TL Health and Fitness Initiative 2012 - Page 276

On July 20 2012 17:03 Luxae wrote:


This is just me being curious, but why are you against using belts? I'm assuming it's not really the macho "using a belt would make me less manly" sentiments.

On July 20 2012 16:23 NeedsmoreCELLTECH wrote:
I just wanted to say thank you all. I'm going to keep this short, as my gf is cooking me breakfast. HUGE shoutout to eschlow, decaf and sJarl for always trying to help newbies or people with questions. HUGE shoutout to all the others (funkie, catch, phyre, malinor) for keeping me motivated for a whole year. It's been a great one.

I've gone from an 1400 elo league of legends player with bad skin and no girlfriend, too weak to deadlift 40kg (yes I failed it first time) and weighing 71kg at 1.96, to a 1700 elo league of legends player with flawless skin, the girlfriend of my dreams, strong enough to deadlift 160kgx5 and be confident that I'll pull 165 next time at 86.3kg with a six-pack.

My lay-out sucks but basically I just want to thank you all for being awesome and helping me become awesome.

On July 20 2012 08:23 sc4k wrote:


It's more just saying that even if there is not necessarily much research proving a certain assertion in bodybuilding it does not automatically make it wrong or broscience, which is a good point. Some things have not been proven but will be proven if they are researched properly, and research is definitely not the be all and end all: because the inferences the researchers have made from the data may be incorrect, the true operating factors may have been overlooked because they were too complex or hard to work out or simply had not been considered (making it impossible to make a proper control group).

On July 20 2012 17:16 Osmoses wrote:

The belt is a crutch, you're spoiling your core.

On July 20 2012 18:01 Luxae wrote:


Erm, wut? Have you ever actually worn a belt, or at the very least researched the topic? If anything, using a belt will make your "core" work harder.

On July 20 2012 18:44 NeedsmoreCELLTECH wrote:

That goes against my common sense; if a belt means MORE work, why would you be able to lift heavier weights with it?

On July 20 2012 18:01 Luxae wrote:


Erm, wut? Have you ever actually worn a belt, or at the very least researched the topic? If anything, using a belt will make your "core" work harder.

On July 20 2012 19:51 Osmoses wrote:

Never worn a belt, but I have researched the topic... But I agree with Celltech that this is common sense. Why do you think "raw" lifts are lower than belted? You said it yourself, the belt helps you to stay tighter, gives your abs something to lean on, it basically gives you a handicap. Without the belt you would not be able to stay as tight, your core would crumble and you would not be able to lift as much.

edit: OK I read the article and I think I understand what you mean now. Basically lifting with the belt is supposed to help you get stronger without the belt. I agree that the belt might help your legs get stronger, because you can squat more without having to worry about your weak link, the core, but the core itself I should think would only get weaker from this. Obviously I'm no expert, but it seems to be the carryover from belted to non-belted, core-wise, would be about as significant as doing squats in a smith machine vs with a real bar. Real experts argue this, which one you want to believe is obviously up to you.

On July 20 2012 20:03 Luxae wrote:


Well, all I can say is that you should really try wearing a belt, experience how your Abdominals feels afterwards, and then decide whether or not you think the belt made them work less

On July 20 2012 20:18 Osmoses wrote:

When I start squatting heavy I'll get a belt, and then I'll know =)

On July 20 2012 21:28 sc4k wrote:


The tightness of the belt always makes my spine feel more protected, keeping the core locked in to prevent injury. No problem if you don't want to use a belt but I really like the safety it gives you. Also from a mental point of view, if you've seen DBZ then think of Piccolo when he throws off his gi, it's like, 'let's get serious'. When I put on the belt it means I am lifting heavy and it's time to get serious. Something about strapping it around my waist that pumps me up and gets me in the zone...maybe it's tainted for you because you are worried about people calling you a pussy but I have never been worried of this possibility, so it just makes me feel epic .

On July 20 2012 21:28 extr3me wrote:
Speaking of deadlift, I nailed 250kg (PR) today :D


I do lift 220kg without belt, but with i do have now 250kg and I had 240kg.
So the belt will always boost ur core for heavyweight training.

On July 20 2012 16:23 NeedsmoreCELLTECH wrote:
I just wanted to say thank you all. I'm going to keep this short, as my gf is cooking me breakfast. HUGE shoutout to eschlow, decaf and sJarl for always trying to help newbies or people with questions. HUGE shoutout to all the others (funkie, catch, phyre, malinor) for keeping me motivated for a whole year. It's been a great one.

I've gone from an 1400 elo league of legends player with bad skin and no girlfriend, too weak to deadlift 40kg (yes I failed it first time) and weighing 71kg at 1.96, to a 1700 elo league of legends player with flawless skin, the girlfriend of my dreams, strong enough to deadlift 160kgx5 and be confident that I'll pull 165 next time at 86.3kg with a six-pack.

My lay-out sucks but basically I just want to thank you all for being awesome and helping me become awesome.

On July 20 2012 21:40 Osmoses wrote:

Not too worried about being called a pussy (much too tall, haw!), but maybe a bit tainted because I hate no manga/anime like I hate DBZ :p

I don't want to use a belt because I feel like if you need a belt to squat less than 100kg then you're basically disabled. Now, I have a bad back, but I'm not disabled... yet.


Not arguing you can lift more, I'm arguing that it puts less emphasis on the core during the lift, making it your weak point.

On July 20 2012 17:03 Luxae wrote:


This is just me being curious, but why are you against using belts? I'm assuming it's not really the macho "using a belt would make me less manly" sentiments.

On July 20 2012 23:19 funkie wrote:


I don't feel like I need as of now. Just squatting 160/165kg at 76-78kg BW.

When I feel like I'm putting my core to danger (I haven't, I feel pretty strong unracking, going down, going up, etc), I'll get one, I have used one before, and to me, it's one of the most annoying things ever. Just one of those things that you have to get used to be able to lift more. :o

Cheers.

On July 20 2012 23:44 Daigomi wrote:

That's almost exaclty how I feel about it. I'm planning to use a belt at some point in my life, but right now I don't feel like I need it yet. I am starting to get close to the point where I will get one though.

On July 20 2012 23:55 Luxae wrote:

Fair enough. For me it seems that the issue isn't that I "need" a belt, but that there are a whole lot of benefits and nearly no disadvantages to using one. But hey man, if you're squatting 165kg unbelted at 75kg then you're obviously doing something right, so more power to you.

On July 21 2012 00:24 funkie wrote:


Yeah, don't get me wrong, I do feel like sometime soon, I will have to use a belt to reach my goals, or to keep training as hard as I want. I do not fear or "not embrace" the belt, I know is an asset that will most likely help me improve all my lifts. :3.



Haha, thanks?. I, by no means, have anything or hold anything against people who use belts. People who do, are self concious, and well, they're looking out for themselves, who wouldn't anyways.