Where to place powerlifting belt

Start in the middle and then experiment with moving the belt up and down. The best place to wear it is where you feel strongest after experimenting a little.

What is your why

Before we go into the details of where to place a powerlifting belt, let me ask you a couple of questions:

Why do you want to powerlift
Why do you want to be stronger
What happens when you are
What happens if you aren’t

These four questions make all the difference between your success and failure. Research shows that people who write down and reflect on their goals are more likely to achieve them. So get writing and thinking and then act. Many people think about their lives like this:

What do I want
How do I get it
Why do I want it

This is a good way to be miserable with your life. When what you want is the main focus you will run in hundreds of directions and arrive nowhere. What you want highly depends on who you are with, what you do and where you are. As this changes hundreds of times a day you will spread your resources thin and scatter your time between too many acitvities. Something interesting happens when you flip these questions on their head:

Why do you want something
How do you get it
What needs to be done

This way your thoughts and actions will become more connected. You will focus on what matters most to you and is fulfilling. The result is a higher likelihood of success and happiness. If you want to k kw how this works on a psychological basis read Daniel Kahneman's thinking fast and slow. Simon Sinek's TED talk on the golden circle will change your life.

Why should you wear a powerlifting belt

A powerlifting belt mainly does two things

It protects your spine
It lets you lift more weight

The first point is achieved by providing more stability to the spine and surrounding muscle groups. This is achieved by tightening the area up. A powerlifting belt is enables you to build more abdominal pressure. This will also protect your spine is a more rigid core means less risk of movement in disadvantaged positions.

The second result of wearing a lifting belt is that you will be able to lift more weight. The extra tension and stability will translate to more weight on the bar. Especially for the squat and deadlift. However, a belt will not turn you into the hulk. It will add 5% to 10% to your lifts based on my experience.

Just under the ribs

You can put your belt just slightly under the ribs. Many powerlifters prefer this position especially for the deadlift. This helps with some extra flexibility and freedom of movement at the bottom of the lift. If you pull sumo this might be even more impactful.

The downside is that your lower back is less protected. This might lead to injuries, especially when your form is poor.

Right in the middle

Right in the middle of your body is the default position. Just wear the powerlifting belt at the same spot where you would a normal belt.

The good thing about this position is that you can brace against the belt and increase your abdominal pressure. This usually helps to move more weight.

The downside of having the belt here is that it restricts flexion in the lower back and might lead to bruises.

Just above the hip bone

Just above the hip bone is another extreme, especially if you have a big belly. This puts the belt in a position where it protects your lower back. Especially good for me for extreme low bar squats with wide legs.