Hi all,
I lost a bit of weight and purchased a correctly sized EliteFTS P2 13 mm. power belt. I am struggling to break the belt in or even wear it during sessions because of the pinching. Right now, the leather is too stiff to fit properly through the hole next to the buckle. Aside from renting a hydraulic press, how can I soften up the leather?
Thanks!
Wear it ALL the time. Not just for work sets, not just for lifts that require the belt: just ALL the time you are in the gym. Your sweat and body heat will help soften it and form it to your body.
When I got my first inzer belt, I legit spent an evening just watching TV while continually rolling and unrolling the belt as tight as I could get it. Try to bend it as much as I can without actually putting in a ton of effort, but just time spent getting the leather to bend in ways it hasn’t before. That helped a bit. Other than that, just use the belt. It’s gonna pinch like hell. That never entirely goes away, and I still walk away sometimes with some light bruising on my torso from the belt pressing into me. But it will get less painful over time, and you will get used to the bite a bit too.
Think of breaking in a new baseball glove. You gotta beat it up a little bit for it to really feel good. Some of that is just flexing the glove, but you also just have to use it and make a lot of catches to really get it right for you.
Roll it up as tight as you can and stuff it in your backpack when you’re not wearing it.
Thanks guys! Much appreciated, I will have to embrace the suck and grit my teeth for a month or so.