Belts Redux

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Justin

I just finished my third day of driving, so don’t expect the great American novel. I’ve been listening to a lot of the Paleo Solution Podcast with Robb Wolf and Greg Everett. It’s a solid podcast, mostly because it’s probably kept me awake and not dead. While listening earlier, some random guy was writing in about belts. The guy asking the question cited something Rippetoe said about wearing flared belts backwards (Greg snickered) and then referenced ME. But he didn’t even reference me correctly, he took something I said out of context.

A long time ago when I still lived in Texas I noted on 70’s Big how I wore a velcro belt for the Olympic lifts (because the bar would hit my suede belt if I wore it), the suede belt on squat and press, and a thinner leather belt for deadlifts (because the suede belt pinched me when I was just a boy). Nowadays I just wear the suede belt on everything (including clean and jerk). I wasn’t recommending that everyone do the above, merely pointing out what I did at the time. Greg interrupted himself from reading the question and said pointedly, “Everyone on the internet is wrong.” I just stopped the podcast right there and said aloud to my dogs, “Can’t do it.”

It’s natural for me to get lumped in with Rippetoe considering I managed his gym for a year and half, but I haven’t been there in over two years so equating us would be inaccurate. But I’m more talking about my shame, man, my shame! I actually don’t know if I should be ashamed cause I didn’t finish listening.

Look, I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. I’ve been driving for three days straight and I’m about to go to sleep; things aren’t coherent. I just wanted to add some information to the plethora of belt knowledge in the archives and it sounded like a good intro. We get new readers all the time, so covering old topics will never hurt.

Cool pic of Dr. Di Pasquale and his belt

1. Belts improve performance
Chris’ master’s thesis looked at comparing a belted and un-belted 1RM in trained lifters (guys who could squat at least 1.5 times body weight). Everyone, including the guy who had never worn a belt before, squatted more in their belted attempts in this blind study (i.e. they didn’t know what weight was on the bar). Even Brent squatted more, and he most likely aimed to do the opposite just to fuck with the study. The sample size was small (7 guys or so), yet it’s the only study that looks at the performance of the belt as opposed to the obvious pressure increased caused by wearing the belt. Which leads us to…

2. Belts increase pressure
I put this in here because the guy asking Robb/Greg the question wasn’t technically correct. The belt increases pressure in two ways. The first is that it decreases the volume of the trunk. If we assume the same big breath of air (same quantity) with the decreased volume, Boyle’s Law shows us that the pressure increases. The second is that the abdominals contract harder into the surface area of the belt. The result is an increase of pressure in a) the intraabdominal cavity and b) the intrathoracic cavity. These are two distinct areas and they both have a resultant pressure increase.

3. There’s a training effect from chronic belt use.
People always ask, “How much more weight should I be able to squat with a belt?” It doesn’t work like that; there isn’t a standardized amount that you can accomplish with and without a belt. And even if there was, it would be an individualized thing. If you accept that the abdominals contract harder (and this can be felt after the first few belted sessions — the abs are distinctly sore), then that means they are trained differently (i.e. more) when belted. After a given amount of time, say 8 weeks, the trainee will be stronger with a belt than they would have been without the belt. Since pretty much everyone squats more with a belt, that means the un-belted strength will also have increased more compared to if the trainee had never worn the belt in that 8 weeks.

4. Belts improve efficiency, safety.
The pressure increases in the torso act as a pneumatic brace against the anterior portion of the spine. This “air brace” helps stabilize and solidify the trunk, allowing for all of the force of the working muscles to be transferred into the bar. This extra stabilization also means that the trunk is safer than it would be if the belt were not being used. Remember: in lifting, safety = efficiency.

5. Inzer makes great belts.
I highly recommend Inzer belts for their great quality and durability. They were kind enough to send Chris several belts to use for his study.

6. You are not Russian.
There are a lot of assholes like Brent who think they don’t need a belt. Hey, if you’ve been lifting since you were nine years old and were given exemplary supplements, you’d be so jacked you wouldn’t need a belt. But you aren’t. You’re just some dude who picked up the sport recently. You are not a beautiful snowflake; you’re just some crusty piece of ice falling from Klokov’s frozen ball hair. Put the belt on. Or don’t, I don’t care.

To read more about belts and other gear, see this post.

Big Squat

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Justin

I’m travelling; lots o’ driving. Interact with me on Twitter. ooga booga.

Here’s a video of Beverly Crawford, a young powerlifter who will is preparing for the IPF sanctioned North American Powerlifting Championships (to put it in perspective, it’s the single ply version of what Chris/Mike/Alex did in the raw version at the Arnold Sport Festival). She’s squatting 365 for two singles and then 335×2. Bev is coached by the unbearably handsome Brooks Conway at Quest Athletics. The front angle may throw you off, but the Quest lifters are using the same mechanics as what we call “the low bar squat”, yet note the differences. The more narrow hand placement allows the lifter to lock down their trunk, particularly the lats, before descending. The upward eye gaze is pretty different, but it doesn’t inhibit the emphasis on hip drive. I’ll note that I coach a 45 degree downward angle at the lowest (as opposed to looking near the feet). Here’s another video of Bev smoking the SHIT out of a 425 reverse band conventional deadlift and then squatting 355×3.

Q&A – 32

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Justin

PR Friday

The weekly tradition continues. Post your PR’s or training updates. I PR’d by completing every lift in the universe while loading a moving truck yesterday for 7 hours. Squats, presses, deadlifts, cleans, continental cleans, farmer’s, pinch grip, curls, rows, RDLs, good mornings, curls, curls, curls, curls, curls, curls, and curls.

Chris at the seminar in Tucson earlier this month

Weekly Challenge

Last week’s challenge asked you to “put 25 to 35 pounds in a pack, wear it on your back, and walk for 30 to 60 minutes non-stop on at least one day”. When I made this ‘challenge’, it was more so to give you an appreciation of the military. However, in light of my interests in hiking, survival, guns, and EDC, it’s an activity that would only help your ability to “go”. Under any worst case scenario — zombies, nuclear war, the apocalypse, alien invasion, etc. — you will need to have basic survival and movement capabilities, the kind that revolve around carrying your supplies and moving the fuck out. Did anyone complete the challenge? I would expect a report of sprouting more chin hairs, cause there’s something manly about carrying relatively heavy shit around.

Next Week’s Challenge:
Go out of your way to help a stranger by lifting something heavy. Do not accept a reward.
I know, I know, it almost sounds like we’re starting a fight club or something. My ‘job’ is centered around helping people, but I help people I don’t know all of the time. I’ve returned wallets full of money, helped push cars and trucks out of the road, picked things up and put them down, and laughed when a girl fell on the stairs. Last year while visiting in Texas, in a 12 hour period I helped push two vehicles to a gas station. Do it.

Weekly Recap

On Tuesday there was a quick post on obscene levels of motivation from Ben and CC as well as a post on using crappy equipment. The latter post’s comments were full of people erroneously equating a cheap econo bar with a Texas deadlifting bar. On Thursday I linked to a preview post for the lifting at the 2012 London Games that Peter Upham wrote. Thursday was a quick post on the new “70’s Big Insiders Newsletter” that will be sent out several times a month; read more here.

Q&A

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2012 Olympics — Lifting Preview

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Justin

My mate Peter Upham of Shire Speed and Strength wrote a pretty cool preview of the 2012 London Games Olympic Weightlifting. Check out the rest of the article that includes every weight class for both genders, but here’s the 105, 94, and 85kg men’s sections.

Men’s 105kg class. Records 200/238 Total 436kg

In 2008, Belarus’ Andrei Aramnau slammed the field with 200/236, 436 total to set all 3 world records. Since then he was kicked off the Belarusian team for drunk driving and did not lift in the 2011 World’s, but did lift in the Belarusian nationals last year and is coming back to form.

In his absence the Russians have been pushing each other hard. 2008 silver medallist Dmitry Klokov has a huge international following. His lifting attitude and athletic physique have built a fandom who are hungry to see him go one better in London. At the 2011 World’s he went toe to toe with countryman Khurtmani Akkaev who has moved up a weight class from the 94kg class and won Bronze and Silver in Athens and Beijing. Additionally, David Bejanyan at the President’s Cup set the World Record in the Clean and Jerk at 238kg earlier last year. Bejanyan’s problem is that his Snatch and total are not as competitive and he will likely miss out this time, but its an easy prediction to make that he will ascend the space that Klokov and Akkaev will leave after London.

TIP: If Aramnau is on form I predict one of the great all time three-way battles for the Gold. At the World’s, Akkaev rose to Klokov’s challenge and made the lifts necessary to get the victory; Klokov knows what his countryman can do and will leave it all out there. I hope he takes the final lift and gives it one of his trademark almighty Viking roars to win the Gold.

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