How to Know if You Need to Wear a Weightlifting Belt

If you’ve been in a gym for more than five minutes, chances are that you’ve seen someone wearing a weightlifting belt.  If you feel a little naked without one don’t worry, odds are you don’t need to be wearing one if you’re healthy.  In fact, there are really only two times when you absolutely need to be wearing a belt, when you’ve had a back injury or if you plan on doing heavy Olympic lifts.

The first reason that many people wear a weight belt is that they suffer from some back problems. The problems could be temporary or chronic and could be lifting-related or as a result of something else.  If you’ve had a back injury that’s bothering you in the weight room for more than a few days, make sure that you see a doctor before you continue.  It could be the sign of something more serious and you don’t want to further injure your back.

Also make sure that you’re not using the belt as a substitute for good form.  If your back got strained as a result of lifting, a better idea would be to back down the weight a little bit and make sure that your form is good so you don’t get injured in the future.

The second time that weight lifting belts can help you is when you’re doing a day of heavy Olympic lifts.  While you won’t want to be using the belt every day that you do these lifts because it can leave your core weak, using a belt on heavy days will help you keep good form and possibly even give you the confidence you need to attempt heavy lifts.

While there’s lots of people that wear weightlifting belts, there is really only two types of people that need to use them.  People that have had a back injury and those that are about to do extremely heavy sets or lifting days.

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Features of Good Weight Sets

The first thing anyone should consider before getting a weight set is their experience. Often, those who are first acquiring a weight set have no experience with weights and are unsure which features are needed in a good weight set. Beginners should only be concerned with the basic set that can be purchased almost anywhere. Cheap weight sets are sufficient for novices and usually come with one long bar, one or two short bars, and between 110 and 140 lbs. of weight, usually in the form of plastic discs. The long bar is for the upper-body exercises, and the small bars are for dumbbells. A first weight set is almost always in the form of free weights.

One important feature in weight sets is a bench. The bench is for exercises like the bench press, which is used to strengthen the chest muscles and arms. A basic bench is extremely inexpensive, and along with the initial set of weights, an excellent lifting program can be started. Once the maximum weight limit is reached by the lifter, additional weight discs can be bought. Metal discs are the best to get as they take up less space on the bar allowing for more discs, and more weight to be placed on the bars. Once the weight lifter has some experience, he or she will be able to determine what the next step is, and which equipment to get.

Weight lifting is more than just an exercise program for many. It often becomes a passion in which case many more pieces of equipment can be added to the home gym, and depending on the commitment to the program the weight lifter may choose to join a gym or even a body-building club. For a small investment, a healthy, fun, inexpensive, and challenging lifestyle can be kick started.

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