 Ladies and gentlemen, Salah Mike, Alan Thrall here at Untamed Strength, GM Sacramento, California. We want to talk a little bit about belts, maybe why, how they work, when to use them, who should use them, why you should use them. I guess first should start. What do they do for you? How do you use a belt? Uh, I use a belt for squats, deadlifts, bench. Overhead? Overhead, yep. Curls? Increase, nah, good. Yeah, good. Uh, I'd wear the bodybuilder belt for that. But, uh, it just increases intra-abdominal pressure. Yeah, I think- It gives you something to brace against. Talking, uh, you know, Valsalva maneuver, if we want to get fucking fancy. Breathing, embracing, staying tight. Hopefully you guys know about that. But basically what we're trying to do is kind of inflate our midline, even though the term inflating or breathing into your stomach, all these things are just cues and terms. You can't really breathe into your stomach because your stomach's not your lungs. But, we're trying to brace our stomach, our sides are low back, kind of make as rigid as we can from here to here. And like Alan just said, we're going to use the belt to help assist that. Right. I think studies show, I'm not much of a studies guy, I'm a skim over some studies guy, that you'll flex your midline a little bit better. Your abs will work a little bit harder, and you'll be able to be a little bit more rigid in the midline when using a belt. Because the common question is, does a belt make your abs weak? Right. I don't think so. I don't think so either. So, let's say we just started lifting. Yeah. I've been going three weeks. Okay. Do I need a belt? Should I get a belt? What's your thing? So, I like to tell people the same thing that Jordan Feigenbaum says. He says that if you're a new lifter starting out, buy a belt now, because by the time it gets here, you'll need it. Because it usually, like a good belt is usually like a month or two turn around. Yeah. Honestly, I don't think that there's a certain time or a certain weight when you should start using it. If someone walks in the gym for the first day, I don't sweat it, they don't have a belt. We probably don't use it for the first, at least during their, if they're a novice through their like linear progression until the end. And the reason is, I don't think that you should breathe or brace any differently, beltless or belted. So, I don't think that it's a huge difference. But no, there's no weight or there's no experience level, I think, when you need to get a belt. Yeah, I would agree. I don't have an answer. I would say my answer is the same, except I would kind of say like, why not? Why not use it as early as possible? Because although the action of breathing or bracing, I agree is going to be the same, beltless or with the belt. The mental cue or how to do it with the belt sometime is different. It's like if I was to slap you on the back and say tighten your back up, you feel that, right? That tactile cue, you have something there to. Yeah, so I'm a big fan of not only my own training, but working with people kind of any load, maybe even under 80%. And even eventually for some people, maybe even going for a one rep max, that I wear the belt almost purposely a little bit loose. So I guess I guess into our next topic, how to use it or how to wear it. There's many different variations that we'll go over in the end here. Alan's got a repertoire of weapons of belts here. But for me, I like to use it almost so I can show my hand in there. You'll see a lot of videos, motivational videos or this and that and guys are cranking on their freaking belt. But in my opinion, that for most people almost suffocate you where you can't push out into that belt again. Yeah, so it should not, I always tell people that it should not be so tight that it's pulling your stomach in. But it should not be so loose that it moves during the squat or the dead lift, you'll see the back come off their back, which means it might be too loose or it's position wrong. So tight enough that it stays in place, but not so tight that it's pulling you in. And if anything, if people are like, I think this might be too tight, I would err on the side of caution and loosen it one so that it isn't hurting you. Yeah, the belt. You can like pulling your belly button in can lead to spinal flexion. Yeah, yeah, the belt is not securing your spine. So some people think the tighter the belt, the more it's going to pinch in your waist, now you're secure. But actually we're doing all the securing with our breathing and bracing. And the belt there is, as Alan said, it's not only just a cue, but it's something for us to push against to be able to flex a little bit harder. Yeah, you can push, you can brace against the belt. Like you said, studies have shown harder than you can without a belt, just like you can produce more force against a 300 pound bar than you can at broomstick. Right, right. That's exactly, that's a great analogy. That's exactly what we're going for. So we have to have it loose enough to be able to push against, but tight enough so it doesn't wiggle around while you move or get into position, which comes into the next conversation. It's kind of where you wear it. And in most instances, it's going to depend on body type. Right, you got a big old belly. You got some abs. You're really skinny. You're going to have to put it in different places. For me, I put it a little bit higher on my deadlift just because against if I'm pulling conventional, I'm going to have to lean a little bit and I don't want that back kind of sticking out. So I'll put a hair higher for my squat and for the majority of people. If we have just a rule of thumb, I'd say kind of on the belly button is what works for most, not all. Yeah, yeah, I say that your belly button should be in the middle of the bell, just for starters. And then that might be adjusted based off anthropometry or usually for the deadlift, it might be able to hire some people that squat with a very similar back angle than the deadlift. It might not, same position is probably fine. Yeah, yeah, I've experimented. I've probably had fluctuations of maybe 30 to 40 pounds in my powerlifting career. A lot of that ends up in my stomach. So as I get a little heavier, sometimes you have to weigh a little bit more down, especially in the deadlift because you'll get that thing moving around in the back. And then there's some expert power lifters and deadlifters out there that wear it extremely high just under their sternum. Doesn't feel good, doesn't work for me, but maybe something to experiment with. Let's go into your repertoire of belts here. Yeah. What do we got? Why should we wear it? What kind of belt are we looking for when we purchase? Let's start with the best one here. This is a Pioneer suede four inch 13 millimeter, which is going to be standard powerlifting or I don't know, strength training belt. Four inch, 13 millimeter. And then this is a tapered end. A non tapered end would be the same thickness, just the hub. I like this because it's easier to put through this piece. This is a single prong belt. You can get a, this one is not quite, but you can get, no, this one is. So you can get a four inch 10 millimeter belt, which is the thickness. It's a little bit thinner, same thing. This one is a double prong, which I know you have, but I don't think there's any advantage to it. I think it's just another prong that you have to fiddle with. Yeah. I think people might think it secures it more. I don't know why I got a double prong. I think I just like the looks of it. I've used both and I probably would say, yeah, they're very, very similar. Yeah. Going to his four inch 13 millimeter is the standard. 13 inches millimeter is the standard, because that's the extreme end of how big a powerlifting belt can be in most federations. There's different company rules and different federation rules, but that's the largest legal width. And then the other common one, as you mentioned, is 10 millimeter, which for some, I prefer 10 because it ends up being a little more pliable sooner. You kind of break it in sooner. So I like my belt broken in. Some people think they want a thicker, more protective belt. I don't know if those three millimeters really does it for me per se. I know geared powerlifting, squat suits, bench shirts, et cetera. A lot of guys like the thicker belt because they already have all this gear on mine as well. But I think those are kind of pros and cons. One may add a little more protector, a little more umph when you're pushing. One may be a little quicker or a little more pliable and form fitting. Yeah. This was the first belt that I bought mistakenly because I just typed in powerlifting belt. Yeah. And Alita TS came up. But this is actually legal in USPA because I've used it in the meat. Illegal in USAPL. But it has a plastic layer. So you can see how stiff this thing is. That's what you said. I just actually don't like it. Yeah, I don't like it. Because it doesn't like form to your body. But this would be like unnecessary. And then we have fabric belt, which if you're not doing powerlifting, then you just want a belt. Sure. Can I have a little cheaper? Some people use it for weightlifting. But yeah, it's a lot cheaper. Not nearly the amount of support you're going to get from a 4-inch, 13-millimeter belt. You have prong belt. But you got a skinny one too, yeah? Yeah, this is Josh's in there. This is a garbage belt. I don't even know what. This is like an Amazon belt. But yeah, it's a prong belt. So you hook it in here like that. Yeah, prongs are really popular right now. I don't know why necessarily they're so popular. You do kind of get the same fit and the same feel and you kind of lock it in, which feels good. I used one for a long time. But then adjusting it based on lift, which is sometimes common on bench, I'll actually cinch mine down harder compared to my squatter deadlift. Even sometimes on the squat, I'll cinch you down one notch closer than I would on a deadlift. Just again, talking about the range that I could get into in those positions. And with this you can't do that. Or, you know, Christmas holidays, camera on you gain five pounds. You're going to have to unscrew this and drive it in. But some people do it like it for the security. SBD does have a new one that you can adjust like on the fly. Yeah, I've heard mixed reviews. I've heard it's a good belt, but I've also heard that some, because it overlaps, which happens with all prong belts, they overlap a little bit. So then you'll have a double layer here. It could pinch you. It's a little bit trial and error. A lot of people in the gym always break these prongs because you take your belt off, you throw it on the ground and then these things get beat up and they break. So I also don't like that. You know, just think of basic and long run. You're thinking about a company like Inzer who's done it forever, four inch, 10 or 13, prong probably. And then even those belts, as Alan showed how stiff his one first purchase was, I made the same mistake. I just bought whatever belt I could find. I was under 100 bucks. This was 10 plus years ago. And it came with a bunch of plastic in it. It won it broke too. I never liked it. Yeah. So get a full leather belt. And even in the beginning there, they'll feel kind of stiff. I don't think I really like my belt. Sometimes I'll roll it up like a, you know, old baseball glove trick. Rubber band it and then I'll flip it the other way every other night for a while. But once it starts to break in, most of those belts tend to feel really, really good. Yeah. I agree. Any other questions, nerd? Why do strong men always use like that weird looking belt? They use both. So yeah, we'll talk about it. Strong men will double belt or they'll use a big, so in powerlifting, you're not allowed to have wider than four inches. Strong men will have like a huge like six to eight inch soft belt and then they'll put a belt on top of that. Strong men have no rules. There are a bunch of tricks. Yeah, there are no rules. But it's mainly because you're moving around a lot. If you're carrying a keg and twisting around, it's back support, but you're allowed to, you're able to move around. This, using this one, it's not very flexible. But two, when you're carrying kegs and stuff, this thing gets in the way and it pinches, your fat goes over the edge of it and pinches really hard. So it's uncomfortable. So that's why they use the fabric, fabric belts, usually two belts. I think there's one belt we're missing here, which isn't so common, but it's like a two inch or three inch belt. Yeah, that is, that is really common. So this is, this is just a leather belt. This is also pioneer. But yeah, so it would be this same four inch, 13 millimeter belt, but it's three inches. So it's shorter there. And this is going to be for people, I don't think that people like, people overanalyze the hell out of it. Like, do I need, yeah, do I need this? Measure my ribs and my hip length. Right. But generally, if someone has a really short, stubby torso, or yeah, short torso. Some ladies, I think they originally started three inch helps for guys. As a bench belt. Because when you're benching in a shirt, there's open flaps in the back and to cinch that down, they'd use a belt and to have a little bit of belt rather than that huge thing, where the bench shirt, you're literally using it as like a pants belt. You know, really to hold your garment together. But I'd agree. I mean, I think it'd be a rare case that a girl or guy would really need to go with a two or three inch belt. Four inch, you can find a place to adjust it. And probably be pretty comfy. I think it's so important to say, I worked with someone this weekend who was like, really stressing out about, he just can't get the belt to feel right during the deadlifts. It moves around and he's just so focused on the belt that he's not thinking about his deadlifts. And I'm like, are you, do you plan on powerlifting? No, never. And I'm like, well then just don't. Yeah. Just don't wear a belt. As long as everything is consistent, right? Every training day is without a belt. And who cares? You don't need to wear a belt if you absolutely can't get it in a position during the deadlift. Yeah. It's the same with wraps and knee sleeves. Are they necessary? No. Are they good tools that can help you in the long run? Yeah. So if you're planning on taking this a little more seriously, that's the same thing. You know, you can play golf with $100 clubs, but if you're good at it and you want to play every weekend and you want to get better at it, maybe you need the fancy graphite shaft or whatever. So long term, a belt, knee sleeves, wrist wraps can help you lift more weight. It's kind of like creatine. Well, if you lift this much more weight over the next six months or six years, it might be worth something. Trying to reach that big goal of a 600-pound pull or 700-pound pull in your career, these things are probably necessary and they're probably really good tools. But if you're a casual lifter, trying to have some fun, trying to look a little bit better, get a little bit stronger, none of this is necessary, but if you have the funds, it may help. If you find that with a belt, the deadlifts is usually the issue that a lot of people with a belt. If you can't maintain lumbar extension and your back wants to round with a belt on, to know whether or not it's the belt, try it without the belt. And if you are able to keep your back flat or an extension during the deadlift, but you can't with a belt, then the belt is either not fitting or you can ditch the belt if you want. Yeah, that would be the only big con I've noticed with a belt also coaching people is that people tend to feel the belt as too much support in a deadlift and they'll end up hinging on their lumbar on the belt rather than hinging in your hips. If you have a flat back and you loaded your hamstrings, we're going to hinge on our hips to complete a deadlift, sumo or conventional. But people will cinch this thing down, get too used to the belt, and they'll end up rounding and hinging on their lumbar, which is the opposite of what we want. That's Snap City, as these boys call it nowadays. So I would suggest the same as Alan, either don't use it or use it really loose in those cases until you get the idea of hinging on your hips and putting the load in your hamstrings. To cheat, act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain advantage, especially in a game or examination. She always cheats at cards. Damn, I hate her. So the people will compare, they'll say that it's like using a slingshot or it's like using knee wraps or straps. Or straps, which I disagree with because the belt does not assist any of the joints involved in the movement. It doesn't... Knee wraps. True. Aid knee extension. Yeah, the main mover. Right. A slingshot obviously helps. The main mover. Yeah. So this is not aiding any joints involved in the movement. So no, it's not cheating. And I would go even further to that with knee wraps and things that cheating is only when it's against the rules. Right. If it's not in the rules, then you cannot cheat. Yeah. So a belt and every power lifting federation that I'm aware of, there's many so don't quote me. Yeah. You can use a belt. Yeah. Even in raw, raw, raw world where I think there is a federation where knee sleeves aren't allowed, you can still use a belt. Yeah. So in that case, sumo's not cheating. Knee wraps aren't cheating on most instances and a belt is definitely not cheating. My friends. Good luck. Allen's info is in the description. Check out on team strength here in Sacramento. We appreciate you. Later losers.