Comments on: Weight Belts and Gloves – Do You Need Them?

By: Maximum05

Maximum05 — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:16:00 +0000

Nightman, you are correct with you statement of wearing a belt. It is used to “push” against and not to “support” you back in the way you would think.

Try holding your hand on your stomach and back and then tighten you ab muscles. Your back also tightens. Most serious lifters will use a belt BUT the one they use is usually 4″ all the way around and does not look like the 1072 and 1073 belts show about in the picture.
Now with that being said the poster does have a good point about belts not being used properly. As a lifter you should not be using a belt for anything other than you heaviest lifts and only on you final sets when it is needed.

It is like using straps during the deadlift. You should only use them when your grip begins to fail and not on all your lifts.

As for gloves…I don’t use them. Rough hands are a way of life for all heavy lifters.

By: nightman

nightman — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:18:00 +0000

BUT – I dig your site. I am a desk-bound nerd who discovered strength training through the Starting Strength program at the beginning of 2011 and have never looked back. I try to spread the good ideas that I’ve used to my advantage, but most people just don’t want to hear it. So thanks helping to preach the gospel of compound free weight exercises. Hopefully some people will listen.

By: nightman

nightman — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:09:00 +0000

You clearly don’t understand the purpose of a belt. The belt actually enables your abs and low back to work even harder than they could without one, because it gives you something to push against. And they keep your spine safe by enabling those muscles to protect it that much better.

This article seems to be written for people who aren’t strong yet, so those people probably wouldn’t benefit from a belt right away. But as they get stronger, the use of a belt will benefit them immensely. I would estimate that when you’re squatting your own bodyweight for sets, that would be a good time to start using one.

Do some research in the online communities of people who are actually strong (squatting 1.5BW at least), and I’m sure you’ll be convinced of this.

By: Steve Kamb

Steve Kamb — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:15:00 +0000

hey Lance!

Thanks for the comment; my apologies, I certainly didn’t intend to offend…the article has been edited to better reflect my views.

Hope you stick around the community. Cheers!

-Steve

By: Lance Magic

Lance Magic — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:23:00 +0000

I love your site. I’m gay and being a somewhat militant homo because of the horseshit I have had to deal with all my life, I wonder.. does the comment about rough hands and big arms apply to me too? (sarcasm intended) I can’t be mad at you if you”re STR8 and you want to illiterate how manly shit is like dick-powder to Pavlov’s bitch. I just get pissed that I live in what is still an exclusively hetero-inundated world where it is assumed that everyone fits into these tiny little asphyxiating gender roles and archetypal roles. Whatever. I still like your site. You have a lot of comprehensive information here.

By: Gwheeler6

Gwheeler6 — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:23:00 +0000

Hi
i agree i started training when arnold was at hes peak no pain no gain .spit and saw dust gym wind was blowing in the gym as the windows fan light would not shut bitter out side ice on the mirrors and just a small stereo they were the days . could hardley walk out of the gym as legs were sore from squating.
just train harder no gloves or belt hardcore.

By: Finross

Finross — Sat, 07 May 2011 09:41:00 +0000

Even with gloves I still developed calluses.
To do without them would make it far worse and I for one don’t like the discomfort of hard skin on my hands.
It is manly to go hunting for your food too, but far more sensible to go to the supermarket instead.
I like sensible.

By: Finross

Finross — Sat, 07 May 2011 09:41:00 +0000

By: Bzholend

Bzholend — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:57:00 +0000

I disagree with you on the use of gloves for a few reasons. One is that some men don’t want to have callous hands regardless of the manly appeal of walking around with rough hands. Even though the aesthetic appeal of smoother hands may not be worth the price of training gloves, the most important reason for gloves is infection control. Gloves should be worn for the user’s safety and everyone else’s safety as well. Whether someone is just carrying germs (we all are) or serious viral/bacterial particles, everyone should wear gloves to prevent the spread of infection.

By: Steve Kamb

Steve Kamb — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:47:00 +0000

Hey JC!

I see where you’re coming from, and I think you do make a valid point. However, I guess I”m just old school in that I love lifting weights knowing that there wasn’t a single artificial thing helping me along the way. I love feeling the steel of the bar on my rough hands as I pull that weight up for deadlifts.

I figure if my grip gives out before the rest of me, it’s because my body isn’t fully prepared to lift more than that. Adding in gloves and straps do allow you to lift more, more quickly, but it’s also more weight on your joints and bones that you normally wouldn’t have if you were doing it naturally.

To each his own, but I still lift glove free; I was up to about 315 or so for 3 sets of 5 on deadlifts before I got sick and backed off…working my way back up now (did 3x5x265 the other day).

-Steve