snatching with a belt

[pvchan]

Do you recommend wearing a belt on snatches?



And what belt do you generally recommend for the olympic lifts? thicker tapered belts are now available in 8mm, 10mm and 13mm. Or, is a 2.5" belt(thats 2.5" all the way around) superior to the tapered belts? or does it even make a difference?




P.S: I currently only have a 4 inch 10mm belt.

[stef]

In my experience, a plain leather belt, same width all around is the way to go. The width will depend on how much room you have in your torso - somewhere from 2.5 to 4 inches. Wear it with the buckle in the back (or side) so you can keep the bar close. You can use a thicker belt if it's broken in enough and actually fits - that is, make sure it's not interfering with your ability to set up properly.

Avoid tapered belts. They are designed by people who don't understand how a belt works as an effective training tool. The worst are ones where they are very wide in the back and narrow in the front. This means that its width decreases in exactly the wrong place - the abdomen side - so they don't effectively allow you to contract harder to create improved hoop tension. At the same time the large width interferes with setting the back muscles. Lose-lose.

[pvchan]

Okay thanks!