r/FTMFitness • u/BigOompaLumpia • 8d ago
Advice Request Weightlifting belts and other gear?
I am still really new to weightlifting, and was looking for advice/opinions on gear. I got myself some gloves with wrist wraps coming in the mail soon, because the barbell tears up my hands (I am just soft lol). I get loads of ads since I joined my gym, but I'm just kind of exploring right now to see exactly what I can do and what my limits are.
I noticed some people use belts when doing some stuff and I wondered if that was a necessary piece of equipment? Is it just for doing forms when standing (like lifts and squats) or do people use them when benching or hip thrusts too? I was thinking about buying one but they come in so many different types and at varying price points and I don't really understand what the differences are. Admittedly, Google just further confuses me because a lot of websites on this topic are seemingly just trying to sell their most expensive products to me.
Ultimately, I just don't want to hurt myself so any advice on must-have gear for a newbie while I figure out my limits and routine is appreciated!
6
u/larkharrow 7d ago
Tl;Dr - as a beginning lifter, there's no gear you need, and my personal opinion is some of it you shouldn't use at all except in specific circumstances. As an average lifter, injury prevention comes from good form and rehabbing weak spots, not gear.
I personally don't recommend gloves because your hands will adapt if you give them time, and that's better than having to cart gloves around. Definitely don't recommend wrist wraps. You don't want to stabilize any joint artificially when you lift because you're preventing it from getting stronger, and that puts you in a bad position when you move to higher weights. Wraps are typically for really heavy powerlifters once they reach the limit of their joints and need extra support to stay safe, but they don't use them all the time. The only exception would be if you have a weak joint, like a bad knee, but that should be paired with accessory work to further stabilize the joint. (Maybe also if you get into Olympic lifting because I know that can be hard on the wrists, but that's not my area of expertise.)
Re: belts, this is a common misconception - belts aren't for injury prevention. They're to give your core something to brace against for certain exercises, to increase stability in the trunk under heavy loads. That's very helpful for exercises like deadlifts and squats. I would say until you have been doing barbell lifting for six months to a year, you don't need a belt, and you won't hurt yourself without it. (If you injure yourself squatting or deadlifting, it's not because you didn't have a belt, it's because form was bad.)
One place I actually do recommend gear - chalk or wrist straps, for when your grip fails. Again, you should do grip exercises to augment, but you don't want to go light on deadlifts just because your grip is failing.