PR Friday

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“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.”
–Douglas Adams

Like every Friday, it is PR Friday. Post this week’s PR’s to the comments. Remember that you can PR in lifting, eating, and gaining bodyweight. I clean and jerked 155 kg for the first time on Monday and squatted 465x5x3 on Tuesday. My program needs to be carefully tweaked because I am wandering into the realm of a slight overtraining. I snatched 120 (previous meet PR) Thursday on a very tired back and set of shoulders. Those body parts didn’t have any steam, and I missed 125 twice.

———-

Yesterday I talked about what goes on physiologically when a belt is worn during lifting. This process is very different than wearing other gear, like a squat suit or knee wraps. The suit and/or wraps aid the movement of a particular joint while the belt improves the stability and strength of the trunk. This is a very important distinction, and is the reason why powerlifting is separated into raw and equipped divisions and/or federations.

Before addressing other belt related topics, I want to make a bold, clarifying statement. If your goal is to get stronger (and you have been lifting longer than two months) and you refuse to wear a belt, you are a fucking idiot. I’m sorry I’m not sorry. Look, not only are the abdominals working harder, but the pressure is increased within the trunk which stabilizes and strengthens the spine. This makes you stronger, and it is usable strength. The first time someone wears their belt in a serious training session (especially when pressing and deadlifting), their abs get sore. Not to mention the work sets are handled easier than without the belt. The belt is not something that you use to “bust out of a training rut”, it is a tool that you use to get stronger, and if you aren’t wearing one, then you aren’t serious about your training.

What kind of belt should I use?
When you are experienced wearing belts, you will probably use a different belt depending on the exercise. However, in general, your belt will have the same width all the way around since the most important articulation with your body happens in the front on the abdominals. Most of us will use belts that are four inches wide, yet some of you with short torsos will need to have three inch belts (you will know this if the four inch belt is jabbing into your lower rib(s)). If a belt is more narrow in the front than in the back, then (as Rippetoe famously said in his book) the manufacturers don’t know how the belt works.

If you are in the market for a belt, then check out EliteFTS. I don’t have any kind of monetary relationship with EliteFTS (shit, I don’t get paid to type anything), nor have I ever met Dave Tate or Jim Wendler (although I hear they are good guys from close friends), but they have really fucking good products, especially the belts.

I use one of the Retro Series Power Belts that Rip gave to me. I love it. Every PR I have had in the squat and press occurred with that belt around my waist (notables are pressing 205x5x5, squatting 500 for 5 singles, squatting 485×5, and squatting 465x5x3 in the linear progression). The Retro Series is 10 to 11 mm thick, which is thinner than the Power Belt that is between 12 and 13 mm. Both style of belts are completely customizable; length, thickness (depending on the series), one or two prongs, and color. All of the belts are high quality suede with smooth roller buckles — I couldn’t comprehend any other brand of belt being better than the EFS line.

The only drawback with these belts (including the Retro series), is that they may be a bit thick for some people to get in a good pulling position with. In such a case, you could always use a thinner leather belt (pictured below). A suede or leather belt is probably too big to use for the Olympic lifts and we (at the WFAC) like to use regular velcro belts (pictured below). The brand is Harbinger and they are sold here in town at Academy Sports.

L to R: suede, velcro, and leather belts

L to R: suede, velcro, and leather belts



Pictured above are the belts that I will use depending on what lift I am doing. The suede belt is and EFS Retro Series suede belt that I squat and press in. The one in the middle is the velcro belt that I use when I clean and jerk (it’s actually Rip’s belt), and the one on the right is one of the many leather belts hanging on the wall in the gym that I will use when I am pulling (rack pull, haltings, deadlift etc.).

How do I learn how to wear a belt and where is it worn?
A belt should be worn on the last few warm-up sets before the work set(s), and it is best to learn how to wear one while squatting first. If it is thrown on at the work set, the body won’t be used to it being there and it will probably feel a bit weird (especially if it is your first time). When you are on your last couple warm-up sets, put the belt on so that it sits above your anterior superior iliac spine, or your hip bone. The top of the belt should not press against the last rib; I have seen someone bust up their costal cartilage wearing it here.

Tighten the belt so that it is moderately tight. Note that this does not read “as tight as you can fucking make it”. Just tight enough so that your abs press into it a bit. Do the warm-up set as normal. If the belt is sliding around during the set, then it is probably too loose. When you get to your work set, you may opt to keep it at the same hole, or you may want to tighten it by one more hole. The main consideration is that you don’t want to wear the belt too tight. If you have to “squeeze up” into the belt, then it is too tight and this will be counter-productive for the set. However, you may have to use an external object to help you tighten the belt appropriately; we use the edge of our power racks to hold the end of the belt against with our hands as we turn our bodies to the side — most people do this.

The more you wear the belt, the more you understand how tight you need it to be. If you slip your fingers into the crease between the upper portion of the belt and your abdominals, then it should be snug. If you can’t even get your fingers in the crease, then it is probably too tight. I keep trying to clarify belt tightness because I know some of you are going to freak out and not know if you have the belt on correctly. Trust me, you’ll figure it out over time. As a general rule, a more experienced belt wearer can wear their belt tighter, and they will intuitively know what is “too tight”.

The belt is worn in the same place for the squat and press, yet the deadlift may dictate a different placement. Rip likes to wear a thinner belt (like the leather one pictured above) lower in the front and higher in the back. I will have AC and Chris comment on how they like to wear their belts since Chris can deadlift over 600 and AC pulled 569 at his meet a few weeks ago. When I clean and jerk, I wear the velcro belt in the same way that I wear the suede belt for squatting/pressing. I can’t wear a belt when I snatch, because the bar routinely hits the belt after I hit my belly in the jump (I have a pretty vertical bar path). I have worn the velcro belt when bench pressing before (because of mild to moderate lumbar issues because of a car accident, it helped my back when I arched it while benching). Typically the belt is tightened when lying down instead of standing up before bench pressing.

I have seen some people (via the interweb) wear their belt higher when pulling. For example, Konstantinovs, who is stronger than three week old piss, wears his belt at the halfway point between his sternum and hip bones. Get experienced with the belt before experimenting like this, because he is obviously a professional.

I have x existing injury, should I be wearing a belt?
Uh, yes. If you have any kind of low back injuries, then you should have started wearing a belt yesterday. The worst case scenario would be a spondylolisthesis. People with this ordeal have the potential to be crippled by back extensions or reverse hypers, but can and should squat and deadlift in order to keep the structures of their spine intact. They absolutely should be wearing a belt since we learned yesterday how it supports and strengthens the spine. I have worked with many people that have had bulging discs (I think I have one in my neck) in their lumbar spine, and it would behoove these people to get their low back strong by squatting and deadlifting — with a belt of course.

Most of this information is available in Starting Strength. I learned how to wear a belt from Rip, and have taught many people to do so based on that lesson as well as my experiences. I am sure that there may be some differences in powerlifting or strongman competitions, and I admit that I am inexperienced in these matters. However, for general strength training purposes, the belt will be worn as described here.

Here is a video of Konstantinovs pulling 939 completely raw. Ask him if he could have gotten that strong without wearing a belt.

114 thoughts on “PR Friday”

  1. That may be the most impressive human specimen ever. There is a clip on youtube of him talking and his voice could be compared to James Earl Jones on roids.

    Justin, I””m thinking about getting a Valeo velcro belt, any thoughts on width/thickness?

    4 inches, dude. That is standard unless you are weird. I don’t think you have much of a choice for thickness.

    –Justin

  2. Great post. There”s a dude at my gym who just got an Inzer belt, hopefully I can try it on to see how the width is since I”ll have to order online without trying it on, and sending stuff back is a bitch from Canada.

  3. PR”s this week:

    Squat: 320 5×3, 325×5 (failed 2nd/3rd sets)
    Deadlift: 330×5

    Tweaked my elbow a bit on cleans last night, was going to go for 230 on bench today but felt pain in the warm-up so I stopped.

  6. Just found the site, loving it. I do crossfit football in Afghanistan, and am (unfortunately) beltless. They have those weird ones with the 2 inch fronts on the walls, but.. no. I”ve never lifted with a belt, so hopefully it will help with some good gains when I go home in a month.

    6”1″ 220 lbs.

    PR”s for this week.
    475×5 Deadlift, 265×3 Powerclean.

  7. Committed to strict SS on Monday. Dialed all my weights back significantly to get as much linear progression as possible. No lifting PR”s for a little while, but I”m up to 171.

    Great post, Justin. Ordering a belt tomorrow…

  8. Hit 300x5x3 Monday with a slightly sore back from work.

    Tried again Wednesday and my still sore back said “FUCK YOU!” I”m off until at least Monday to heal.

    Going to use some birthday money for a leather belt to go along with my velcro . . .

  9. looks like i need to loosen my belt 1 hole. i havent noticed it affecting my work sets, but i””””ll try it one looser tonight and see how it goes.

    justin, what is your opinion on lever belts?

    They are fine. I have never worn one. A guy in our gym is squatting with one right now and he likes it a lot. You wouldn’t be able to wear it for Olympic lifting because of the bulkiness of the lever buckle.

    –Justin

  10. i have a lever belt and love how it locks in. mine is a titan that i got from liftinglarge.

    i would just like to add that Konstantinovs is absolutely my inspiration, physically.

  11. I had a deadlift PR of 375×20 this week.

    The elitefts belts are absolute top notch, for anyone who has any doubts. Elite recently discontinued them for a few months when they felt their manufacturers had slumped a bit on quality for a shipment and did not sell them again until the issue had been rectified with quality standards reinforced. They do not mess around.

  13. Moving through SS linear progression, I”ve been lifting for 6 weeks with a two and a half week break last month to get through an ankle injury from running.

    SP 75x5x3 PR 11/30
    PC 115x5x3 PR 11/30
    DL 255x5x1 PR 12/3
    BS 205x5x3 PR 12/3
    BP 60DBx5x3 PR 12/3

    Being an endurance athlete and never lifting makes every workout is a PR for me.

  16. Good timing on the article Justin, I just got my belt in the mail yesterday!

    PR Deadlift 1×5-305 lbs Monday

    Looking forward to testing the belt out today for squats.

  17. x2 on tnumrych”s question about valeo”s velcro belt… Obviously elitefts”s is better, but it is also 3x more expensive.

    What about DavidSharp”s question- he has access to a belt that tapers in the front since he is overseas. Is it better to wear that belt than no belt?

  19. Great quote…for being a smart species we tend to be very stupid.

    PRs for the week
    BW – 220
    Squat – 300x5x3
    DL – 355×5
    PC – 165x3x5

    The belt has been added to the Christmas wish list. If Santa does not deliver then to hell with the fat man, I will order one on the 26th.

  20. I wear the belt in the same place for all my lifts. I have heard that it might be in a different spot for dead-lifting, but I put it on the same exact way I do for squats and pressing.

    It doesn”t interfere with getting into position so I keep it there.

  21. Started SS at: Week 6 SS:
    BW: 185 BW: 218
    BS: 200 3×5 BS: 275 3×5
    BP: 175 3×5 BP: 240 3×5
    Press: 65 3×5 Press: 135 3×5
    DL: 255 3×5 DL: 325 3×5
    PC: 125 3×5 PC: 180 3×5
    All PR”s
    My BS at 275 almost halted at the on the last rep of last set. I have yet to use a belt b/c of lack of knowledge on the subject. Should i continue with 5# increase until i get stuck, or drop to 2.5# increases to ensure progress? I will purchase a belt ASAP.

  22. Great site. You guys have inspired me to get back over 200 lbs. after 3 months of crossfitting, where I lost 17 lbs. in that time. I should be back to my man weight by the end of next week. I have no PR”s this week, but I did create a great milkshake that has to be full of calories and protein too. It involves milk, 2 scoops vanilla protein powder, about a cup of peanut butter, coffee ice cream, and chocolate syrup. Hope you enjoy.

    Back to the main reason I am posting. I am looking to order a belt online but am unsure of what size belt I should be ordering. I am 6” 2″ at least 200 by the time I would receive it. Any input would be appreciated.

  26. Crappy training week. I”ve been sick and kids have been sick so that means sleep has suffered. Plus, stressful situation affecting me mentally as well.

    PRs for one set
    132.5# x 1 x 5 on Press
    190# x 1 x 5 on Bench
    375# x 1 x 5 on DL

    BW ~220#
    Will hit same weights on Press and Bench next week to see if I get all 3 sets.

  31. A note for the poor folks like me:)

    The belt I just bought looks very similar to the suede one in the above picture. I got it on ebay (MyHouse brand) for $30.00, sometimes you see it for $25.00.

    Fast shipping to Canada and they ship usps so I didn”t get dinged with tax or duty. A similar belt local would have cost me $120.00.

    It looks pretty good to my untrained eye. If I”m wrong it was only $30.00!

  33. The numbers aren”t big, but they”re all PRs:
    squats: 225 lbs for 3 x 5
    bench: 205 lbs for 3 x 5
    deadlift: 275 lbs for 1 x 5

    Bodyweight, disappointingly, a mediocre 215 down from a PR of 218. A weekend of eating big should change that. Will watch Konstantinov vids for motivation.

  35. Good News: PRs on linear progression
    SQ: 235x5x3
    BP: 210X5x3
    DL: 315×5
    Pr: 150x5x3
    PC: 160x3x5
    Chins: 8,7,7

    Bad news: Although thanksgiving helped me become an adult male (>200+), i didn”t do well with my eating this week. And now i”m back to being a baby mammal @ 196lbs.

    And yes, i know my lift ratios suck.

  36. Side note- I”m in the same boat as a few others. I had to eat my eggs and sausage this morning as fast as possible before my taste buds or stomach realized i was eating eggs and sausage again. I almost couldn”t keep it down. I”m gonna have to switch to liquid breakfast for a while. I have seen a few good shake recipes lately. Anybody having the same issue? And what are you replacing breakfast with?

  37. Almost back to PR territory after flu, another week. Weight feels much lighter this time through, reset was good.
    Body weight this morning was 236# (PR), that is how heavy I was after 3 Thanksgiving dinners last week. Feels good.

  38. This isn”t exactly a PR, but I”m still proud of it:

    I weigh about 220. Last night I sank into a chair and bent the metal legs pretty severely. (This is one of those “moon” chairs, with canvas stretched across a metal frame. It”s very sturdy). My roommates and I tried and tried but couldn”t straighten the metal back out.

    Finally, I turned the chair upside down, stood on the frame, reached down for the crossbar, and deadlifted it back into place. It wasn”t easy.

    My quest to get 70”s big allowed me to both BREAK and FIX something. Perfect symmetry.

  39. Can the Harbinger velcro be used for other than Oly lifts? I would like to pick one up for my session tonight, and we sell those in town. I just don””t want to get stuck with something i shouldn””t be using.

    It will suffice until something better can be bought.

    –Justin

  42. @ J

    Definitely experienced this issue. I”ve had to mix it up with egg & sausage/bacon/ground beef burritos (lot of variety available here) and egg sandwiches (eggs over medium, toast, and mayo/butter).

    My favorite breakfast shake recipe so far has been bananas, dates, vanilla ice cream, sun butter, and of course whole milk. Toss in some extra protein powder and you”re ready to roll. Adjust ingredient ratios to taste.

    After reading the Big Boy”s Menu Plan (http://70sbig.com/?p=238) I decided to always add extra calories to my milk. Play your cards right and you can get around 200g protein and >4K calories in just the milk+stuff alone. Obviously, not to be drank in one sitting.

  43. I”ve been doing SS for about 3 weeks now, and GOMAD for about 2.
    This week has been amazing.
    PRs
    Weight: 181 (up more than 10lbs)
    Squat: 245 5×3
    Press: 120 5×3

  45. BW up to 215 after doing zone toooooooo long, was down to 202.

    My favorite quote from the Simpsons

    Lisa: Dad maybe you are getting stronger
    Homer: Well I have been eating more

  46. Hey guys, just got back from the gym. Luckily my buddy Jeremy was there and, as I was inspired by this post, I asked if I could borrow his belt (Justin, he”s the dude in that Raw Unity Meet video I sent you last month.) Wow, this was the first time I”ve used a belt and I loved it. I felt way more solid at the bottom (I sense that I got deeper as well) and was much more explosive coming out of the hole. I wore it for Pressing and liked it, though I didn”t notice as pronounced a difference. I”m looking forward to doing deads with one.
    His belt is a 13mm Inzer, which I think may be a little thick for my needs. I just ordered a 10mm from them.

    PR of 295x5x5 (felt way more solid on this than I did unbelted at 285 last week.)

    Thanks again for the info Justin.

    MH

  47. I just finished my first belted workout, I got a PR on squats at 265 lbs 3×5 and my Deadlift went up to 310 lbs 1×5. The belt felt great on Squats. Deadlifts it worked well once I played around with the positioning. I had to raise it higher than squats.

    I failed on my 5th rep on my 3rd set of bench at 205 lbs. Yes I should have been microloading, and yes I should have had a spotter so I didn”t have to lower the bar to my abs and stand up:) Worked alright though- thanks deadlifts:)

    I also dropped 4 lbs this week, while maintaining/increasing strength. Weighing in at 271 lbs now. Gallon of 1% milk, meat, eggs fruit and vegetables daily, like Justin suggested. I allow 1 litre of egg nog after my workouts too:)

  48. My big ass and big balls torn my shorts in the crotch area today.

    Was pretty funny… It all started in the second set of squats… with the very first rep. I could feel the hole getting bigger and bigger with each rep. The (w)hole thing got worst by the third set.

    Had to do the bench press with a towel covering that part.

    Lesson learned: Always wear clean underwear. (Thanks mom!)

    With all due respect, your balls did not rip your shorts open.

    –Justin

  49. C+J 118 (ties previous PR)
    Snatch 93 (hang power) PR!
    BW 133

    Got some help from o lifting coaches last weekend, leading to a 10 lb snatch PR. I was pretty psyched.

  50. Whats not a PR is my goddamned bodyweight, 155 on the nose today. Sonuvabitch.

    PRs: Squat 3x5x225, form is getting ugly even with (admittedly shitty tapered) belt. Disappointing because I just worked up from a reset to 205 too, but it doesn”t take a genius to see the correlation between stagnant bodyweight and stalling lifts.

    Other PR was 1x5x280 on deads, felt strong even with fatigued back from difficult squats.

    Guess I have to quit talking about eating more and actually do it.

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