Weight belt + More

[Minhkey]

So my coach told me not to use a weight lifting belt for dead lifts until I go over my body weight. I started about a week ago and am going 135x8 for 2 sets then 185 x 3-5 for 3 sets. My body weight is around 198 right now and I think I should be able to pass my body weight within the month. Is his advice correct? Or should I get use one from the get go or not at all? I squat and I never used a belt before, but I don't squat really heavy.. Are squats and dead lifts the same in regards to weight belts?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Also on a completely unrelated topic, when benching is it ok to have someone assist you on the entire set? This one proctor at my school is huge (therefore I'm guessing he knows what hes doing) and I saw him spotting this one guy while benching and he was doing 225. The guy benching was not very strong and I know he couldn't do 225 for so many reps alone, but with the proctor guy helping him, he managed to get 10 reps out. Is this beneficial? I've never done this, but my coach said that if you want to go up weight then trying that out might be good for you.

Sorry for putting two questions into one thread, but I didn't want to spam up the forums. Thanks again.

 

[tphillip23]

Belts are not necessary for deadlifts IMO unless you are going super heavy.
Since you are new to deadlifts, go without a belt a long as you feel comfortable. by doing this, your core will get stronger than it would with a belt

 

[tphillip23]

as for your other question...well it depends.
was he doing negatives?
i doubt that is the case assuming this is a HS gym.
from what I gather, the person you saw was exercising beyond failure (you don't feel he could have gotten the reps by himself, right?)
in some cases this can be used once a person reaches a plateau.
i would not, however, try this method frequently as it can actually lead to overtraining.

 

[Gazhole]

Belts arent necessary, in fact some of the time they can be counter-productive as your core is almost totally taken out of the equation.

The big lifts like squats and deads work the core a hell of a lot, and that can only mean good things for your day-to-day core stability, as well as in the context of weight lifting.

If your core is weak but you are still lifting big weights, what happens in the real world when you have all that muscle and a weak core?

OR what if you forget your belt one day? Or the belt fails?

All signs point to ---> muscle pull/back problems/imbalances/posture issues.

As for benching, i dont know how people can lie and say "i can lift 225 for 10" when what they mean is "me and this other dude can lift 225 for 10 together!".

If you cant lift the weight, having somebody take over part of the load isnt going to help you in any way - they are lifting some of the resistence, so whatever is left over for you to lift is proabably comparable to what you could lift without their help.

Lifting 125 on your own, and lifting 225 with a guy lifting 100lbs of that weight are the same damned thing except the latter leaves chance for injury, and promotes bad lifting/form habits.

This isnt to say having a spotter is a bad thing, sometimes having a spotter is a smart idea, but having somebody lift the weight for you is stupid.

 

[Minhkey]

One more question..

My coach told me to do a kinda shrug at the top of the dead lift and putting your back backwards kinda. He said in powerlifting it is called "owning the weight" I don't know if I should do this or not because I saw somewhere in these forums that someone said it was bad. Please Clarify and thanks for your advice people.

 

[Ben dur]

i think your talking about a slight hyper extension at the top of the motion

personally it makes me uncomfortable

if your talking about an actual "shrug" i cant help you
ive never attempted to shrug 275lbs...

 

[Minhkey]

Yea well like I said, I'm just beginning so my weight isn't that high yet.

 

[Ben dur]

i wouldnt hyperextend on a DL

i wouldnt shrug either... but i dont see a problem if its weight you can handle