First time belt squatting. Felt awful, what might be wrong?

Hi BBM crew,

So in preparation for start the bridge 1.0, I purchased a well reviewed 4", 10mm single prong leather belt (unfortunately not IPF approved, so if I want to complete will have to buy another).

I watched Alan Thralls video, and looked at a few other resources regarding placement of the belt, and how tight it should be. It was tight but not overly, it didn’t shift at all, but I could breathe in it.

I worked up to 5 reps at RPE 7, and gave three sets of this a go. I could definitely feel the extra pressure, and I was so much faster coming out of the hole, MU recruitment overload! That aspect felt great. However…

I was finding the rest of me wasn’t as tight as usual, I was wobbly at the top and I kept falling forwards or backwards, like the belt was affecting my bar path. Something which has not happened since I started using weight lifting shoes.

Is there anything you would recommend I look at or try to fix this?

As an aside, I squat hybrid, it isn’t high bar, but it isn’t below the bone of the scapula low bar. A bit similar to how Omar Isuf squats. It works for me so I am not too worried. It is just a bit more upright than it would otherwise be.

Many thanks,

Alister

This should improve with practice, and as the belt breaks in. You’ll be fine :slight_smile:

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