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:
You should push your belly into your belt
Lifting belts make your core weak
Lifting belts are a crutch
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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Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC, SSC: [00:00:03] All right, guys, welcome back to the Progressive Rehab & Strength podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Rori Alter, head clinical coach at Progressive Rehab & Strength, with my lovely co-host, Dr. Alyssa Haveson. I should say our guest co-hosts, but turning into a resident co-host here, Progressive Rehab & Strength, Dr. John Petrizzo, clinical coach here at Progressive Rehab & Strength, and a professor at Adelphi University in the Exercise Science department. And we're back with another ten-minute tip Tuesday. And in this episode, he's no John. It starts after the introduction. So he's telling me that the ten minutes starts.
Dr. John Petrizzo, PT, CSCS, SSC: [00:00:44] When you waste time. All right.
Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC, SSC: [00:00:46] Anyway, all right. In this ten-minute tip today, we're talking about belts, bracing belts, and your back. So there are a lot of misconceptions about belt use. We're not going to tell you all about belts; we're not going to tell you what size to buy, what type of belt, what closure, or any of that stuff. But we will talk about whether belts make your core weak and how you utilize a belt to increase intra-abdominal pressure, stabilize your spine and improve your lifts. So. John, talk to us a little about the myth that a belt weakens your back or your core.
Dr. John Petrizzo, PT, CSCS, SSC: [00:01:28] Well, I mean, what a belt essentially is doing and how it works is applying pressure to your abdomen. So people have this kind of thought that the belt is something that supports your back. And yes, it does indirectly via applying pressure to the abdomen. So it must be constructed of a material that will not expand as pressure is applied. Right. So for powerlifting, I mean, generally, we're talking about leather belts, right? And sometimes, in weightlifting, they're using some other materials. But, um. So the notion that it makes your abdominals weaker is just a fallacy because, in reality, it's giving them something to push against, allowing them to contract harder and more forcefully.
Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC, SSC: [00:02:24] So how does that make your core stronger, not weaker?
Dr. John Petrizzo, PT, CSCS, SSC: [00:02:28] Well, one, it's going to. So it's the same analogy as, like, you know, lifting, lifting a weight. Right. The heavier the load you'll lift, the more force production that will require. Right? So, this is an isometric contraction. So by having the belt on and giving your abdominal muscles something to exert force against, Right? It facilitates that stronger contraction now. From a systemic standpoint, what does that do for us? By increasing intra-abdominal pressure beyond what we could do with just Valsalva Maneuver. It allows us to lift heavier weights, Right? If you apply that systemically, which is making your entire body stronger, right? So if you can squat or deadlift a little bit more because, you know, you're increasing this intra-abdominal pressure beyond what you'd normally be able to, that load is applied systemically to the entire body. So you're making everything stronger.
Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC, SSC: [00:03:27] Yeah. So it's not. Replacing your core muscles. It's not turning them off and doing the job of your core muscles. It's providing additional. Assistance for those things to work harder. So it's not like if you have 150 pounds on the bar and you're not wearing a belt. Your core works harder than if you have 150 pounds and a belt on. No, it allows your core to work harder and stronger and lift more weight than you could have. And if you apply 175 pounds to your core, that will strengthen the core more than if you applied 150 pounds. Right. So it's not a crutch. It's not a cop-out. It's not like it will shut your muscles off or cause them to deteriorate because you've been using a belt. But, you know, it makes your core work stronger. Harder. Right.
Dr. John Petrizzo, PT, CSCS, SSC: [00:04:38] And just one thing I want to add because I know this is coming out in conjunction with our podcast on the Valsalva A belt enhances your Valsalva Maneuver, right? So if you have any concerns about increasing pressure and all the things we discussed in that podcast, don't use a belt, right? Because a belt only further enhances your Valsalva Maneuver beyond what you would normally be able to do and is only effective if you are utilizing a Valsalva Maneuver, right? If your belt is on so loosely that it's not applying pressure, it won't do anything right. And um. You know, if you're volitionally exhaling or attempting to exhale while you're lifting, then you're minimizing the effectiveness of the belt, Right? So the belt is a valsalva enhancer, and that's the mechanism by which it allows you to produce more force and lift more weight.