5 Best Exercises For Wearing A Lifting Belt

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With such a wide variety of exercises, it can become quite difficult to know for which of them a lifting belt will be most useful. Although it seems that everyone uses them based on personal preferences, we can’t deny that there are some exercises that will allow us to use a belt to its full potential. Today’s article focuses on several reasons why the exercises presented have the greatest potential to work very well with an equipped belt.

It’s important to mention that the intention of this article is not to present a belt as a must for the following exercises. A lifting belt is simply a tool that we can implement in the training routine in certain circumstances, not a necessity. Some people prefer to leave the belt untouched up to the toughest sets, while others prefer to use one extremely rarely or not at all, which is completely fine.

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What Makes These Exercises The Best For Lifting Belts?

To understand this as quickly as possible, you have to know how a lifting belt works. In short, a belt acts as a solid surface around the body, which prevents hyperextension of the lower back and allows you to create more intra-abdominal pressure.

If we think about it like this, it becomes clearer what types of exercises allow us to take advantage of a belt. To be more specific, exercises that require a lot of stability in the upper body.

For example, squatting is not all about leg strength. The core also has a crucial role in this situation. In fact, most people are held back by the upper body when it comes to squatting, not the legs. This is one of the reasons why we can leg press more than we can squat.

5. Barbell Row

Known as an accessory exercise for the back, the barbell row is an awesome movement to include in your routine for both thickness and width. There are plenty of variations of this exercise, but we are going to focus on the most popular, the bent-over row. Due to its dynamic style and the bent position it requires, a belt will work really well for this movement.

4. Bench Press

For some of you, the bench press might be the surprise on this list but wearing a belt while benching can help you maintain a better arch if you prefer the powerlifting style. This usually works best with a 3-inch belt, while the thickness remains debatable. Give it a try to see if it makes any difference for you.

3. Olympic Weightlifting Exercises

These impressive exercises are quite challenging, as they often require a lot of stability and coordination. In some cases, wearing a lifting belt can be a welcome addition.

For Olympic Weightlifting Exercises a thick leather belt can limit your range of motion and make unwanted contact with the barbell while performing an exercise due to its imposing size. The best option is to choose an Olympic Weightlifting Belt, but nylon is also a material you might consider.

2. Squat

If the bench press was a potential surprise, you probably expected to see the squat on the list. The undisputed champion of leg development, the squat, requires upper body stability for maximum performance, as we already discussed.

A belt will help with this process, allowing you to create better intra-abdominal pressure and brace harder. For the front squat, a belt could prevent you from leaning forward, especially at the bottom of the movement.

1. Deadlift

The deadlift is a compound movement seen by most people as one of the difficult exercises in the gym. Since the exercise requires picking up the weight from the floor, both lower and upper body are involved and pushed to the limits by this movement. Achieving that extra tightness by wearing a belt correctly is a good way to increase performance and reduce the risk of unwanted torso flexion.

Many types of belts are being used for the deadlifts, all with pros and cons. A thick leather belt provides the best support, but it may get in your way as you try to get into the starting position. Thinner leather or nylon belts could solve this problem, but they won’t provide as much support.

What Types Of Belt Are Best For These Exercises?

The type of belt that works best for you depends on many factors. Consider this and do a little research before you decide. Here is a general recommendation.

What About Other Exercises?

To keep things short and concise, we focused only on the most popular exercises that could work well with a belt. Obviously, each of the above examples has a lot of variations and a belt could be useful for most of them. Next, you can simply experiment with various exercises to get an idea of what works and what doesn’t.

5 Best Exercises For Wearing A Lifting Belt - Summary

There is not such a thing as the perfect belt for everyone, but understanding what is the most optimal choice for your training style will greatly increase the chances of picking the right one. The products presented for the five exercises are only general guidelines, so it is recommended to do more research before deciding.