The Belt and the Squat

[Bryan123]

Hi Mark,

I have read “The Belt and the Deadlift” article. I gather that using a belt that is too wide for one to get into a starting position in the Deadlift with a neutral spine will not only hurt your back, since you are lifting a heavy weight while in spinal flexion, but that it will also probably reduce the weight that you can lift, since you start the pull with your lower back muscles not in their resting length, and also since you then have to do a concentric contraction to “uncurl” your back, rather than having the lower back muscles working isometrically during the whole pull, and they are stronger when working isometrically.

However, as you seem to imply in this paragraph:

The squat is quite obviously different from the deadlift. The squat starts at the top, loads eccentrically into the bottom, and rebounds back up, while the deadlift starts from the bottom concentrically. The squatter gets squeezed into the bottom of the range of motion with help from the load, while the deadlifter has to assume the hardest position of the lift unloaded, with no help from the weight at all. If the squatter wears a belt that jams up the bottom of the ROM, good! It aids the rebound. But the same jamming can interfere with the deadlifter's ability to squeeze into the most efficient position to pull from, with no help from a loaded descent, creating an incomplete back-set and a power leak even before the pull begins.”

and as I gather from my own experiences, wearing a thicker belt will definitely let you lift more weight in the Squat. However, is it also the case that wearing a belt which is thick enough to touch your hip pointers when the hip angle is sufficiently closed will cause your back to round during that portion of the Squat? Or does the rounding not occur since, say, the duration of time when the belt actually touches your hip pointers, combined with the fact that you are rapidly descending into such a position, not really cause your back to round like it does in the Deadlift?

I have recently switched from using a 4 inch belt to a 2.5 inch belt since I was under the impression that the 4 inch belt would cause my back to round, and I have a history of back problems from lifting under spinal flexion. It is hard for me to judge whether or not the 4 inch belt was causing my back to round when the hip angle gets the most closed (parallel and close to parallel), since the weight that I can squat is much more than my back is strong enough to handle, so it could just be that my back starts rounding there since that is also when there is the most torque against the lower back.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Maybe I'm just tired, but I have no idea what you're asking me.

[ForbiddenDonut]

Allow me to try and translate OP's text:

"Derp de derp da teetily derpee derpee dumb."

[Bryan123]

Sorry about any communication difficulties, I have Aspergers. I have actually been working a little bit on improving my writing skills, so that people can understand the points that I am trying to convey. Maybe I will try rewriting my post later.

[Xak]

I think he said his back is rounding at/near the bottom when he squats and he is asking if a belt that is too large can be a cause. I'm about 50% confident in my interpretation.

[Kryptic]

Since the gentleman has Asperger's, I took the time to re-read that and figured out what he's asking. Yes, you're right. If you get right down to it, he's just asking if squatting with a belt that's too thick causes lower back rounding. "Or does the rounding not occur since, say, the duration of time when the belt actually touches your hip pointers, combined with the fact that you are rapidly descending into such a position, not really cause your back to round?"
I think he's also looking to confirm his own observation that you can squat heavier with a belt that is too thick, unlike the deadlift.

[Mark Rippetoe]

People who have to pull with a narrower belt can usually squat with a 4-inch. The squat loads on the way down, so the extended position of the back is set at the top and maintained under the increasing load as the hips flex, as opposed to trying to establish the lumbar extension unloaded with already-flexed hips.