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Should I use weight lifting belts when doing squats or deads?

EDIT: Maybe. As the commenter Mike notes below, there’s an increasing amount of support for belts, and I think I’m now in the pro-belt camp. With that being said, you should only use belts when absolutely necessary (I’d define necessary as close to your 1RM) and only on heavy lifts like squats and deads, and never on lifts like the bench press. My best advice would be to use one once you begin to lift a respectable amount of weight (over 3 plate).

In any event, my original posting was much more anti-belt, probably because I see way too many people wearing them for no reason. In that respect, my bad.

Note: This does not apply to dipping belts, as those increase, not reduce, your workload. I recommend wearing a dipping belt with as much weight as you can handle when doing dips, pull-ups, chin-ups, or the like.

Tags: deadlifts, dip belts, dipping belts, lifting belts, squats, strength training, weight lifting