Weightlifting Belts: Usage and Benefits
A weight lifting belt, also known as an exercise belt, is an essential accessory for weight lifters and other athletes engaged in strength training. The belt helps support the back and stabilize the spine, which can help prevent injuries.
What is a weight lifting belt?
A weightlifting belt is a training accessory and is also called a powerlifting belt or fitness belt. It is used to move larger loads and to protect the body from injuries in the lower back and in the area of the intervertebral discs. There are belts of different widths, depending on the use. These are usually made of leather or stable synthetic materials. During exercise, the belt is tightened to increase abdominal pressure and improve stability. During breaks, the belt is usually removed or loosened. 
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Who Uses a Training Belt?
Weightlifting belts, or fitness belts, are primarily used in sports such as bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting, stone lifting, and in track and field disciplines such as shot put. The belt automatically leads to a healthier posture when lifting heavy weights.
But weight belts are not only used by strength athletes, but also by heavy lifters who appreciate the benefits of the weight belt. An example of this are movers or factory workers who use such belts to absorb the stresses of a hard day's work.
Why do you need a weight lifting belt when training?
In addition to sports gloves and wrist bandages for weight training, the accessories also include weight lifting belts or so-called lifting belts. These are mainly worn when lifting heavy weights. For example deadlifts or squats.
Thanks to such a sports training belt, the back is ideally supported, among other things. It supports your back during your training and thus extremely reduces the risk of injury. So if you want to make your strength training even more professional, you should definitely wear a training belt during training.
Why you should wear a training belt?
Many coaches and athletes still have the outdated belief that wearing a weightlifting belt weakens the lower back and neglects core stability.
However, more recent observations have shown that there is nothing to this myth and that the belt only helps to use the trunk muscles more effectively and can reduce the compression of the intervertebral discs. Thus, it is clearly shown that wearing a training belt reduces stress on the spine.
A weight lifting belt stabilizes your spine. Especially when training with heavy weights, the risk of injury is massively reduced due to better stabilization of the spine under high stress.
Thanks to the improved stabilization, you can use more weight for exercises such as deadlifts or squats.
What is the correct way to put on a training belt?
If you want to put on the belt correctly, you should follow these steps:
• Begin by putting the belt around your stomach area. Note that the position here can vary from person to person. Experiment a little to find the best position for you.
• Get ready for each exercise. For example, if you want to do squats, you should remove the barbell from the squat rack.
• Take a deep breath, hold your breath and stretch your torso into the belt.
• Now do a full rep.
• Exhale and repeat points 3 and 4 until the set is complete.
• Unbuckle the belt and get ready for the next set or exercise.
It is important to note that the belt should not be put on too tightly to allow for comfortable breathing. It is also recommended that the belt is not worn throughout the training session in order to strengthen the muscles in the core area.
