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Health Club Members Use Weight Belts Inappropriately
Researchers at the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center in Rochester, Minnesota, looked at weight lifting belt patterns of use in a population of health club members. Over a 1-month period 352 voluntary club members were asked to fill out a brief survey to identify if they presently use a weight belt or had used one in the past. The survey was also used to identify the rationale for using weight belts. Of the 352 members who filled out the survey, 189 were men and 156 were women with ages running from 20 to 72 years.
Results showed that 27% of the participants were weight belt users, and 34% of the non-users were former users. Current and former weight belt users identified the weight belt as being most important for use during the following exercises: squat, dead lift, shoulder press, bench press, and bent over row. The two primary reasons cited for this were to prevent injuries and improve performance.
The most important finding was that most people used the belts for inappropriate situations such as during light loads, and exercises where trunk musculature was predominately uninvolved. The existing literature only supports weight belt use in specific circumstances—such as maximal or near-maximal lifts.
The authors suggest that health club members need to be educated about the proper use of weight belts. The researchers also suggest that strength trainers should be doing a better job teaching the proper use of intrinsic trunk musculature for stability instead of an external device such as a weight belt. The NSCA recommends that exercisers work with a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) to learn the proper usage of weight belts and how to perform exercises for improving core stability.
Finnie SB, Wheeldon TJ, Hensrud DD, Dahm DL, Smith J. (2003). Weight Lifting Belt Use Patterns Among a Population of Health Club Members. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 17(3):498 – 502.
Researchers at the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center in Rochester, Minnesota, looked at weight lifting belt patterns of use in a population of health club members. Over a 1-month period 352 voluntary club members were asked to fill out a brief survey to identify if they presently use a weight belt or had used one in the past. The survey was also used to identify the rationale for using weight belts. Of the 352 members who filled out the survey, 189 were men and 156 were women with ages running from 20 to 72 years.
Results showed that 27% of the participants were weight belt users, and 34% of the non-users were former users. Current and former weight belt users identified the weight belt as being most important for use during the following exercises: squat, dead lift, shoulder press, bench press, and bent over row. The two primary reasons cited for this were to prevent injuries and improve performance.
The most important finding was that most people used the belts for inappropriate situations such as during light loads, and exercises where trunk musculature was predominately uninvolved. The existing literature only supports weight belt use in specific circumstances—such as maximal or near-maximal lifts.
The authors suggest that health club members need to be educated about the proper use of weight belts. The researchers also suggest that strength trainers should be doing a better job teaching the proper use of intrinsic trunk musculature for stability instead of an external device such as a weight belt. The NSCA recommends that exercisers work with a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) to learn the proper usage of weight belts and how to perform exercises for improving core stability.
Finnie SB, Wheeldon TJ, Hensrud DD, Dahm DL, Smith J. (2003). Weight Lifting Belt Use Patterns Among a Population of Health Club Members. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 17(3):498 – 502.
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