When I needed a belt for my weight training, I’m glad I had Google and resources like Marc Rippetoe. That’s how I found out about BestBelts.net.
I didn’t want the “tapered” cheap belts you find in the sporting goods stores, nor velcro or anything like that. I wanted something serious that would actually work because well… what makes a belt work isn’t the wide part in the back, it’s the wide part in the front. So really, a powerlifting belt is what you need.
But other than that… what to get?
I’m tall enough that I can use a 4″ belt. Thickness? 10mm is good enough for my needs. The thing is, I didn’t quite know exactly what to get… so I called BestBelts on the phone and asked them. Spoke with Dean, and boy if he wasn’t the nicest guy. So helpful. He told me exactly what was needed and right for me, and told me exactly how to measure myself for the belt — and he’d custom cut it just for me. That was cool… no extra charge either. Plus, it might be custom made, but it’s got a lifetime warranty. Lots of places don’t cover custom work the same as “off the shelf” work, but not Best Belts. It’s all hand-made, high quality.
I got a single-prong (double-prong offers little more than unbuckling frustration), the Athlete model. Back when I bought my belt there was an option for “regular” or “soft”, but it seems now they’re all just “soft”… which is basically a broken-in type of feel but I’ll tell you.. it’s far from soft, just a bit more pliable from the get go. After using it over a year, it’s still quite stiff in the ways that matter but easy to get on and off. I’m really happy with the quality. Oh… and cool that I could get it in blue too. 🙂
You know what else is cool? No logos. It’s a good looking belt, but no branding on it whatsoever. Dean could totally plaster his name on things if he wanted to, but he doesn’t. And I really like that. I don’t begrudge advertising at all, but sometimes it’s nice to go brandless in our overly-branded world. Dean’s work speaks for itself, and word-of-mouth is a far more powerful advertiser.
Why do I write this now, a year later? Well, I always meant to write up some kudos for Dean and BestBelts because I am quite happy with the product… it was just something that unfortunately fell through the cracks. But, given my new quest for fat-loss well… I think I’m going to need a new belt soon. When I cinch the belt up now, I only have 1 empty belt hole… I didn’t cinch it up that tight some time ago but now I really clamp it down, using the rack at the gym for extra leverage to really crank it down tight for everything but deadlifts (leave 2 holes for deadlift). I’ve already noticed my regular dress belt is getting tightened up a little more… yes, I’ve shed a bit of fat already, so it’s only a matter of time before I’m at the last hole on the belt. When that happens, I will order a new belt. Yeah, I might be able to get away with that for a while, but it creates a really long end on the belt that sometimes gets in the way when squatting. Besides, isn’t buying a smaller belt one of the nice ego rubs and side-effects of shedding belly flab? 🙂
And when I do buy a new belt, I’ll be buying from BestBelts again. I’m a satisfied customer. Why go somewhere else?
Stuff From Hsoi 
I wonder if they ship to Europe. I’ll have to ask 🙂
Thanks for the heads up on bestbelts.
Their website says they currently only ship to the US and Canada. But there may be no harm in asking.
I’ve never lifted with a belt and I’ve never understood exactly what the advantages of lifting with one are. I’m not skeptical so much as simply ignorant. I followed the second link in your post, but it seemed to be assuming a level of strength training knowledge that I don’t yet have. Any pointers on why one might get and wear a belt?
The advantage of wearing a belt is it gives your abdominal muscles something to press against.
Google the term “valsalva maneuver” (read all you can about it). This is the key to making everything work. Well, sure you can do that and press all you want with your air and your abs, but then it’s just pressing out into the air… which gets you only so far. But now if you have a belt, your abs now press against something and so you can press “better” and thus gain a LOT more from the valsalva maneuver. It will help to keep your torso more rigid and strong and allow you to better function.
The reason then you want a belt like a powerlifting belt — a belt that’s of same width the entire length, vs. one that’s tapered in the front/buckle area — is it gives you more surface area for your abs to press against. Think about the extremes here. If you tied a piece of rope around your midsection, how much can you press against? Now hold a large book against your abs and how much can you press against? Surface area matters, thus a 4″ wide powerlifting belt is so much more effective here. If your torso can’t handle a 4″ belt, a 3″ belt then can work… just as much surface area as your body can handle.
But on the same token, don’t wear a belt all the time. Wear it when needed, else don’t so that your body can more fully adapt and get stronger. For example, I only wear the belt during my heavy work sets. If you look at my Wendler 5/3/1-based workout logs, the “work set”, the last 3 sets, the heaviest sets, are the only ones where I wear the belt. Warmups and assistance work don’t get the belt. And only wear the belt when you lift… don’t wear it when you’re resting in between sets.
As for buying one, BestBelts.net is my choice, but they aren’t the only ones. EliteFTS has belts. Inzer makes good ones too. Just look for quality powerlifting belts… not the cheap stuff you find at the local sporting goods store.
And as for knowledge… while EliteFTS may be above your head right now, keep reading everything there. You’ll learn a ton. Also pick up a copy of “Starting Strength” by Marc Rippetoe. If there’s any book to read on the matter, it’s THE one.
I hope this answers your questions. If not please clarify. Good luck on your journey.
That’s a super informative response. I’m going to read up on the “valsalva maneuver” and take a look at the Rippetoe book. Thanks for the great info.
You’re welcome.
There’s lots of great information out these days, from guys like Rippetoe and Wendler, and websites like EliteFTS. Still lots of chaff out there too, but thankfully the wheat is plentiful.
Good luck.