I had an athlete ask me today why should we wear a belt when lifting heavy weights. It was a great question because I don’t think enough people really understand how, why, when or where to incorporate a weight lifting belt into their work out scheme. I could list tons of research papers about supporting inter and intra abdominal pressure, valsalva maneuvers, increasing base of supports…yadda yadda BORING. You want science, Google it. I am going to give you real world applications and common sense answers. I think that the bad rap for belts started with the whole “functional” craze and really culminated with the middle age newbie “body builders” wearing their belts all the time because they suffered a back injury back when they played D3 ball. People think back belts are bad because it makes your core muscles weak. This is true if you wear the belt all the time. However, if I can lift 400 lbs with no belt and I can lift 450 with a belt on, how does that make me weaker? Am I not handling more weight now? Do you think my core and global musculature is not working harder? If I sprint 40 meters on a flat surface and then sprint 40 meters after being launched from a rubber band (assisted running) I will run faster due to the assistance of the band. I am working harder because my body is using an external assistance to produce greater amounts of force. So running assisted with a band is ok…but squatting with a belt is not?
Right.
A belt should not be used:
- All the time. If you wear a belt while you’re doing standing barbell curls you should be beat. If you wear a belt while doing overhead presses to help “prevent hyper-extension”, stop it now. A belt does prevent hyper-extension, however, in some exercises that’s a necessity. The over head press used to be an Olympic lift. However, they took it out because in order to lift the most amount of weight you must hyper-extend your back and essentially do a standing bench press.
- To help alleviate back soreness or pain. Your body is telling you something. Listen to it.
- If you are experiencing any type of GI distress. Just trust me on this one.
A belt should be worn:
- When handling loads in the SQUAT AND DEADLIFT above 90%. If you squat 400, don’t put a belt on till you get to 360. You don’t and shouldn’t need it.
- Only in the squat and deadlift. Period. Unless you are a powerlifter and you’re wearing it to help secure a shirt.
- During your dynamic effort lower body day to get used to pushing out against the belt. The first time I did this, I used 60% of my max and my back was SORE. Figure that one out. I am supposed to be using less muscles according to doctors and certain trainers when wearing a belt but my back was sore after wearing one. Hmmmm. Make sure you push your belly into the belt HARD. Don’t put a belt on if it’s for any other reason during your DELB days other then getting used to lifting with one for maximal lifts.
One final note. When you wear a belt it should not be around your lower back. The belt should be mildly uncomfortable due to it’s tightness. You should experience no pinching at the hips. One of the main reasons you wear a belt is to help prevent flexion at the spine due to heavy loads. Your body will go through flexion ABOVE the belt. If the belt is at your lower back, then everything above it is more susceptible to flexion, so if you move the belt up it will sit higher on your body and you will have less of your body susceptible to flexion. Keep the belt high, around your lower rib cage and you will have a smaller chance of injuring your lower back. Yes, you can still hurt your lower back with a belt on. It doesn’t make you invincible. However, it does help to prevent injuries when used properly.
June 25th, 2008
Posted by
bendearman |
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Nothing irritates me more than someone who talks a lot of smack without backing it up. I have a lot of confidence in my abilities. If I think I can do something, I’ll be the first one to let you know. However, if it comes to something that I know nothing about, I am the most humble person in the world. I would never talk a big game about snow boarding. However, I would talk a big game about martial arts. On Friday, someone who talks a big game…constantly…actually got called out on it. One of the gym’s trainers and I are always going back and forth about how much we lift: “I could lift more than you. ” “Well, you don’t lift with a pause”.
Yadda Yadda Yadda, back and forth. Trainers are some of the most arrogant and cocky people I know, company included. Unfortunately it’s the nature of the beast. If you don’t talk about yourself, you don’t make money.
I just finished working up to roughly 90% of my max on the bench press at 315. I was going through a mock meet, i.e. pausing on my chest for a 1 count then pressing it back up. The trainer who talks the most smack (I’m going to call him Johnny Big Boobs) came over and started doing what he does best. “Come on, when are you going to put some weight on the bar? That is my warm up weight.” So I replied back that I would like to see him press the weight just as I did, i.e. butt, head and shoulders have to remain on the bench, bar must be paused at the bottom on the chest and you must lock it out.
So Johnny Big Boobs laid down on the bench, with no warm up, after just coming in from riding his motorcycle into work, and popped out 1 rep with a pause, with no problem.
I was so pissed.
I no longer can make fun of Johnny Big Boobs, and he can now talk all the smack he wants about having a bigger bench than me. That’s how it works, people. If you’re one of the those people who talks a lot but is always “hurt” or “tired” maybe you should put your money where your mouth is.
“Define yourself, not by how loud you talk, but how hard you fight”.
I still have him in two other lifts, though 
June 16th, 2008
Posted by
bendearman |
Uncategorized |
I love you tube, not just for the stupid stuff they put on there, but for the education that you can find on there. Here is a great clip about the bench press. This was one of the first clips that came up when I typed in “bench press”.
Now explain to me why I still see people bench with bad form and not going to their chest. In fact just recently there was a HORRIBLE article in the local paper about the bench press and how it has little carryover to sport and life. The Bench Press was deemed “nonfunctional”. Wow. So the number one exercise for building upper body strength/power/size is a nonfunctional exercise? I guess that would take out push ups (Oh no wait, “your core works in the push up”. Right, and when you bench you don’t use your core? Load up 300 lbs on the bar and see if you can feel your abs.), and over head presses (wait, those are good “because your feet are in contact with the ground thus you are using gravity and it’s a full body lift because you’re standing”. Riiigggghhhttttt, I forgot about that. The only difference between the bench and an over head press is the path the bar travels. They both use the same muscles, just different angles. And next time you bench, keep your feet on the floor instead of waving them around like you’re giving birth to a manatee). In the article, the SME’s or “subject matter experts” explain how the motion of the bar in the bench press does not mimic real world situations.
Just so you’re understanding this right. The SME’s in the article explain how when you push someone you push with your arms tucked to your side and from your mid chest. They then go on to say that when you bench press you bring the bar down to your nipple line and press. So in a real world situation vs. a gym situation with regards to the bench press, when you push your hands away from your body you are roughly 5 inches lower then when you do the bench press with your elbows tucked…oh and you’re standing up.
People squat to help with their vertical jump and they do lunges to help with running. Squatting is incredibly similar to jumping, except, you’re holding a bar on your back, your hands are up at your shoulders, your butt is farther back, you use less quads and more hamstrings and butt, and you have no impact with the ground, not to mention you can’t properly load your body and you can’t use your arms to help propel you upward. Lunges are very similar to running except, your arms are held static, you are holding a bar or dumb bells, your taking huge steps with your front thigh practically parallel to the ground, your chest is upright, you have no side to side rotation, lateral flexion and very little anterior to posterior lean at your torso.
Well it would appear that the squat and lunge are much more different from their related “real world” activities than the bench press vs. pushing standing up. Yet, the bench gets more flack from ignorant jack asses who don’t know how to do the exercise right so therefore it’s a “bad” exercise and “impractical to real world situations”. How about you stop youtubing “my new hair cut” and “two girls one cup” and start using the site to educate yourself more.
June 4th, 2008
Posted by
bendearman |
Uncategorized |
Work is directly proportional to the pay out.
June 1st, 2008
Posted by
bendearman |
Uncategorized |
