• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
BarBend

BarBend

The Online Home for Strength Sports

  • News
    • CrossFit
    • Strongman
    • Bodybuilding
    • Top Athletes
    • Powerlifting
    • Weightlifting
    • Competition Results
    • Latest Research
  • Reviews
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Mini Massage Guns
      • Individual Recovery Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein
        • Best Whey Protein Powders
        • Best Vegan Protein Powders
        • Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders
        • Best Mass Gainers
        • Best Protein Bars
      • Best Pre-Workouts
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Women
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Men
        • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workouts
        • Strongest Pre-Workouts
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Electrolyte Supplements
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Meal Replacements
      • Best Nitric Oxide Supplements
      • Best Fat Burners
        • Best Fat Burners for Men
        • Best Fat Burners for Women
        • Best Non-Stim Fat Burners
      • More Supplements
        • Best Supplements for Muscle Growth
        • Best Supplements for CrossFit
        • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
        • Best Supplements for Bodybuilding
        • Best Supplements for Men
        • Best Supplement Stacks
      • Individual Supplements Reviews
    • Equipment
      • Cardio
        • Best Treadmills
        • Best Rowing Machines
        • Best Exercise Bikes
        • Best Ellipticals
        • Best Recumbent Bikes
      • Strength
        • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
        • Best Dumbbells
        • Best Kettlebells
        • Best Barbells
        • Best Squat Racks
        • Best Free Weights
        • Best Weight Benches
        • Best Resistance Bands
        • Best Slam Balls
        • Best Weighted Vests
        • Best Leg Extension Machines
        • Best Cable Machines
        • Best Power Racks
        • Best Pull Up Bars
      • Best Home Gyms
        • Best Smart Home Gyms
        • Best Gym Equipment Under $100
        • Best Home Gym Essentials
        • Best Home Gym Flooring
      • Individual Equipment Reviews
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Apparel
        • Best Weightlifting Shoes
        • Best Cross Training Shoes
        • Best Gym Bags
        • Best Gym Shorts
      • Training
        • Best Weightlifting Belts
        • Best Knee Sleeves
        • Best Lifting Straps
        • Best Grip Strengtheners
        • Best Wrist Wraps
        • Best Lifting Gloves
      • Individual Fitness Product Reviews
    • Certifications
      • Best Sports Nutrition Certifications
      • Best Personal Trainer Certifications
      • Best Nutrition Certifications
      • Individual Certifications Reviews
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
      • Individual Program Reviews
  • Nutrition
    • Diets
      • Carb Cycling
      • Vertical Diet
      • Reverse Dieting
      • Carnivore Diet
      • Ketogenic Diet
      • Intermittent Fasting
      • IIFYM Diet
    • Fat Loss
      • Macros for Fat Loss
      • Calorie Deficits
      • Natural Fat Burners
      • Cut 2 Pounds Weekly
    • Muscle Gain
      • How to Dirty Bulk
      • Go From Cutting to Bulking
      • Eat These Carbs
      • How to Eat for Muscle
    • Supplement Guides
      • Pre-Workout
      • Whey Protein
      • Mass Gainers
      • Greens Powders
      • Creatine
      • BCAAs
    • Nutrition Tips
      • Daily Protein Needs
      • Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
      • Foods With Creatine
      • Bulking Tips
  • Training
    • Workouts
      • Back Workouts
      • At-Home Workouts
      • Chest & Back Workouts
      • Full-Body Workout
      • HIIT Workouts
    • Exercise Guides
      • Deadlift
      • Bench Press
      • Back Squat
      • Overhead Press
      • Bent-Over Row
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Crunches
      • Farmer’s Carry
    • Best Exercises
      • Shoulder Exercises
      • Back Exercises
      • Chest Exercises
      • Glute Exercises
      • Ab Exercises
      • Hamstring Exercises
      • Quad Exercises
      • Calf Exercises
      • Biceps Exercises
      • Triceps Exercises
    • Programs
      • Push-Up Program
      • Pull-Up Program
      • German Volume Training
      • 5/3/1 Program
      • Powerbuilding Program
      • The Cube Method
      • 5×5 Program
      • Bodybuilding Programs
      • Build Your Own Program
    • Fat Loss
      • How to Burn Fat
      • Spot Fat Reduction
      • How to Train on a Cut
      • Body Conditioning
      • Workouts
        • Kettlebell Circuits
        • Dumbbell Complexes
        • Farmer’s Carry Workouts
    • Muscle Gain
      • Muscle Hypertrophy Explained
      • How to Build Muscle
      • How to Maintain Muscle
      • What Researchers Say About Muscle Gain
        • Workouts
          • 20-Minute Workouts
          • Kettlebell Circuits
          • CrossFit Workouts for Muscle
          • Bodybuilding Workouts
  • Calculators
    • Protein Intake Calculator
    • Macros Calculator
    • BMR Calculator
    • Squat Calculator
    • Calorie Calculator
News Weightlifting

Why the Belt Squat Could Be Your Secret to Strength Gains

Written by Nick English
Last updated on July 25th, 2023

There’s a certain simplicity in a lot of basic barbell movements. Squatting is a natural human movement, so rack some weight on your back and make the muscles that perform the squat get stronger. Picking up heavy stuff is natural, so deadlifting increasingly heavier weights strengthens that movement pattern.

The belt squat is different. Like a lot of awesomely useful exercises, it’s weird. It’s not something any caveman ever had to do. But a belt squat machine could be one of the best investments your gym can make — even if you think exercise machines are baloney.

Athlete: @ryanmichael298 on Instagram

The Benefits of the Belt Squat

“With weightlifters and powerlifters, everything pretty much loads the torso, but this is one way to increase leg and hip strength without worrying about damage to the back,” says Travis Mash, the head coach at Mash Elite Performance. “I have some pretty bad hip issues and when I started doing the belt squat, it allowed me to squat without pain.”

A really important benefit of the belt squat is that it allows an athlete to load the lower body without loading the spine or using the upper body, so it can be hugely useful for athletes with tricky backs and shoulders — even tight elbows can make the back squat problematic. Not so with the belt.

“The biggest benefit that I’ve noticed is that it really emphasizes hip extension,” says Mash. “The way the belt sits, if you don’t activate your glutes you won’t reach extension, so it pretty much turns every single exercise into something that emphasizes the glutes.”

By taking the upper body largely out of the equation, it’s a little similar to a leg press or hack squat, but it’s even less stressful on the spine while still providing many of the stability and balance benefits of the barbell squat.

Another reason the movement can make squatting less painful is that it makes it a lot easier to squat with a vertical spine. Mash likes to have an athlete perform a belt squat while holding a kettlebell in front of them for a “perfectly vertical spine every time.”

Need to work around an injury? Belt squat. Want to train legs but you’ve been loading the spine a lot? Belt squat. Core too fatigued for barbell squats? Belt squat. Want a high intensity, balls-to-the-wall leg workout without the injury risk or exacting form requirements of barbell work? Saddle up.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bag_FVNA-Dg/

Do I Need to Use a Belt Squat Machine?

We’re differentiating here between the belt squat machine and what’s usually called the hip belt squat, which you can see two Natalie Adairs using in the Instagram post above.

To be clear, they both have a ton of benefits and most of them overlap. It’s just that using the hip belt is a little more awkward.

“When you just use the belt, it limits the amount you can load because it’s more awkward when it’s sat on the waist,” says Mash. “You’ve got to find two things to stand on, it’s awkward getting up on them, and from a biomechanical standpoint I don’t feel the same amount of force required to achieve true hip extension when I’m just using the belt.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdkZAGnlrFH

[Belt squats are one of the 4 most underrated weightlifting accessories we talked about. Click through for the full list!]

He adds that when using a machine, partly due to the size and stability of the platform and its rack, it’s possible to use the belt with a wide variety of other movements: Mash says he’s developed sixty-four different exercises with his own. These include barbell push presses, rack pulls, kettlebell Romanian deadlifts, snatch high pulls, and a ton of other movements that are difficult if not impossible to perform if you’re using a hip belt on top of a couple of boxes.

But if you don’t have the whole machine, you can still get a lot out of a simple hip belt — the same kind folks use for weighted pull-ups. Some of the aforementioned issues, like trouble using a lot of plates at once, can be remedied by having a partner who can help you load.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Travis Mash (@coachtravismash)

The Takeaway

“In our gym we coach weightlifting, powerlifting, sports performance, and gen pop, and I would say across the board every single member uses the belt squat machine,” says Mash. “If you want something that can be used by every population it’s a great tool, especially for training around injuries.”

Whether you’re training hypertrophy, strength, or power, the belt squat is a dynamite accessory exercise that’s too often ignored. If you have the chance to use one, do it. If you don’t, grab a hip belt and a workout partner and try it out.

Featured image via @ryanmichael298 on Instagram.

About Nick English

Nick is a content producer and journalist with over seven years’ experience reporting on four continents. Since moving to New York City in 2013 he's been writing on health and fitness full time for outlets like BarBend, Men's Health, VICE, and Popular Science.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

Best Cyber Monday Fitness Deals (2023)

2023 Musclecontest International Mercosul Pro Men’s Physique Show Preview

Arnold Rosters PLUS Every Bodybuilding Era — Strength Weekly

Inderraj Singh-Dhillon (120KG) Raw Deadlifts 9 kilograms Over IPF World Record

Courtney King — Career, Bikini Olympia Win, and Biography

Latest Reviews

Redwood Outdoors Yukon Cold Plunge Tub Review

Redwood Outdoor Thermowood Garden Sauna Review

Future App Review

Bells of Steel Hydra Rack Review

Assault Runner Elite Treadmill

Assault Runner Elite Treadmill Review

BarBend

BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.

  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sections

  • CrossFit
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Training

More

  • BarBend Newsletter
  • BarBend Podcast
  • The Ripped Report
  • 1RM Calculator
  • BMR Calculator
  • Macros Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Squat Calculator

Policies

  • Accessibility
  • Advice Disclaimer
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2023 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap