Rational behind wearing a 4 inches belt

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello BBM crew

I have a question regarding the rational behind wearing a 4 inches belt instead of a 3 inches (or even a 2.5" weightlifitng belt). For what I understand, a belt is a tool that we use to have something to brace the abdominals muscles against in order to have more intra abdominal pressure (IAP), thus stabilizing the spine during heavy lifting.
So why wearing a 4 inches instead of a 3 or 2.5 inches belt?

My hypothesis was that a 4 inches belt creates more IAP than a 3 or less inches belt (the “you have more to push against it” argument), but I couldn’t find any evidence supporting this (I searched into CINHAL, AMED, NCBI, SportDiscuss, Cochrane, EBSCO, etc.). I also looked at the hypothesis that more coverage against the abdominal wall lead to a greater proprioceptive effect, and so enhancing the contraction of the abs, but again, I couldn’t find any direct evidence in regard of wearing a belt.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Godefroy, O.T. student

2

There is no comparative evidence that we are aware of on this topic. Feel free to wear whatever size belt you prefer.

Our preference and general recommendation for most individuals is 4", but again – this is not based on any evidence.

3

It looks more swashbuckly

1 Like