Many of us upon hitting some beginning milestone decide it is time to throw on a belt. Hey that big guy in the corner just squatted 6 plates and he had a belt on so this thing must work. Throw on the belt and suddenly you can squeeze a few more reps out than usual. Let's go for a PR!!! What a great invention, it does most of the stabilization for me. A couple of hundred mildly focused lifts down the line and you plateau, darn. I thought these things were magic, how come I have stopped progressing?
One of the biggest cons when wearing a belt is that some lifters tend to pay less attention to bracing properly. We forget the details of how to properly brace and begin to perform reps inefficiently. Whether that be hinging to far forward or rounding the back from poor bracing. These inefficiencies slide when performing moderately loaded reps. Upon working up to a maximal load everything begins to catch up to you. This is where injuries can occur.
How do we fix this? My favorite way to incorporate no belt training is to drop it after a top set. For example, many of my powerlifters will receive a top RPE set and drop down in percentage all while taking that little belt off. Suffering intensifies!!! Another way I like to incorporate less belt work is to choose a variance to be completed with less intensity, regarding to load, but no belt. Example may be a pause above or pause below parallel squat without a belt. These are performed at higher volumes to solidify proper movement and bracing.
Give it a try, take the darn thing off and see how efficiently you still move. If you look like one of those dancing inflatable balloons maybe you should add more no belt in your life.
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