Squats?

[Hornfinger]

For most trainees squats should be done once a week...



by the 12th squat you will be HATING life...

Oh yeah I hate that feeling. People don't do squats because they are hard and can be torture. they make you hard as nails though!

[Mr.B]

If you can use a belt use a belt. It's there for safety. It'll also help get your technique right. if you have bad style and your not using a belt you could seriously damage your vertabre. Seriously your spine could comke out of your back. Using a belt will NOT stop your back muscles working.

The belt will make sure you are lifting the weight with the muscle and not the spine.

No... it's there to help people squat more than they otherwise could. It's there to support (and take the load off of) the stabilizing muscles in the abdomen and lower back. If you have bad style or bad form, you'll end up hurting yourself anyway. At least if you're not using a belt, it'll happen when you're getting started and using 200 pounds instead of a few years later when you're using 500 pounds. The entire purpose of using the belt is to support the muscles in your back. But ask yourself... is that a good thing? Or on the other hand, wouldn't it be better to learn proper form, and train the muscles in your abdomen and back to handle the weight on their own? Are you in the gym to give your belt a workout or your muscles a workout?

I've used a belt a few times, and the last time I spent any regular time in the gym, I was squatting around 420 in my sets. That was at 17 weight about 185. Belts are NOT necessary. A belt trains you to have a weakness and that's just not good. Belt = CrutchÂ

[Hornfinger]

feel free to not use a belt but if you splatter your vertabre up the wall behind you don't come crying to me. A belt can help you lift more this is true. So what if your failing lifting a weight because of instability or back weakness but you have enough strength in your legs?

Use a belt

We're squatting here so we want our legs and some lower back doing the the work. By using a belt you are taking strain off your spine and and putting it on to your legs which is what we are trying to build.

there are only 3 exercises I'd use a belt for in the gym. Squats, dead lifts and bent over rows. And i use it to protect my spine and hold it in place.

I would never do these exercise with the weights I use without a belt on.

[danne__]

i dont use belt im not at those high weights yet :>

[Mr.B]

well... if you think you need one, feel free to use one. But you're not building functional strength. What good are legs that can squat 1000 pounds if your torso can't carry more than a hundred? That's an extreme but do you see what I'm getting at?

I've seen guys squatting over 600 pounds in their sets without a belt. How much weight are you using that you need a belt? Or is your form just not clean enough to safely perform the lift without a little help?

[Joe_Ice]

Like i said earlier.. under 8 reps USE A BELT!

[Dizaster]

I'm 100% with Mr B on this one.... And if you get to a weight that you can't handle without the belt, then it is exactly that, weight you cannot handle... So adding a belt probably adds up to a higher risk than assessing what weight your body can handle without the belt...
If the belt assists your body in keeping your posture correct and maining form through the whole rep, then all those smaller muscles that constantly work to keep your form perfect and balance you out are not needing to work as hard anymore... A belt may help you build SOME muscles bigger than you could without the belt.. And it may help you lift MORE weight (who cares unless your aiming to beat someone),,, but it's also taking your smaller supporting muscles out of the lifting equation which is not a great idea..

Also, wearing a belt to protect injury against bad form is also not a good idea. Perfect form should be 100% perfect before going anywhere NEAR your maximum lifting ability or you'll end up f*ing up your back,, belt or not...

You just have to think about what your actually lifting the weights for in the first place To have 400 pounds resting on your shoulders & impress everyone around you, or to strenghten every muscle in your body that's needed to support all that weight on your shoulders

Again, this is just my 2 cents and just giving everyone something else to factor into their decision making.

[Dizaster]

You just have to remember what your actually lifting the weights for in the first place  To have 400 pounds resting on your shoulders & impress everyone around you, or to strenghten every muscle in your body that's needed to support all that weight on your shoulders??

Sorry I just wanted to emphasize this point again as at times I have considered using a belt to get out some extra poundage, but I always come back to that single point... I'm there, i'm busting my balls, I want the MAX real world benifits to my body for the work i'm putting in. That's my ultimate goal.. Others may differ though.

[Joe_Ice]

Cille u're terribly wrong, no offense. When using high weights squatting you use a belt for safety NOT b/c you can't handle the weight. You obviously hvae never been to a powerlifting meet where one will squat hundreds of lbs and they use a belt. WHY? for SAFETY measures!!!

[Joe_Ice]

and they LIFT heavy weights to get bigger and stronger. U AINT LIFTIN GIRL WEIGHT AND DOING EITHER OF THOSE! I squat heavy so i can go heavier the next time im int he gym. Id ont squat 465 to impress ANYBODY!!! (and thats not even that big of a squat -- not even close!!)

[Dizaster]

^^^ I do understand where you are coming from and if I was too add another 30 pounds to my squat next time I went to the gym (without getting injured) I would surely need a belt. But I feel I am working just as hard now and getting the same gains without the belt, as I would adding a belt and 30 pounds to my squat... I also see what you mean about power lifting, but the way I train (and a lot of others) has little to do with the training theory of power lifting Do everything the body is capable of to lift the most it possibly can. Anyone aiming to be a powerlifter or win a powerlifting competition would be foolish to NOT use a belt.
But for most people and particullarly in terms of conditioning for boxing, aiming for high poundages comes second to getting every part of the body in the best shape it can be, and a belt definetly takes away benefits to some of the muscles that help support the weight (and your body) during a squat...

I guess we could go on discussing this forever, But if you'll agree, we can summarize by saying:
Wearing a belt DOES have it's advantages in a lot of cases, and certainly wearing a belt compared to having a back injury is a very easy choice for ANYONE. But it should also be acknowledged that a belt does have some disadvantages and it's up to the individual to weigh these up and decide which best aids them in acheiving their goals.

[Joe_Ice]

if u're not lifting heavy u dont need a belt. I still do powerlifting, and u aint going no where with training if u dont lift heavy... welll i do both... I go for strength so im doing lower reps 1-3... then i go for my hypertrophy lifts and go for 12-15 reps(in which case a belt wouldnt be needed).

[Mr.B]

if u're not lifting heavy u dont need a belt. I still do powerlifting, and u aint going no where with training if u dont lift heavy... welll i do both... I go for strength so im doing lower reps 1-3... then i go for my hypertrophy lifts and go for 12-15 reps(in which case a belt wouldnt be needed).

Ok... let me just say this. I'm not trying to say I'm stronger than you because everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. You can probably bench a hundred pounds more than me. But if you think, for one moment, that you need a belt to safely squat 465, you're wrong. Period. You absolutely, do not need a belt to squat that kind of weight unless you have a medical problem and I'm proof because I've gotten that kind of weight up a few times and I have an old knee injury that never healed properly. If the only way you can squat 465 is with a belt, then that's because your back is not strong enough to keep up with your legs, and in my opinion, that's not a good thing.

If your goal is to get the highest possible poundage on the bar, then yes, by all means, use a belt. It will help you squat more than you could otherwise do on your own. But if your goal is to develop functional strength for use outside of the gym, then working your legs more than the stabilizing muscles in your trunk is a quick way to injure yourself.

If you can't agree with that, then I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.Â