The main reason for using a weight belt while exercising is to protect the lower back from damage. Exercises that usually require the participant to wear a weight belt are exercises such as heavy squats, deadlifts, cleans and snatch.
The belt is worn around the waist and when the abdominal muscles contract they push against the belt providing a Extra support to the core and hopefully prevents a lower back injury. For the purpose of this report I will use the squat as an example.
A lot of trainers state that humans have our own weight belt, these people are referring to our core muscles. The core muscles are made up of the Rectus abdominous, obliques, erecta spinae, quadratus lumborum and the pelvic floor muscles.
Some people dispute the use of a weight lifting belt saying that you shouldn't be lifting a weight unless you have the core strength to handle it. If you are lifting a weight that is too heavy for your muscles, in theory you will get hurt.
In most cases with the squat the legs aren't what fail first, it is usually the core strength. What happens is the abdominals and lower back don't have the strength to sustain that amount of weight resulting in either failing to lift the weight or lifting with such bad form that you get injured.
What tends to happen is instead of taking the time to strengthen their core, trainers put on a weight belt to compensate for the lack of strength. This way you can work your legs all the want, which is good for growing leg strength, but by neglecting the core region and by using th assistance of a weight belt the trainer will never build a stronger core.
I strongly believe that if trainers spent a bit more time strengthening their core they will not only be able to lift more weight but be able to be more functional in sport and everyday life. I believe that core strength and stability is the key to building a better athlete and a better body.
In conclusion, weight belts are still a great piece of weight training equipment as long as they are used the right way. Powerlifters use them all the time and they already have a strong core. The reason they use one is because they are doing 1-rep max lifts, which requires a greater amount of strength than what they train with.
So think on what you are doing in the gym and how you are training.
Do you really require a weight belt?
Is your core letting you down?
Author: Matt D'Aquino
http://www.workoutsforjudo.com/
Matt is the founder of Beyond Grappling fitness and conditioning. He is a 2008 Beijing Judo Olympian as well as nationally ranked freestyle wrestler and National Champion in Brazilian Jujitsu. Matt has a passion for teaching all aspects of grappling especially the fitness and conditioning aspect. Recently he has been traveling the world aiming to qualify for his second Olympic Games.
To learn more about Matt and his fitness and conditioning training visit http://www.workoutsforjudo.com/
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