Lots of fat powerlifters wear belts. It might look funny on you but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
I'm 252.2lb, 27.1% bodyfat (up/down from 241.1, 31.1% when I started SS 6 weeks ago).
This strength training thing has totally scratched an itch I've been looking to have scratched. Now that I'm going to stick with it and I'm starting to lift previously unimagined (by me) amounts of weight I'm willing to put some money into it. (Last squat was 255x5x3, trying 265 next session).
I want to get a belt, but I still have a pretty big gut, spare tire, keg, what have you.
Does a belt do any good when you have a few inches of fat padding between it and the structure it is supposed to support?
EDIT: I've searched for "belt gut" "weight belt fat" etc., but didn't see anything addressing this particular topic. If it's been covered please just post a link. Thanks!
Last edited by OldAndBald; 04-16-2012 at 11:15 PM.
Lots of fat powerlifters wear belts. It might look funny on you but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
Yes, it does fine. Just ask mwhites.
Great, thanks.
ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?!?
It's okay, I am... :P
I have a fat gut too and I wear one. You can see it in almost all of the most recent videos here http://www.youtube.com/onearmstrength.
I'd say I have a good 2" of fat between my skin and stomach muscles (maybe more...) The belt does help still. Granted, us teletubies (at least myself) have to wear it differently as our toothpick counter parts do it. Ideally, you want to be able to stick your hand between your gut and the belt, just ever so slightly. I can't, I have to tighten it up so the the 2" fat gets squished and I then can actually apply outward pressure to the belt. It might feel really stupid, I was embarrassed the first few times but, after squatting three plates, I cared not.
At first I had the wear the back of the belt "up" on my back and the front "down" on my belly. (I think the first few videos shows this.) Now that I've lost more of it, it's actually in "proper" placement around my back and belly. It's "flatter"..
Hope this helps, let me know if you need further, more in depth explanation. (I tend to ramble on and not make much sense.) <--- see?
It's a great investment. Also, what do you measure around your naval? I have a spare BestBelts belt that measure's 55" (I'm sure way to big but, I gotta ask.) <---- more rambling (I haven't posted much lately.) <--- see?
Last edited by mwhities; 04-17-2012 at 06:29 AM.
We're about the same size. I wear a belt and squat at or over 400 lbs. I use it like MWhities, though, you have to cinch it up a little more so that the ab muscle are pushing against it and not the fat. Similar to the trainers versus squat shoes - if you push on something squishy, it won't always take up the same way as pushing on something solid. Good luck and good lifting!
I'm fat and use a belt. I think we fatties need to crank it down a lot tighter than the non-fatties. This means that when you buy a belt, make sure you take into account that you will be tightening it much more than the non-obese (which is unlike purchasing a belt for your slacks, which you do not crank down super tight). For example, my obese waist measures at 42-44 inches (down from 50-52, thank you). But, underneath all my fat, my abdominal/hip bones and muscles are more like a 36-38. So, I bought a size Large belt which fits my mechanical mechanical structure, but not really my fat and skin. Yes, it bulges and squishes out around the belt. Not really a good look, but it helps me lift so...
Suck it in!
I'm a smaller guy, but i find that pulling it quit tightly helps me more than a looser belt, (not obscenely tight where i've got 2 partners tightening it for me)