Leather Lifting Belt

If you go to the gym like I do, their is one accessory that you can’t do without. That accessory is a lifting belt. I remember when I used to think that they were only for powerlifters and I should just save the money. Man, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The reality is that by trying to save myself some money I was giving myself a ton of chronic back-pain after every squat and back workout. So, like I always do I did some genuinely deep research into finding the best belt I could buy. I wrote off the cheap flimsy velcro belts – those aren’t worth anything. The first belt I bought was from a street vendor for $25 bucks cash. It was leather, made in Pakistan and it did the job for a little while. Once I started using a lifting belt, I couldn’t go back.

Well. long story short I ended up losing that Pakistani weight lifting belt shortly after I moved to Colorado. So I needed to buy a new lifting built. This time I settled on buying from Amazon and I did my research. Long story short, I ended up deciding on the belt that I have to this day.

Whether your a Bodybuilder or a Powerlifter, you need to be using these accessories to protect yourself and increase your personal best lifts on compound lifts.

Recommended Products:

1) ProFitness Genuine Leather Workout Belt 

This belt is everything you want or need in a weightlifting belt. It’s so good that after I lost my first one I immediately ordered a replacement on Amazon.It’s built of durable ox-hide leather, is stylish as hell and the support it provides your core and back is second to none. Most importantly, this belt offers the comfort, support and quality that every experienced weightlifter should have. For 39$, this leather lifting belt is  worth its weight in gold. Have you ever experienced chronic lower back pain after squatting and deadlifting? Trust me, saving $39 is not worth having to deal with that stuff. What’s the other alternative? Avoiding barbell exercises? Those are the most critical exercises for proper muscular development. You really don’t realize what a great difference wearing a high quality lifting belt makes until you stop using it.

What happens then? You will experience that gnawing feeling in your back. That feeling of aching pain that won’t go away after a gym session. Trust and believe that I will never perform compound lifts without a lifting belt again. I love lifting weights, but I hate chronic back pain. Don’t make the same mistake I did – trying to save  few bucks and costing yourself tons of pain or medical issues.

Why You Should Always Lift With A Belt

When you lift with a lifting belt properly on, the belt helps engage your core, abdominal and stabilizer muscles. Engaging these muscles helps you squat, deadlift, and shoulder press more weight without risking injury or losing your balance. Even dealing with a single day of back pain is too much. Have you ever seen an ego lifter after a failed squat accident? I have.  A lot of those accidents are due to trying to lift too much weight and not having enough core stability. A belt will completely address the second issue. I recommend the medium size for Men and small size for women.

The Perfect Compliment to A Lifting Belt:

Wrist Wraps

2) Iron Bull Wrist Wraps

Wrist wraps will help stabilize your wrists and keep them straight. These wrist wraps can literally save your life on certain exercises. Have you ever dropped 245 pounds of iron on your chest? I have. My wrist slipped while I was incline benching and the bar and four 45 pound plates and change instantly hit my chest.  Nobody always has a spotter, and prevention is a lot better then treatment – trust me. Anyways, I had to take about two weeks of lifting off. From that day on I decided I would always lift with wrist wraps. Some guys will tell you not to use any gym equipment accessories. Those guys are wrong.

Wrist wraps are amazing – they will keep your wrists straight and supported. This will help when you are large amounts of weight with barbells or dumbbells. At the time of the writing of this article, I’ve had these wrist straps for over a year. They are still holding up great and I expect they will last several more years. Wearing wrist wraps will save you from dropping weight on your chest or feet while engaging in compound lifts.

Wrist wraps will also increase the maximum amount of weight you can lift. By increasing your wrist and forearm stability, you are able to focus on what really matters. – Strength and increasing your personal best lifts. These wrist wraps also come with two free lifting straps. Straps let you squeeze in extra reps and lift a tiny more weight on big compound lifts. I don’t really use them much, but it’s great to have them for when I do.

Conclusion:

Wearing a lifting belt will save your back. Wrist wraps will save your wrists from bending backwards , saving you from crippling injuries and dropping a whole lot of iron on your chest. These gym accessories are my uniform. You won’t see me lifting weights without them . I recommend you purchase a belt and wraps – you’ll be thanking yourself a few days from now when you’re in the gym.