Thread: Strict Beltless Squats

yes, it is probably helping your back and abs... id say mostly your lower back. but you shouldnt feel it more than a little bit in your back, if you do, its a sign youre not doing it right. but squats arent enough to count as a lower back or ab exercise.... although id recommend cutting lower back exercise by a set or two when following squats.

Originally Posted by squanto

yes, it is probably helping your back and abs... id say mostly your lower back. but you shouldnt feel it more than a little bit in your back, if you do, its a sign youre not doing it right. but squats arent enough to count as a lower back or ab exercise.... although id recommend cutting lower back exercise by a set or two when following squats.

If you squat olympic style, then yes, this is true. If you squat like a power lifter, then your erector spinae does a lot of work.

what is the difference exactly CP?

do you guys all use belts on your heavy squats? i never used to but now i've started adding more weight i can really feel my back goin!

I used to use a belt a long time ago...but that was also when belts in the gym were a much more common thing. I don't use a belt now ever....considering doing so now though for squats...

I never use a belt. It weakens your supporting muscles (back, abs, obliques).

Plus i tried it a few times, and all the extra weight i could throw on the bar by using the belt just didn't seem right...

take off the belt. strengthen your core. don't be such a box.

Originally Posted by Flex

I never use a belt. It weakens your supporting muscles (back, abs, obliques).

Plus i tried it a few times, and all the extra weight i could throw on the bar by using the belt just didn't seem right...

Same here. I'd rather go really strict with less weight.

alright, i guess I wont then....

Originally Posted by ChrisROCK

alright, i guess I wont then....

haha, ditto!

I'm starting to think my form is wrong. Could someone post a picture or example of olympic verses powerlifting?

Originally Posted by BigDyl

I'm starting to think my form is wrong. Could someone post a picture or example of olympic verses powerlifting?

There are more differences than I'm going to mention, but the major one is bar positioning. In olympic lifting the bar is positioned high up on your neck. This keeps your spine in a more upright position throughout the movement, thus forcing you to use your quads more than your lower back muscles to life the weight. In power lifting form is secondary to just getting the weight up. They position the bar much lower on the neck, it's damn near down to the middle back. This position causes the lifter to bend much further forward during the lift. In this position the weight is not only being lifted by the quads, but also the lower back. For pure body building purposes the power lifting style is of little use.

Wow thanks dude. It seems I was doing something inbetween then.

Originally Posted by P-funk

take off the belt. strengthen your core. don't be such a box.

How bout heavy deads, belt or no belt?

Well, I figure as long as you have good, strict form, then you'd be good

Originally Posted by KarlW

How bout heavy deads, belt or no belt?

answer is still the same.

Originally Posted by young d

i can really feel my back goin!

You're doing something wrong.

I never use a belt. Was told from day 1 that will weaken the back muscles!!!

There is actually quite a big difference between squatting olympic and powerlifter style. As ALBOB said, one of the main differences is the bar position. Olympic style, you want the bar sitting on your traps. PL style, you want the bar sitting low on your posterior deltoids.

When you squat olympic style, your quadriceps do a lot of the work. When you squat powerlifter style, your entire posterior chain (Hamstrings, gluts, and erector spinae) does a lot of work.

As well, most powerlifters use a much wider stance than when doing an olympic squat, they push out with their feet instead of driving them down, and they "sit back" (Obviously they still have to sit down, but you have to make sure you shove your ass way back upon descent) and not down. All of this helps to recruit the hips into the movement. PL style you want hip extension to be the focus; olympic style you want knee extension to be the focus.

first off let me say a few things about using a belt while everyone knocks it. It doesn't weaken your core, it can be a crutch if you are training foolishly. For those of us who spend an exorbinate amount of time training the core seperately, there is nothing wrong with a belt. Westside lifters use the belt to learn how to breath during a squat, you need to be able to set the notch one hole loose and push your abs out into the belt during the squat. The core is vital to the squat and dead, absolutely vital, and if you are not training that part of your lift consistently, than it doesn't matter if you use or don't use a belt during the squat, the point is mute b/c squatting without a belt isn't enough core training to overcome anything. My point is that using a belt isn't necessarily a hinderance, not training the core seperately definately is however, and that should be the topic of discussion. The belt is a tool that is used for a purpose, and the abs need to stop being ignore, as well as the lower back. Without the core there is no transfer of power from the bottom to the top of the lift during a max effort session and if your using a belt to make up for that than you guys are absolutely correct that its a hinderance. Your gonna fold in half and miss the lift, that will teach a lifter real quick to strengthen that core! peace

http://ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?t=36131


check out this post if you dont' understand and didnt' see this when I posted it, ist about determing strong and weak points in the lift. should be helpful