Should you wear a weight lifting belt or not?

There was a recent study done where Dutch researchers found that there is no real benefit to wearing lumbar support. Wearing a weight lifting belt during your workouts will NOT help to prevent or treat back injuries. For the majority of the time you are better off just forgetting the weight lifting belt altogether.

The only exception would be when performing heavy low rep squats and deadlifts. With these exercises the belt will help with improving your exercise form. Because when you wear a belt and push your stomach out against the front of the belt this will create a more solid core base that will help you lift more and feel stronger when squatting and deadlifting.


The best weight lifting belts for providing core support are the powerlifting style belts that are the same width all the way around. Not the typcial bodybuilding belts that are thick in the back and thin in the front. The reason being that the support comes from expanding your stomach and pushing out against the belt. Not from excess padding in the back of the belt.