Injury prevention - weightlifting belt.

In this article, we will once again dwell in detail on the aspects of safety and prevention of sports injuries, and also study in detail such an important accessory in the arsenal of every self-respecting bodybuilder and lifter as a weightlifting belt. Why is it needed? What are its advantages? Does it have any disadvantages? How to use it correctly? And many other interesting aspects of its operation...

Strength sports (in particular, powerlifting and bodybuilding) have gained worldwide popularity in just a few decades. Today, a generally accepted and irreplaceable aspect of human beauty is a slim, fit and muscular figure. And if it is enough for a girl to simply have a slim waist and toned muscles, then for men everything is much more serious. Physical strength and large muscle mass are one of the main criteria by which, from time immemorial, our ancestors identified the most revered and respected representatives of their communities. Today, little has changed in this regard - if your weight exceeds one hundred kilograms, and these are clean and defined muscles, then you are probably not deprived of attention.

However, in order to achieve such a result, you should work regularly and purposefully for more than one year. Only constant training can create the desired body, and millions of men on the planet willingly sacrifice their own time and effort for this.

If you just came to the gym not yesterday and have already achieved some success, safety during exercise should be given increased importance. Naturally, correct exercise technique is a self-evident necessity for both beginners and performing professionals, but if you have to hang several of the largest weights on the bar on each side to complete a set, there is a serious risk of injury.

First of all, the main danger is posed by exercises such as:

1. a) deadlift,
2. b) squats with a barbell,
3. c) barbell press up.

To a lesser extent, in fact, any approach with serious weight already creates a risk for the athlete. As the load increases, intra-abdominal pressure (that is, the pressure that is created inside your abdomen) significantly increases in order to better fix the spine and intervertebral discs. Often, even experienced athletes, correctly and competently performing an approach with a large weight, receive an injury to the lower part of the spine - this is due to the fact that the body was unable to provide the necessary fixation of the vertebrae.

The abdominal muscles (to a lesser extent, also the lower back) are responsible for creating the necessary intra-abdominal pressure. And if their effectiveness is insufficient, the risk of injury naturally increases. That is why the abdominal muscles should be given sufficient attention in every workout.

Weightlifter's belt and its benefits in strength sports.

When you come to the gym, you have probably seen serious athletes there more than once, “pulling” huge weights. And often before approaching, they put on a special wide belt - the so-called weightlifter’s belt. Let's take a closer look at this tool and consider whether it is so effective in reducing the risk of injury during exercise in the gym.

As mentioned above, for additional fixation of the spine when working with heavy weights, our body uses the abdominal muscles (by the way, often even involuntarily). By wearing a weightlifting belt, you create additional fixation of the spinal discs, thereby protecting them from possible injuries. A tightly tightened belt is indeed very effective in weightlifting, and many lifters cannot do without it when lifting serious weights.

However, its use also has its disadvantages. As you probably already understood, for our body a kind of natural “belt” is the abdominal and lower back muscles. Well developed and developed, they themselves should be able to cope with considerable loads (of course - within reasonable limits). Of course, if you are doing a deadlift of 250 kilograms with a body weight of about one hundred, without additional protection it will be difficult in any case.

Thus, we can draw the following conclusion: a weightlifter’s belt is a very necessary accessory in an athlete’s arsenal, but it is only relevant to use when performing maximum weights and extremely heavy strength training. Don't overdo it with its use!