A lifting belt should give your trunk a wall to brace against and not chew the ribs while it does it.
We squatted in 10 mm and 13 mm lever belts. The thicker belt felt like armor. The thinner one let you move. The lever had to close the same way every set.
Stiffness and the lever
Thirteen millimeters is a stiffer wall and a harder break-in at the edges. Ten millimeters is easier to bend into and still enough for a heavy squat if you know how to brace. A lever that pinches or walks open is not a feature. It is a problem.
- A width that sits between your ribs and your hips when you sit into a squat.
- Enough stiffness that a hard brace meets something.
- Edges that will not saw you once the belt is broken in.
- A lever you can open when your hands are chalked.
A belt you cannot breathe behind is not tighter. It is just in the way.
Breaking it in
Wear it on the warm-up sets of the days you need it, not on every empty-bar set, and not so tight you cannot get air in before the rep. The belt reinforces a brace. It does not create one.
Choose the thickness you will wear on the sets that matter. A belt in the bag does not add kilos.
