can a weight belt be to tight?

[AnabolicAnimal]

ok long story short i was doing deadlifts(i was well warmed up(10mins on the bike followed by 10mins basic streching 2 warm up sets not taken to failure for 12 reps) with a weight i could easily handle for 10 reps yet by the 6th rep my back, for lack of a better medical term, felt "fucked up". i had injured my back a few months ago doing deadlifts with a weight i should not have been touching at the time and got myself a herniated disk. i assume i reinjured this while doing the deadlifts the other day. i'll rest it and what not and hope it gets better soon(on cycle now), but my main question is can a weight belt be too tight? i may just be looking for something to blame this whole deal on, but the weight was not "heavy" and my form was there so i can't see that being the reason and i've been back to doing deadlifts and have handled more weight then this just a few days ago. so is it possable the belt was too tight? i did tighten it to the extreame this time for whatever reason and right before the set i though "maybe the belts too tight dont feel right" but didnt think much of it, well now that i can barly walk with out pain i have alot of time to think(and type as you can see) so i wonder if that was the problem. anyone got any thoughts.

 

[graybass]

good question

Probally not, but that thought of somethings not right, was a warning signal!! Always listen to it!
Dude you got to rebuild the strenghth super slowly, over a period of weeks or months whatever it takes. Start back stupid light, and slowly increase. Plus major warm ups. When I was in power I used To (the key word being used to)
Dead over 650, and I always started with just the bar!!!
Good luck, post us graybass

 

[Grizzly]

Using a belt all the time may have been the cause of the injury to begin with. For a 10 rep set, there is no reason at all to use a belt. 1-3 reps is where a belt may be applicable. Ohterwise, you develop weak core muscles.

On top of that, the proper way to cinch a belt is to leave it relatively loose. You leave enough room in it to expand your stomach to the belt. You don't cinch the belt to your stomach. I hope that made sense.

 

[AnabolicAnimal]

Using a belt all the time may have been the cause of the injury to begin with. For a 10 rep set, there is no reason at all to use a belt. 1-3 reps is where a belt may be applicable. Ohterwise, you develop weak core muscles.

On top of that, the proper way to cinch a belt is to leave it relatively loose. You leave enough room in it to expand your stomach to the belt. You don't cinch the belt to your stomach. I hope that made sense.

dont' worry i'm not one of those guys that wears a belt doing tricep kickbacks. i only wear a belt on heavy deadlifts and squats. i get what your saying i diffently did not leave enough room, i dont know why i just always assumed tighter is better. well i'll take both of your advices and start off supper light next time i deadlift and leave some room in the belt. thanks for your thoughts on this matter.

 

[wic2111]

dont' worry i'm not one of those guys that wears a belt doing tricep kickbacks. i only wear a belt on heavy deadlifts and squats. i get what your saying i diffently did not leave enough room, i dont know why i just always assumed tighter is better. well i'll take both of your advices and start off supper light next time i deadlift and leave some room in the belt. thanks for your thoughts on this matter.

Gotta leave room for some gut expansion Bro

 

[Pablo34]

I haven't used a weight belt in about 8 years, and I only used one because I thought I 'needed' it back then...I listened to a bunch of idiots at the college gym I went to.

Wristwraps are a gift from god, and gloves are good for people like me who have broken their hands/wrists and want some cushion.

 

[Gavin Laird]

The feeling of something being wrong when the belt was to tight altered your proprioception (awareness of your body position in space) and subsequently forced a slight change in your technique...which in this case was enough to put your lumbar spine in a weak and position and boom! You got hurt.

I have done this myself when i was barred from using chalk in a gym i liften in...I used straps for the first time in years and the slight change in grip / bar position was enough to throw me off technically and I pulled slightly off center and allowed my lower back to torque. Solution is either to make sure everything is perfect every time you lift OR go back to much lighter loads and re-learn with slight differences all the time so as to minimise dependance on a particular set of circumstances. For example during warmups / low load sets sometimes lift with tight belt, sometimes no belt, sometimes a little loose, sometimes have your stance a 1/4 inch too close / wide etc, sometimes have your grip a 1/4 inch inside or outside. Train to accomodate slight changes in technique with moderate / light loads at least occasionally.

Cheers,

Gav.

 

[Grizzly]

Shit, I'm probably not going to get this right because I'm drunk as hell, but I think that dropping down to weights that are a "piece of cake" is actually very productive. I have been using this method for the last couple of months and I am very pleased with my results. I honestly believe that dropping down to easy weights and forcing yourself to move up in weight very slowly(5lbs on some lifts and 10lbs on others) is a great way to go, even if you are forcing yourself to take things slow(which I am).

Hopefully, this is making as much sense as I think it is. The reason that I think this is a really good idea is twofold, or maybe even thricefold. Anyhow, it reinforces the form of the movement. It is very hard to use proper form when you are continually struggling to lift more weight. Given a load 30lbs lighter than you can actually handle, you can concentrate on all the eccentrities of a given lift.

It prevents injury at the moment and also in the future by reinforcing the use of proper form and appropriate weights.

It lends a sense of accomplishment/ anticipation to the next workout. Personally, I am the sort of fellow who, if I take a given weight and, for some reason, can't hit it, though I'm supposed to, I will leave the gym in disgust. Starting light and slowly moving up completely elimantes this and, according to my theory, eventually allows you to lift much more than you were previously.

I would continue this post, but I'm sure I will stop being coherent at any moment. Perhaps, tomorrow, I will be in better shape to finish my thoughts. Hopefully, by then there will be some more posts to give me some more to go upon and, with any luck, someone will tell me if I'm talking out of my ass or not.

 

[AnabolicAnimal]

The feeling of something being wrong when the belt was to tight altered your proprioception (awareness of your body position in space) and subsequently forced a slight change in your technique...which in this case was enough to put your lumbar spine in a weak and position and boom! You got hurt.

I have done this myself when i was barred from using chalk in a gym i liften in...I used straps for the first time in years and the slight change in grip / bar position was enough to throw me off technically and I pulled slightly off center and allowed my lower back to torque. Solution is either to make sure everything is perfect every time you lift OR go back to much lighter loads and re-learn with slight differences all the time so as to minimise dependance on a particular set of circumstances. For example during warmups / low load sets sometimes lift with tight belt, sometimes no belt, sometimes a little loose, sometimes have your stance a 1/4 inch too close / wide etc, sometimes have your grip a 1/4 inch inside or outside. Train to accomodate slight changes in technique with moderate / light loads at least occasionally.

Cheers,

Gav.

holy shit i feel as if i should be paying you for the answer to my question, that was not only one hell of an answer but it was perfect. as soon as i read the first paragraph i realized your eactlay right. i can distintively rember saying to myself "dam this feels way to tight diffently don't feel right" i actually for a second thought of looseing it right before the lift, yet didnt' for whatever reason. that had to be the problem i'm pretty in awe of your answer, thanks for the time to respond man. oh and grizzly i think most people share the feeling that if they can't hit numbers they nomraly lift then it ruins most of their day, myself included.