10 Minute Tip #20: The Truth About Belts, Bracing & Your Back in Barbell Training

If you're following a strength training or powerlifting program utilizing progressive overload, you'll eventually need a lifting belt. When worn and used properly and combined with the Valsalva Maneuver, a lifting belt is a positive addition to your strength training program.

The problem is, there is a lot of misinformation out there about belts. A proper lifting belt is made of a stiff material and applies pressure to the abdomen to enhance your body's ability to utilize the Valsalva Maneuver to create intra-abdominal pressure to indirectly stabilize the spine.

Here are some common beliefs about the utilization of powerlifting or lifting belts that we do not agree with:

1. You should push your belly into your belt

2. Lifting belts make your core weak

3. Lifting belts are a crutch

4. You should only train without a lifting belt otherwise your abdominals shut off

In this 10-Minute Tip episode of the PRS Podcast, Drs. John Petrizzo, Rori Alter, and Alyssa Haveson discuss:

• The proper mechanism by which a lifting belt is combined with the Valsalva Maneuver to improve and enhance your strength development and safety under the barbell

• How your core muscles actually work with the belt and why you shouldn't push your belly into your lifting belt

• The way in which belts actually work to strengthen your core instead of making your core weak

• And how to tell if your belt is too loose because if it's too loose, it's not working properly!

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