Just curious…how many of you wear your belt for heavy bench press? If you do wear your belt, in what way do you think it helps you?
I honestly do not use a belt when I bench. I think part of the problem is that I use a lever belt currently and although it fits snug during squats and deads, when I’m lying down, the belt is too loose for me to really use it effectively. I have in the past used a belt (prong) that was tightened enough to be useful and I still didn’t seem to notice much difference but it may also have been that I did not use it often enough to give it fair judgment.
I do it. I think it’s mostly a confidence booster. It’s a real struggle to get the belt tight enough while standing up to really compress all my bulk when I’m lying down. If I had a good workout partner they could help me tighten up after I lay on the bench I guess.
I like a little ritual and tension to get hyped up for a big lift.
I use a belt when benching. Like the other lifts, I think it helps to just get as tight as possible.
I don’t use one. I suspect someday I will, but it will probably have to be thinner than my DL/Squat/Press belt.
I definitely use one. It helps to get tight and hold the arch better, which stablizes the upper back on the bench. I can tell a big difference with and without it now, but it took time to get there.
What Euby said.
What Euby and Brian said. Except, I felt a difference the first time I used it on the bench.
Thanks for the comments.
Nah, and honestly, I felt sort of douchey when I tried it. It’s not like I’m benching 400+ lbs and I’ve benched 320 lbs. without a belt so why use one? I’m doing fine without it. That’s not to say it’s useless or that people shouldn’t use a belt during bench presses but IMO it’s not needed at all and I think people should get to a decent max without it first. Then again, I’m going through a beltless training phase right now. I feel like people can use belts as a crutch . . . because I started to do that. The difference between my squatting strength with a belt and without a belt was large and that made me feel uncomfortable so I’m ditching the belt for a while.
Incline, sometimes. If I think of it.
Elbow sleeves are a far better placebo.
It’s not necessarily that I think I can bench more weight with the belt, at least not much more. I do feel more tight and secure in the lift, and when pushing a 1@8 or a 1RM it makes a difference to me.