Belt Squat only

Hey yall

I’m getting my brother back in the gym. One issue though is that he does not seem to tolerate barbell squats very well. There’s a bunch of complicating factors. He’s 6’6, long legged and has a quite a colorful history of injuries, especially in his back, the lower part of which seems to be the one that doesn’t tolerate the squat so well.

Of course part of this could be in his head, as he is able to pull from a slightly raised position (25kg plates under the plates on the bar).

Anyways, the gym we go to is getting a belt squat station soon. I figure this is worth trying out for him.

If the belt squat works for him, are there any special considerations that should be made for the rest of his training? Mostly I’m thinking about training his back. Will those slightly elevated pulls + belt squat + pressing exercises + rows be enough, or should something else be considered?

I don’t think that he will be missing out on anything non powerlifting related by skipping back squats in favor of belt squats. Carry on!

Excellent, he’ll be stoked. Thanks!

More of a question than a comment: Would it be wise to include back squats at a lower weight specifically because it stresses the back? That workload would build the back muscles, thus helping to prevent future issues.

I assume you’d have to drop the weight compared to a belt squat as the back is the limiting factor, not the legs.

He could certainly try that … or he could just deadlift more.

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Follow up:

Not sure when the belt squat is coming. Are there any pro tips for how to set up a sort of DIY belt squat station until the real one comes? I suspect a kettlebell with a dip belt probably won’t be enough weight.

I’ve been able to load 4 25kg plates on a dip belt. That would probably be fine to generate some fatigue with higher reps.

Thanks Jordan. I’m fairly sure 100kg is probably plenty for him at this point!