my back more than once.

double post