Walk into most gyms and you will see a lot of people using weight belts while they work out. Some gyms even sell them. On top of weight belts people will use lifting straps, gloves, among other support devices. The majority of the people who use these different pieces of equipment are typically men, but I have seen women using them also. The advocates of this equipment say that it helps people lift more weight in a safer manner. I would agree with that statement 100 percent of the time. However, I would almost never advocate someone using anything like a weight belt or lifting straps.

In the world of health and fitness there are a lot of misconceptions and questionable recommendations. I have seen doctors and chiropractors suggest the use of a weight belt for seemingly healthy individuals. I have even seen chiropractors and doctors wear weight belts when they exercise. The question is what are the weight belts, lifting straps, and weight gloves really doing to your body. Are they creating a benefit by keeping you safe, or are they putting you at further risk of injury? In my opinion, except in a small percentage of society, weight belts and the other supportive equipment will cause more harm in the long run than good.

For those of you who are unaware of what a weight belt is, it is basically a thick belt, usually made of leather or a stiff composite material that is worn right above the hips around your waist. The weight belts are intended to be extremely tight around the midsection to provide maximum benefit. I understand the reasoning behind a weight belt and think the idea is extremely important. There is one problem though. Your body was created with a natural weight belt. There are deep abdominal muscles in your body that provide the same function as the weight belts. The main muscles are the transverse abdominus and the multifidus. When these muscles contract they create stability throughout your entire core, similar to that of the weight belt. When people wear weight belts they are allowing these muscles to relax.

Your body does a very good job of protecting itself from injury. In order to support your back, your body knows to contract the deep muscles in your core, mainly the transverse abdominus and the multifidus. The use of a weight belt completely alters these necessary muscle patterns. Your body learns to rely on the use of a weight belt since the weight belt allows the deep abdominals to relax. Over a period of time the neural connection from your brain to the deep abdominals is, in a way, lost. This inhibits the use of these muscles. This doesn’t pose a serious risk of injury when you are wearing the weight belt in the gym, because you are creating the artificial stability. However, when you are trying to pick up your child, carry some groceries, or doing any physical activity that doesn’t involve the weight belt you are at an extremely high risk of injury. Your body doesn’t recognize that you are no longer wearing the weight belt and doesn’t automatically turn on the deep abdominal muscles. You are now forced to work without the safety mechanism that you were born with. This can be an extremely dangerous scenario.

There is rarely ever a need to use the support of a weight belt. Unless you are a power lifter, an Olympic lifter, or have severe physical limitations I would never recommend the use of a weight belt. Even if you do fit into one of the above categories the use of a weight belt should be fairly limited. Instead I recommend learning how to effectively and consistently utilize the natural weight belt you were created with. I guarantee that if you learn how to effectively activate the deep abdominals you can lift virtually any weight or perform any activity with minimal risk of back injury.

The first step to activating the deep abdominals is learning to have correct posture. Imagine there is a string connected to the top of your head pulling straight up. This visualization should help create a taller more erect posture. You don’t want to push you chest out or pull your shoulders back because this can create poor postural compensations. When you imagine a string pulling you upwards you may notice that your abdomen feels tighter. By standing upright with proper posture your body automatically activates the transverse abdominus. Another way to activate the transverse abdominus is to maintain an erect posture while pulling your belly button to your spine. You don’t want to hold your breath, just a comfortable draw-in of the belly button. Over time the consistent use of these muscles will strengthen them and create a strong, natural weight belt.

There are two other issues to address with regard to your deep abdominals. You want to make sure that you are always using them for support by learning to bend from the hips and not from the waste. This can be visualized by viewing someone bending over with a curved back versus someone who maintains a straight back while bending over. The person who maintains a straight back is using correct technique and is at a decreased risk of back injury since they are utilizing the deep abdominals for support. This technique can be hard to learn at first, but through practice will become second nature. The key is to imagine pushing your hips back behind you while keeping your chest up. The whole time you bend forward it’s important to focus on keeping your chest up. This should help maintain a flat back, or what is referred to as a neutral spine. This is the ideal scenario. Take some time and practice in front of a mirror until you can comfortably perform this exercise.

The other issue I want to briefly touch on is the exercise you can do to begin strengthening the deep abdominals. I have mentioned this exercise before in many different posts, but again it is still one of the best core exercises to start with. By performing the plank you are forcing the deep abdominals muscles to provide support and stability. Begin on your forearms on the ground in a modified push-up position. Then while drawing your belly button towards you spine to activate your transverse abdominus, rise up onto your toes and hold for as long as you can. I would recommend practicing this three times a week to strengthen your deep abdominals.

The use of lifting straps or weight gloves doesn’t pose as serious of a risk as a weight belt but I think it still needs to be addressed. For the people who use weight gloves for cosmetic reasons like avoiding calluses and blisters, this doesn’t pertain to you. I am referring to the people who use either straps or gloves so they can hold and lifter heavier weights than their normal grip strength would normally allow. The same argument that I had with the weight belt applies here also. You are creating a dependence of the straps or gloves to lift heavy objects, which in the real world you won’t have to use. Imagine doing some work around the house or helping someone move and when lifting a heavy object your grip gives out and you drop the object on yourself. Having the arm strength to lift the object will give you a false sense of security. I will always recommend having your grip be strong enough to hold the weights you are lifting if not stronger. I think it is extremely important to maintain muscular balance. To put it plainly, don’t use straps or gloves. Let your grip strength improve with the rest of your body.

The last point I want to make real quick is the use of braces, mainly ankle braces. Ankle braces are extremely beneficial and necessary when dealing with an acute ankle sprain. Your ankle is in a weakened state immediately after a sprain and the brace will provide support to prevent further injury. However, people begin to rely on the use of an ankle brace. I’ve known people who have worn an ankle brace for months and years after the initial ankle sprain, this in unnecessary and dangerous. By continuing to wear the brace for an extended period of time, especially after the healing process is complete, you are preventing the stabilizing muscles around your ankle to strengthen. This puts you at an increased risk for chronic ankle sprains when you aren’t wearing the brace. My recommendation it to wear the brace for no longer than six to eight weeks, unless instructed otherwise by a physician, and begin to rehabilitate the strength of the ankle. A basic exercise to do is to stand on one foot and hold it for as long as you can. The muscles in your ankle need to make constant adjustments to keep you from falling which will strengthen the muscles around your ankle. Do this two to three times a week for a few weeks to help recover your ankle strength and prevent future sprains.

The overall theme is that people use supportive devices more than they need to, which can lead to serious injury. Let your body provide the support it was created to by lifting objects without any aids. It is important to maintain balanced total body strength to stay healthy and free from injury. The only time I would recommend the use of the above mentioned equipment is when a doctor suggests or requests it. Even then, I may question the rationale behind the suggestion. Your body is extremely resilient and was intended to handle varying stresses on the body without breaking. Keep this in mind and train accordingly.

It’s important to trust that your body can handle the lack of support provided by the weight belt or other pieces of equipment. Learn to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. You make the most progress when you push yourself into uncharted territory. You will never achieve the results you seek by constantly living in your comfort zone. You are capable of more than you could ever imagine. Realize that and push yourself to greatness. Good luck.

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