In the past, I have used a tapered style belt. Many of my friends use and Inzer 10mm lever action style.
I have lifted beltless for years but am looking at starting to integrate one into my training.
My primary concern is finding something that I can use in upcoming meets, and seeing the 2015 list from IPF i was hoping for some advice and dialogue here in the PL forums.
I hate to sounds like a bitch but the 10mm inzers just seem so friggin stiff! Is a tapered Inzer a complete waste of time?
Yeah, 10mm belts are uncomfortable. Yeah, they’re pretty stiff at first. Yeah, they work well.
Just deal with it. It’ll loosen up over time.
When i used a belt i used the inzer lever belt for both OL and PL. if it is to stiff it really helps if you use someones old one that is already broken in. I was never a fan of the tapered belt. I never thought it did much and was just to small. on the other hand i know several OL’s that love the tapper and heat the more PLing belt. i’ve never seen any PL that knows what they’re doing wear a taper belt but i’m sure there are some out there.
For USAPL, the maximum belt width allowed is 10 cm. A tapered belt meeting that requirement would like you’re wearing a casual/dress belt from the front side. Not sure how much that would help. The bodybuilding ones with the wide back are not allowed. I don’t know what the requirements are for other federations but you should check the ones that you may possibly compete in.
Huh? IPF has 13mm as the max…
Anyways, tapered is illegal. Must be uniform thickness. Go for a proper 4 inch belt like the inzer. Be sure and get something with a logo - IPF making some rules on branding on belts and singlets. If you want, get the 10mm but again, even 13mm is fine. They frankly feel almost identical to wear.
[quote]arramzy wrote:
Huh? IPF has 13mm as the max…
Anyways, tapered is illegal. Must be uniform thickness. Go for a proper 4 inch belt like the inzer. Be sure and get something with a logo - IPF making some rules on branding on belts and singlets. If you want, get the 10mm but again, even 13mm is fine. They frankly feel almost identical to wear.[/quote]
13mm is thickness, not width. The 4" belt you refer to is a 4" wide belt, which is the 10cm one he was talking about.
In IPF, max belt width is 10 cm. Max thickness is 13 mm. And tapered belts are not illegal. I wear one,
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
In IPF, max belt width is 10 cm. Max thickness is 13 mm. And tapered belts are not illegal. I wear one,[/quote]
Oh I see what you’re talking about. I searched for a Tapered Inzer Belt and saw that it tapers from 4" to about 3". I imagined it tapered even more than that but 3" seems sturdy enough. I could see this being useful for people who want a narrower belt for the deadlift since a wider belt could effect their setup. It would still provide enough support for the squat as well.
What are the pro’s of using a tapered belt? Is it just a comfort thing? I don’t think I’ve ever seen tapered recommended over standard belts in terms of performance (I’m referring strictly to PL here).
flipcollar: If you have a VERY short torse, a tapered belt will “generally” not dig into the bottom of the ribcage and the top of the superior illiac crest.
thats would be the extent of it, really.
[quote]killerDIRK wrote:
flipcollar: If you have a VERY short torse, a tapered belt will “generally” not dig into the bottom of the ribcage and the top of the superior illiac crest.
thats would be the extent of it, really.[/quote]
Yep. Few people actually wear them in competition. Mostly small females like me.