There comes a time in your lifting career when you need to get a belt. The best powerlifting and weightlifting belt depends on a variety of factors and in this post I’ll break it down for you. The best powerlifting belt and the best weightlifting belt are essentially the same thing with a few variations, but they’re interchangeable once you find one that matches what you need.
Best Powerlifting & Weightlifting Belt Review Table
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How to pick the best powerlifting or weightlifting belt for you
Choosing a weightlifting belt size
Lifting, be it powerlifting and weightlifting is almost always a sport where weight fluctuates. This is why I always suggest getting a belt where your current size is in the middle of the range (or as close as possible). This allows you to gain, cut, or remain the same and still get use out of the belt.
Now, it’s not the end of the world if you get a belt and you’re closer to one side of the spectrum because you can always punch additional holes if necessary.
Getting a belt that fits is important, and like I suggest it’s important to have notches tighter and looser that are usable as for different lifts you might want to adjust the belt. Example, I like my belt a little looser for deadlifts than squats.
What’s the best weightlifting belt width?
As a rule of thumb, the wider the belt the greater the support and abdominal pressure you could build with the belt. However, the wider the belt the more inhibited your mobility becomes. So keep this in mind when purchasing a belt – are your lifts more powerlifting focused where you require less mobility, or are you weightlifting and doing cleans/snatches where you want a bit more freedom? I tend to suggest the widest belts for bigger individuals, and also for people who want more support for powerlifting specifically.
For weightlifting, if you’re a larger person you’ll also want a larger belt but tend towards going less wide if possible as you just want a bit of additional support in comparison to powerlifting where you need to exert a lot of pressure into the belt to see the benefits.
As a rule with thumb go with 4″ for powerlifting and strongman applications, and only consider 3″ and below for weightlifting, olympic lifting, and crossfit applications.
Thickness – 10mm vs 13mm debate
The commonly offered belt sizes are 10 and 13mm. Almost everyone should be able to make use out of a 13mm belt as they do provide the best support, however if you’re very small (under 150lbs) you could consider going with a 10mm belt.
See if you can borrow a friend’s belt to see if you can’t handle the 13mm and adjust from there.
Single prong, double prong, or latch
You have three options when it comes to the fastener on your belt. My first belt was a single-prong and I’ve stuck with that style since then. Single prong and double prong offer the exact same tightness and compression, except there’s two prongs (and another to do up and take off). Basically double-prong is a waste of time and I’d always take the single-prong. It doesn’t make it any tighter or secure, if the single prong fails then the double prong would also have failed.
The latch presents it’s own unique case which we’ll certainly entertain. I noted previously that I use different notches for different lifts, and the latch really puts a kink in that plan. The plus side of the latch is that it’s quick to put on and has a quick release. However, if you use different notches for lifts you have to use tools to adjust the settings. If you don’t use different settings then a latch can work for you – or if you want to buy two belts then that works too (some of the serious lifters do this).
Inzer also has a third option in a ratchet strap belt that you can ratchet insanely tight which is kind of the best of both worlds but it costs twice as much as their latch or prong belts.
Tapered or not?
Tapered belts provide a wider surface area at the back than at the front. Basically if you have an extremely small amount of area between your rips and waist you could benefit from a tapered belt, but only for that reason. The entire purpose of a belt is to provide surface area for your stomach and back to expand against so tapering any part of it is counter-productive to that. Make sure you need a tapered belt for a specific reason if you’re considering it.
Leather…or velcro?
That’s not even a question – get that garbage out of here. We’re looking for serious support here, not some vinyl material held together by velcro. If you’re looking at something like that you might as well wear the belt that holds your pants up and call it a day.
Finally give this a read – a guide on WHAT NOT TO DO with your belt and some quick tips on how to use it effectively.
Best Powerlifting and Weightlifting Belt Reviews
Best Belts Review
Best Belts is my go to recommendation for anyone buying their first belt, and even for some experienced lifters. Not only are they at the best price point for a real leather lifting belt you’ll ever find, but they’re amazingly high quality backed by a lifetime guarantee. One of my favorite aspects of Best Belts is that they come broken in too. Here’s what they have for options:
- 2.5″ and 3″ crossfit/olympic weightlifting belts – for lifts that require more mobility
- Tapered powerlifting belt
- Double prong powerlifting belt
- Single prong powerlifting belt
They’ve got all of the basics covered – my top pick out of this list is the single prong powerlifting belt as it covers all applications and I honestly think you can use a full width belt for olympic weightlifting and crossfit anyways – you also will be doing heavy deadlifts and squats from time to time.
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Inzer Belts Review
Inzer is my next step up from Best Belts and I”ll probably only include two belt companies on this list, maybe a third, because it’s really not necessary to support that many brands when all of the products are so similar. Here’s what Inzer has to offer:
- Lever belt in 10 and 13mm
- Buckle belts, single and double prong, in 10 and 13mm
- Tapered lever and tapered single prong at 10mm – their proposed option for smaller powerlifters, or bodybuilders/weightlifters
- PR belt – their ratchet belt as discussed above
So you can see Inzer has covered similar options to Best Belts, but which is the better belt? That question is pretty subjective, I personally own an Inzer belt but I’ve also worn a Best belt and they’re very comparable. If I had to recommend one over the other I think I would go with Best just because they’re a smaller company that cares about your business a bit more and provides better service.
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Caring for your belt
Now that you have some information on how to pick a belt, and a few good brands, let’s go over caring for your new found pride and joy. Caring for your belt isn’t hard, just don’t treat it poorly and abuse it. Give it a wipe down after heavy sessions, don’t let too much chalk or grim accumulate on it, and store it in a dry place. This should keep your belt in prime condition.
If your belt is tight, or loose, you do have the option to take it to a leather shop (shoe repair or something of the likes will work) and have them punch a few more holes in it. I had this done at a local shoe repair shop at the same time I was having some work done to a pair of shoes and they did it for free.
Breaking in your powerlifting belt
Best Belts says that their belts come broken in, and Inzer says nothing on the matter. So do you really need to break your belt in? I mean, you can start using it immediately but the fact is that it will be very stiff and take some time to break in. I suggest wearing your belt intermittently (not all the time) when you first get it to allow it to break in before you start wearing it more frequently. You can also leave it rolled up while you’re not in the gym, and periodically unroll it and roll it back up again.
Some people give extreme suggestions like running it over with a car tire but the belt was made to go around your mid-section so break it in to that rotation and stretch, not to your car tire compression it.
How often should you use it – should you use it every time?
Gains Bible coming at you with some more knowledge – NO I don’t think you should wear your belt every time you lift. Your belt is there to support your abs, back, and allow you to exert more pressure to lift weight and be safe while doing it. This is not the normal abdominal function therefore it’s important to cycle using your belt over the weeks, months, and years. While training heavy you should use your belt frequently, especially for top sets, but when you take a break or deload – give the belt a break too. My simple rule of thumb is if you can do it with the belt one or two times, then try doing that same set without the belt the next session. This will allow your core and mid-section to catch up with the rest of the body.
Picking the best powerlifting and weightlifting belt is an important choice – if you pick the right belt (one of the ones suggsted in this article) it could very well last you up to 10 years so choose wisely! If you have another type of belt or have any comments on the article please let me know below.
Best Lifting Belt Conclusion
The main belt choices you’ve been presented with here deal with the buckle. The three main choices are single prong, double prong, and lever. For beginners and even intermediate-advanced lifters I always recommend a single prong belt. Sure, the lever belt is faster to set up and take off but if you’re like me and bulk/cut and also use different tightness settings for both squats and deadlifts then you’ll want to be adjusting the belt so frequently that the lever belt will become annoying. Do yourself a favor and pick up an Inzer single prong belt for your first belt and I’d be amazed if you replaced it within 5 years for any reason other than sizing or losing it :).
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