SBD Belt

A lifting belt gives your trunk something to brace against. You take a breath into your belly, push out into the belt, and the pressure that creates stiffens your spine under a heavy squat or deadlift. That is the whole job. A belt does not hold your back up for you; it lets you brace harder than you can without one, which is why lifters typically add somewhere between five and ten percent to their squat and deadlift once they learn to use it.

10mm or 13mm

Both belts here are 10cm wide, the maximum the IPF allows, and both use the same leather and the same lever. The difference is thickness. The 13mm belt is the stiffest belt you can compete in: maximum support, the one most heavyweight and equipped lifters choose, and the one that takes longest to break in. The 10mm is more forgiving. It wraps the trunk more easily, sits better on shorter torsos and on lifters who pull sumo or squat with a lot of forward lean, and it is comfortable to wear from the first session. If you are unsure, buy the 10mm. Most lifters, including most competitors, are better served by it, and the extra 3mm of the 13mm only pays off at the very top end of the squat.

Lever or prong

A lever belt closes and opens with a single flick, so you can run it tight for a squat and pop it open between sets without wrestling a prong through a hole. The trade-off with an ordinary lever is that changing the size means a screwdriver. The SBD lever solves that: the buckle adjusts without tools, so you can run the belt one notch tighter on squat day than deadlift day, or loosen it as you lose weight, in a few seconds. A prong belt is cheaper and infinitely adjustable but slow to open, hard to get tight enough on your own, and the prong and holes wear before the leather does. For a belt you will use several times a week for years, the lever is the better tool.

Sizing

Belt sizing is by waist measurement, taken where the belt will sit, which for most lifters is around the navel, over the shirt you train in. Do not use your jeans size; it is usually two sizes smaller than your belt measurement. Take the measurement relaxed, not sucked in, and check the size chart on the product page: each size covers a range and you want your measurement near the middle of it so there is room to adjust in both directions. Between sizes, go up; a belt with room to tighten is useful, a belt you cannot close is not. If you are unsure, send us your measurement and we will confirm.

Break-in

A new 13mm belt is stiff enough to stand up on its own. Wear it for your warm-up sets before you rely on it for working sets, and expect two to four weeks of training before it moulds to your shape. The 10mm is usable from the first session. Do not soak, oil or bend the belt to speed this up; the leather is meant to stay stiff and the softening happens where your body needs it.

Competition

Both belts are IPF approved and on the approved equipment list, which means they are legal in every IPF-affiliated federation. Maximum width is 10cm, maximum thickness 13mm, and both belts are made to those limits. Other federations accept the same specifications.

Care

Wipe the leather down if it gets sweaty and let it dry away from heat. Keep the lever screws snug; check them every few months. A belt looked after this way outlasts the lifter's career.

Common questions

Should a beginner use a belt? Not straight away. Learn to brace without one first, usually a few months of training. Once your squat or deadlift is around bodyweight and you are working in the low rep ranges, a belt starts to earn its place.

How tight should it be? Tight enough that you cannot fit your hand between the belt and your stomach when you are braced, but you can still take a full breath into it. Too tight and you cannot expand into it; too loose and there is nothing to push against.

Can I bench in it? Some lifters do for the arch and the stability; most take it off. It is legal in competition for all three lifts.

Squat and deadlift in the same belt? Yes, and the tool-free lever means you can run it a notch looser for deadlifts if you find the tight setting gets in the way at the start of the pull.

Every belt ships from our Sydney warehouse, and you are welcome to come in store to be measured and try both thicknesses before you decide.