LIFTING BELTS: The Complete Guide and What NOT to Get! (Lifting Gear Series)

Not sure about lifting belts - whether you should get one, what to get, or how to use it? You’re in luck as, in this article, we cover anything you could ever want to know about lifting belts as well as - very importantly - what not to get. Scroll to the end for a few solid belt recommendations as well.

This is the second article in our “Lifting Gear” series, so be sure to check back in the coming weeks for future articles in the series. Click here to read the first article in the series - Lifting Gear: What to Wear and What NOT to Wear!

Why You Want to Use a Lifting Belt
We won’t dive deep into all the details of the muscles of your trunk having something to contract against, intra-abdominal pressure, and hoop tension, but suffice to say for now - a belt helps you provide rigidity. In other words, it helps you provide efficient force transfer from the things generating force in a lift - for example, your hips and legs during the squat - through your rigid midsection (i.e., your trunk) into the barbell that’s sitting on your back.

Belt Width
If you’re reading this article, there’s a strong chance you’re thinking something along the lines of, “Hey, I should probably start using a belt,” and you’re probably right, but what should you get?

In terms of width, you’ve got two basic options - 3 inches wide and 4 inches wide. Some people might need a 2.5” belt, but this is less common.

The width you choose will depend on the space between your hips and your ribs as that’s where the belt is going to sit. You do not want the belt to run up against your ribs as this is extremely uncomfortable and will prevent you from getting or keeping your back set in extension (especially in the deadlift setup).

Ideally, you would try out a 3” belt as well as a 4” belt and see which one works best, and the deadlift will be your best indicator. If you can get your back set flat and rigid in the deadlift setup with a 4” belt, then that’s a solid option for you. If you can’t, then you’ll probably need to choose a 3” belt.

If you don’t have the opportunity to try out a few different widths, then you’ll have to make an educated decision. People who are taller and/or have longer torsos tend to do well with 4” belts while those who are shorter and/or have shorter torsos usually do better with 3” belts.

Belt Thickness
I usually recommend a 9-10 mm thick belt. You can get belts in the 12-13 mm thick range, and you might decide to do that sometime down the road, but a quality 9-10 mm belt will work well for pretty much everyone.

Sam locks out here deadlift while wearing a 3” wide, single prong belt.

Prongs
Get a single prong belt. Contrary to popular belief, a double prong belt isn’t all that difficult to become accustomed to - I have one, and I’m no physical genius (I bought it a long time ago when I didn’t know any better) - but at the same time, there’s not a compelling reason to have two prongs.

Quality
A high quality belt will probably last you the rest of your life. Don’t skimp here. This is an investment, and after your training log and your lifting shoes, your belt is probably your most important piece of personal training gear. I generally wouldn’t recommend anything under $100.

When to Get a Belt
On your first day of training, order your belt. Quality belts will often take several weeks to arrive - especially if you order a belt with a custom design and/or color - and by the time that belt shows up, you’ll be ready to start using it.

When to Put On Your Belt
A good rule of thumb is to put your belt on for your last warm-up set as well as all of your work sets. Take the belt off or loosen it between sets, of course, but by wearing it for your last warm-up, you’ve ensured that the only variable changing between that warm-up set and your first work set is the weight on the bar and not anything else like what equipment you’re using.

Over time, you’ll develop your own preferences as to when to put on your belt. For example, in the squat, you might decide to always wear your belt for anything above 225 lb, and an approach like that will work fine as well.

How to Put On Your Belt
A belt should be worn tightly, and at first, it probably needs to be uncomfortably tight to be correct. With time and experience, this level of snugness will feel natural and correct, but it will probably feel a bit uncomfortable at first.

using the squat rack to put on the belt

To get the belt tight, use your squat rack for assistance. Place the belt around your midsection - somewhere around the level of your belly button for most people (but you’ll figure out your exact location with practice) - then put the nose of the belt through the buckle. After that, wrap the nose of the belt partially around an upright of the squat rack, lean and sit back away from the rack, and then twist away from the rack so that the twisting motion tightens the belt around your trunk.

I strongly recommend watching the included video as this is far more easily understood via demonstration than the printed word. In addition, the video covers how to take off the belt as well as what to do when you don’t have a squat rack nearby to help put on your belt.

How to Breathe and Brace With the Belt
Breathing and bracing with a belt is not complicated - despite what a lot of “fitness experts” out there would have you believe.

Before starting the lift, take a breath in and hold that breath against your closed glottis. If you’re not sure how to hold your breath against a closed glottis, say the word, “hick” and hold your breath by holding the “ck” sound at the end. In essence, you hold your breath in your throat instead of against your lips or puffed out cheeks.

As you hold that breath, tighten every muscle in your midsection - pretend you’re getting ready to get punched from all sides, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to do. Watch one of the included videos for a demonstration and explanation.

In short, take a breath in, hold it, and get tight. Then maintain that held breath from the start of the movement all the way until the end of the movement.

For example, in the squat, you breathe in and get tight at the top, hold that breath down and back up again, and then release your breath once you’ve locked out the rep at the top of the squat. In the deadlift, on the other hand, you take a breath in and get tight at the bottom of the lift (i.e., when the bar is on the floor), hold that breath all the way up to lockout and back down again, and then you release your breath after the bar is on the floor.

One last note - don’t try to push your abs or your belly outward into the belt. Again, don’t complicate this - take a breath, hold it, and get tight like you expect to get punched.

What NOT to Get
Don’t get a tapered belt, i.e., one that is wider in the back than it is in the front. The extra material in the back is just a waste of material and isn’t doing what you think it is.

Don’t get a belt with padding in the back. The point of a belt is to help provide rigidity, and padding helps defeat that purpose as you now have compressible material between you and the belt.

On a related note, if you’re wearing a t-shirt as well as a sweatshirt when you train (for example, perhaps you train in a cold garage), I’d recommend wearing your belt over your shirt as usual but underneath your sweatshirt so you don’t have extra material between you and the belt.

For strength training, get a leather belt - not a velcro belt. Velcro belts have their uses - specifically in Olympic lifting where catching the bar on the buckle of a leather belt during a clean or snatch is a real possibility. However, for general strength training, a leather belt provides more rigidity and won’t pop open on you (as velcro belts have been known to do from time to time).

Some Belt Recommendations
There are a number of quality belt manufacturers out there - Pioneer, Dominion Strength, The Strength Co., and Inzer just to name a few, and with that in mind, here are a few belt options I typically recommend:

• Pioneer Cut - single prong with 1/2” adjustments, 4” wide x 10mm thick

• Pioneer - PAL V2, 4” wide x 10mm thick (if you’re looking for a lever belt)

• Dominion Strength - single prong, 3” wide x 10 mm thick

• Dominion Strength - single prong, 4” wide x 10 mm thick

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

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EASY Way to Open Your Barbell Packaging | How to Unbox Your New Barbell

Historically speaking, unpackaging a brand new barbell has been a fairly horrific experience. The method covered in this article, however, is going to change your life (better yet, watch the included video for a demonstration).

If you’ve bought a new barbell, you already know what I’m talking about, and if you haven’t bought one but are going to purchase one soon, you’re about to experience this cardboard-and-metal terror.

A new barbell comes in a thick cardboard tube, and it has a metal end cap or insert at each end of the tube. Each manufacturer does things a bit differently, but typically, the end cap will be anchored in place very securely with staples or some other fastener.

On one hand, this is good - you want your barbell safe and unscathed while traveling to you. On the other hand, it’s a pain to open the tube as a result of this packaging. The manufacturer’s recommendation is usually to grab a utility knife, cut along one of the seams in the cardboard tube, and then twist to open the packaging (picture yourself opening a tube of Pillsbury dough, and you’ll get the idea well enough).

Don’t do this. I write - unfortunately - from personal experience, and this is a terrible way to open the packaging.

You can see the torn section where I had started the process with the old “screwdriver-and-pliers” method before looking for a better option.

Many people settle on using a flathead screwdriver to pry the staples open and out a bit, whereupon they use a needle nose pliers (or something similar) to finish pulling out the staples. This method works reasonably well, but it takes a while, which is annoying.

The last time I opened a barbell, I had used this screwdriver-and-pliers method on the first of several staples when I thought I’d take a look on the web and see if anyone had come up with a better method . . . and indeed someone had. This method comes courtesy of Colin Burke and his video, and here’s how to do it:

Step 1
Grab a nail punch and a hammer. A flat head screwdriver will probably work if you don’t have a nail punch.

Note: This is the part where I should tell you not to use a flat head screwdriver for this task as you might damage the screwdriver. With that said, if I didn’t have a nail punch, I would certainly have used a flat head screwdriver.

step 2: Use a hammer and nail punch to tap the staples through.

Step 2
Set the tip of the nail punch on top of a staple and then use the hammer to tap that staple several times until the staple has broken through the cardboard (at which point it is no longer anchoring the end cap to the cardboard tube). Repeat this process with all of the staples.

After step 2, all staples have been pounded through.

Step 3
Once the staples have all been pounded through, the end cap is still wedged into place but is no longer attached to the tube, so use a pliers (needle nose pliers or otherwise) and simply pull the end cap out.

step 3: Use pliers to pull out the end cap

Step 4
Set the open end of the cylinder on the floor, lift up the other end, and pull the tube up and back until the barbell is completely out of the packaging (don’t let the bar drop to the floor).

Step 4: allowing barbell to slide out of tube

This process requires only a few tools, it’s quick, and most importantly - it’s easy. After unpackaging a barbell with this method, you’ll never go back to the cut-and-twist and screwdriver-and-pliers methods again.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

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EASY Way to Put on Tight & Stiff Knee Sleeves (TWO TIPS)

What's the easiest way to put on knee sleeves - especially sleeves that are tight and stiff as with brands like SBD, Stoic, and Pioneer? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers gives you tactics to help you save your energy for . . . you know - actually training.

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12 Pieces of Lifting Gear to THROW AWAY (and What to Replace Them With)

What pieces of weight lifting equipment would gym owner and Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers throw away and what would he replace them with?

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Click the button below to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach and start getting stronger TODAY.

Lifting Gear: What to Wear and What NOT to Wear!

The topic of what to wear when training seems rather straightforward at first - you just put on a shirt, put on some shoes, probably put on some shorts as well, and you're good to go, right?

Not so fast. There’s a host of potential bad decisions to be made here, so let’s briefly (get it?) address a few considerations to help you train more effectively.

This is the first article in our “Lifting Gear” series, so be sure to check back in the coming weeks for future articles in the series.

Shirts
Whether you choose a t-shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, or a sweatshirt, they’re all fine, but the big takeaway here is cotton. Cotton is your best friend when it comes to training, and specifically, you don’t want a technical shirt, which is the type of shirt made from moisture-wicking material.

Tech shirts are great for running, playing basketball, etc., but they are terrible for lifting because the material itself tends to be rather slick. You want excellent friction between you and the barbell when squatting and cleaning, and you again want significant friction between you and the bench when bench pressing, and a tech shirt is simply awful in this regard. Wear cotton.

Additionally, if you’re squatting, benching, cleaning, or jerking (perhaps pressing as well), don’t wear a tank top. Humans are sweaty and oily when they train, and you don’t want your sweaty, oily, and therefore slick shoulders in contact with the bar or the bench when you train. Friction is important, so don’t wear a tank top. Unless you’re performing curls - tank tops are then, of course, mandatory.

Pants
Sweatpants, shorts, leggings - all of these are acceptable. You do, of course, want to make sure they allow you to move freely and don’t bind up on you, so if you’re wearing shorts, don’t wear shorts so long that they come to or below your knees. Shorts of this length tend to bind up at the knees when squatting (and should be reserved for 14-year-old male basketball players anyway), so they’re a bad choice.

the power diaper - Eat your heart out, people.

With that said, if your shorts are long, you can either roll them up a bit at the waistband or hike them up like I do and embrace the “power diaper” look (Figure 1). Granted, my shorts aren’t actually that long - I simply prefer the power diaper.

Socks
For the most part, any pair of athletic socks will do when training. The length of the sock doesn’t matter . . . unless you’re deadlifting, snatching, or cleaning. When pulling from the floor, you want to keep the bar as close as possible, but you also don’t want to nick your shins with the bar. Shins bleed easily, so I recommend wearing long socks if you’re not already wearing sweatpants or leggings.

By “long socks,” I mean over-the-calf-just-below-the-knee long socks. Don’t skimp here - once you’ve caught your shin with the bar, bled, and developed a scab, it’s extremely easy to break that scab open again during subsequent training sessions, and as a result, you won’t be as efficient at keeping the bar close to you (it might be a subconscious effect, but it’s a real effect, nonetheless).

Shoes
Wear lifting shoes. The most important feature of a lifting shoe is the rigid, nondeformable sole, which is extremely useful and efficient for force transfer. Regular shoes are great for walking and running but terrible for lifting - they are squishy and akin to lifting while standing on pillows. We have several videos that cover lifting shoes in depth, and I’d recommend watching one of those for more information.

Also, don’t lift in Chuck Taylors. A Chuck Taylor is not a lifting shoe. A Chuck Taylor is the shoe for someone who started thinking about lifting shoes but never completed the thought. Don’t lift in your squishy Chucks - you’re better than that.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?

Wrist Wraps: THREE Mistakes Every Lifter Should STOP Making

Wearing your wrap here? don’t do that.

Let’s briefly cover a few mistakes lifters commonly make when using wrist wraps as well as how to easily fix these errors. I’d recommend watching some of the included videos to see these mistakes (and others) in action as well as how to correct them.

Mistake #1: Wearing the Wrap Only on the Arm
Wrist wraps are designed to be worn - not surprisingly - on the wrist. However, lifters often wear the wrap in such a way that it’s wrapped only around the arm (see the photo below this article’s title). In this case, the wrap doesn’t provide any support for the wrist itself and is now just functioning as an arm warmer.

Stylish, yes, but not very useful.

Since the wrist wrap should act somewhat as a belt for the wrist, make sure that it covers both the arm and the hand. As you put it on, start by wrapping it around the lower part of your hand and then wrap it further down as you go so that it crosses the wrist and ends up wrapping around the arm as well. You’ll know that you’re doing it correctly if the wrap makes it difficult to bend your wrist backward into extension.

Mistake #2: Wearing the Wrap Too Loosely
Wrist wraps should be worn tightly. If you are able to wear a wrap comfortably for five minutes, it’s too loose. Apply some serious tension to the wrap when putting it on and make sure that it’s very snug. Now, it shouldn’t be so tight that it immediately starts cutting off circulation to your hand, but it needs to be tight enough that - again - it should help prevent wrist extension. If it’s too loose, it won’t provide sufficient support.

Mistake #3: Taking the Wrap Off Between Sets
To be fair, this is more of an option than a mistake, but since lifters are often unaware of this option, we’ll call it a mistake of ignorance. You can take the wrap off between sets, and that’s perfectly acceptable as you certainly don’t want the wrap bound tightly around your wrist when resting. However, you can also choose to simply loosen the wrap instead.

To do this, simply undo the velcro and let the wrap slacken a bit. At this point, it’ll be comfortable enough that you can just leave it on until your next set, at which point you need to tighten it up again. To do this, tuck the thumb loop between your thumb and forefinger (i.e., you just need to pinch it, you don’t need to actually put the loop back over your thumb), and then you can once again apply the appropriate amount of tension to the wrap and secure it correctly.

This tactic is useful for all lifters, and it’s especially useful for competitors in weightlifting, powerlifting, or strengthlifting who may be on a clock and need to get their wraps on in a hurry.

You now have three ways to use your wrist wraps more efficiently, and as always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?