Weight training is a sport involved heavily in resistance exercises designed to build larger and stronger muscles. But, without proper technique and form during the execution of an exercise building muscle becomes much harder and your body will become a lot more vulnerable to injuries.
This is a very important factor to consider especially if you are still young. If you’re a teenager like I am, you will find that injuries are far more devastating than originally thought. We are still growing and, while I stated this multiple times in previous posts, it’s extremely important that we watch out for our bodies to reduce health issues that can and will effect our lives in the future.
This is where a training belt comes in. Training belts are belts worn around the waist designed to ensure you keep a straight posture and healthy back while working out. While many people swear by this product, many people also suggest that the overuse of these belts can have negative effects on the body.
In this post, I wish to share with you the positive and negative impacts that a training belt can have on your weight training career and what you should consider before purchasing one.
Back and Core Stability
The main and most widespread use of a training belt is for back and core stability. When doing exercises that involve heavy back strain and body posture, the training belt is super helpful in reducing pressure placed on the spine and joints within the lower back.
This helps to prevent major injuries in the back which is debatably the most important part of the human body involved with movement.
This product is also super accommodating for minor back injuries that have already occurred. If you have a weak or previously injured back that is susceptible to another complication, training belts are highly recommended products that can provide a little extra support while working out.
Technique
To build muscle, there are many different elements that are required to do so effectively and efficiently, and technique is definitely at the top of that list. It’s important that during an exercise every single movement is performed properly to ensure that only the targeted muscles are being strained.
The training belt can help to assist you with this. If you’re doing an exercise like the dead lift or bent over rows and you’re having troubles ensuring your body is in a grounded and stable position throughout the exercise, you can use a training belt to help you keep your posture and form straight while lifting.
This will help you to isolate the muscles intended to be worked in the exercise and also reduce the chances of injury.
Overuse
There are many exercises that are recommended for the training belt, but the majority of weight training workouts won’t need them at all. We talked about the training belt’s supportive abilities with certain exercises such as the dead lift, clean and press and other lower back exercises but what happens when you use it for other everyday exercises?
First of all, training belts are completely useless for all exercises that don’t engage the lower back muscles and will do nothing but become a nuisance for the trainee. What’s the point of using a belt when it has no positive roll in your muscle development?
Additionally, after using weight training belts for a very long period of time, many lifters have noted a lack of development in their core muscles. With too much support from the belt, the abdomen isn’t needed as much for the body’s stabilization in comparison to training without a belt resulting in muscle atrophy.
Research also shows that training belts put a lot of pressure on your respiratory and circulatory systems while working out. If you have any pre-existing medical issues related to either of these systems, I highly recommend not using a training belt to decrease any further risks. If you do use a belt, loosening the belt in-between each set of exercising would be a good idea to keep the blood flowing and the lungs comfortable.
Should You be Wearing the Belt?
Training belts, like all products, have their risks and their benefits but at what point do the benefits weigh out the risks, or vise-versa.
If you’re a strength athlete focused on maximal weightlifting and competitions, considering the use of a training belt is a good idea. During exercises like the dead lift or the clean and press, a lot of pressure is placed on the spine and lower back muscles. Doing this continuously both in competition and training can be detrimental to your back health which is why you should be using a training belt.
If you’re simply going to the gym or working out from home to build muscle through sets and repetitions, I’d place less consideration into the use of a training belt simply because you don’t need it. The only factor you have to consider in substitution of your training belt is technique.
Wearing a training belt will both under develop your core muscles and increase risk of medical afflictions with your blood flow and breathing. None of this will help you in any way.
Training belts are not even needed for most of the exercises you do. Just learn the proper technique and you’ll start building muscle without any added risks.
Hopefully, through the information given, you will make an informed decision about this topic and whether you are fit to purchase a belt or not. Evaluate how you would use the belt and in which case your body will take less damage.
When working out, injury prevention always comes first before anything and everything so be sure that the right decision is made.
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