3" Belt is Too Wide? (Short Female Trainee)

[Erich Weidner]

My wife just received her 3" belt from Dominion Strength.
Unfortunately when she put it on and attempted a body weight squat just to see how it felt, she reported that it dug up into her ribs (painfully) when she got near the bottom of the squat. Also, she couldn't fully squat without the belt digging in.

She is 5'2" tall. Standing straight we measured just shy of 4" between top of hip bone and bottom of ribs. For comparison, on me, 5'8" tall, there was over 7" clearance between those two bones.
The belt was the XS, she is on the last hole of the belt, so looser isn't an option. But it isn't so tight that fingers cant be pushed behind the belt from the top.

I've searched through several threads here,but it seems like the 3" or 4" belts worked for those female lifters. Looks like most of them were taller than my girl though. Anyone have suggestions? Should I be looking for a 2" belt for her?

Regards,
Erich

[Mark Rippetoe]

It would be a 2.5" belt. I have one.

[Erich Weidner]

Thank you.
We are actually attending the Self Sufficient Lifter camp in January. If (WFAC) has some narrower belts, maybe she can test one before I pull the trigger on another premium belt.

In the mean time I'll start looking for one. I see Best Belts has a 2.5" offering.

Cheers,
Erich

[Elle]

I'm 5'5" but have an incredibly short torso and long legs - I have to wear petite tops. I have 4.25" clearance between ribs and hip bone.

I almost sent my 3" dominion belt back when I first got it because I felt like I was bruising the underside of my ribs. But over time I learned that I was making mistakes with belt placement, and now I'm glad I have the wider belt.

1) I used to put the belt right at my natural waist, like where I'd wear yoga pants. I think us girls are trained to wear stuff there. It actually needed to be a little bit lower, to cover my lower abs. I started doing the thing rip said about taking a few air squats to figure out belt position before tightening the belt.
2) I found out I had the other "girl habit" of hyperextending my lower back on tbe way down into a squat, which is the point at which the belt pinched. Once I learned to actually, properly set my back and stabilize it with my core, it stopped pinching.

I'm not saying either of those things are the case for her. She might well need a thinner belt. But it's worth checking for form opportunities first.

[Erich Weidner]

Thanks Elle. I think we'll return this one, as it can't loosen up further. (On the last notch). May wait at this point until she can try something on first. May be that a 3" with a few more holes "out" of adjustment will do the trick as it did for you. (She is only a couple weeks into NVP, so no immediate rush for a belt).

Cheers,