It had been a while, so I thought the Belters as a species were nearly extinct. Then, there he was. I first saw him near the dumbell rack doing triceps kickbacks for reps. He scurried into the corner and perched in the squat rack cage where he pounded out some biceps curl/deadlift/back extension combo exercises, obviously induced by the massive poundages he was attempting to hoist. I don’t know what program he is using, but it must be intense!! I mean, it has to be, his Joe Weider issue leather lifting belt was literally engulfed in flames!! Okay they were authentic, hand drawn Magic Marker flames in a rainbow of colors, it was still a spectacle to behold. Herc
We have seen our version of this species across the country in WA. The “Permabelts” are often sighted on the bikes, rowers, and even on the treadmills.
Any other sightings?
So I’m on the lifting deck doing snatches and cleans. I’m using bumper plates, the only weights that should ever be dropped. I was making a bit of a racket, but I’ve heard more from guys using cables (why I do not know). I performed few sets of snatches, and worked up to 135, and performed a few reps, letting the weight come down and bounce on the deck. This little prick has the nerve to ask me “is that necessary” (he’ s using the leg press, loaded up with a 45 and 35 on each side, I don’t know if he waas actually lifting it, it appeared that he was trying to take a nap). Patricia tried to explain things to him, I responded with a " yes", and a “Dumbass” in between reps. He then left in a huff, probably straight to the front desk to “tell on me”.
A Ha yes I too sighted a belter. I thought it was a joke at first because the guy wearing the belt is young, very built and carries a lot of size and I have wanted to ask him what “supplements” he uses. Well this guy only wears his belt when he doing upper body, such as incline. Now when he squats he doesn’t wear a belt at all. This just boggles my mind. I may just have to ask this guy what his reasoning is for wearing a belt while working upper body.
I’m sad (or maybe happy) to report that I’ve yet to see any other good belters of late. The tennis court belter is still the rarest of the species that I’ve seen in the wild 
I forgot, he wasn’t a belter, but I’d bet money he was a Soy Boy.
Well, I have to say that Japan must be the native, primordial belter land, since EVERYONE out here wears a belt throughout their entire workouts. Cable crossovers? Belts. Wrist curls? Belts. Sit-ups? You guessed it - belts.
My favorite is the guy who’s around my age, has almost totally receded hair (but he lets it grow long in the back), bad skin, no discernable muscle size, a bodyfat percentage that’s gotta be about 20% or so and who wears his belt on the Galvatron assisted pull-up machine.
Naturally, he calls himself a trainer…
I forgot to mention seeing one belter refueling his oversized pickup at the gas station next to the gym.
Yes, Ko and I woke this guy up from his wee nap on the leg press. Sooooooo, sorry smirk. Alas, he was not a belter - but a napper! hee hee. There were also these gals performing herculean concentration curls with 5lb - 10 lb dumbbells. And they were practically perched on the lifting platform as Ko and I were working on the snatches. We explained to them about the possibility of the bar w/weights accidentally slipping and flying back - but nope, these gals kept doin’ their thing. Idiots.
But right next door, in another rack was the not so elusive belter, performing curls w/65 lbs. (?!). You know, I feel like Marlin Perkins - crawling 'bout the gym floor with binoculars, camera and log in hand, scribbling down notes as to the "specialized" behaviour of this new species, "the belter".
ive seen many forms of belters in my journeys, however just yesterday i saw the mysterious glovehand. this species (rare, no. stupid, yes.) was on the preacher curl machine with a few quarters on each side. he was letting the bar down to halfway, while he raised his glutes off of the chair, then used a hyperextension/inertia from sitting down to get the bar back up. then he repeated until his cell phone went off. unfortunetely i didnt have my trusty tranqulizer darts with me, or i would have shot him and placed him in a place where he couldnt be dangerous: subway.
Spotted TWO belters today PLUS a gym pirate (you know, guys who go “Arrrgh” on every single rep…). One of the belters was using cables for his ‘inner pecs’ and the other one looked like he was doing rows but it might have been some bizzare ab exercises. I’m not sure on that one. The pirate was doing curls… for that swarthy seafaring effect.
So I’m just finishing up my last warm up of squats in the rack, and a young, belted, decently built guy comes up to me and asks how many sets I have left. I tell him I’m gonna hit 4 work sets, but he’s welcome to work in. He accepts and unloads my two 45s from each side of the bar, and replaces them with 25s. I expect him to take the bar on his back and bust out a warm up, but instead he sort of reverse cleans the bar from the position at which I had it set up for squats, and does a super fast set of 2/3 ROM curls. I could barely believe what had just happened, but nonetheless I took off his 25s and reloaded the bar for squats. This scene was repeated throughout all of my sets, and once I left, the guy repositioned the hooks for a few more sets of curls. Although I merely stared at him with a crooked expression during his sets, I was tempted to notify him of his status as a “dumb-fuck” and suggest that he study up on gym etiquette.
Hahahahaha…wow… I would have been standing there laughing at him the whole time. What self-control you have.
“Marlin Perkins”?!?! That’s hilarious! I haven’t thought about that show in years.
I guess that would make ko “Jim”…
I’m picturing you in the gym now: “While ko wrestles the belter, we’ll move upstream to see if we can spot a long-legged, hairy-chested arniedid…”
LOL!
I think the crocodile hunter should do a show about the elusive belter. He could sneak up on one and capture it while it is curling in the squat rack. (In Australian accent) " I’ve got im boy the belt and hes getting really, really angry, Oive got to be carefull though, one pop with that 10lb weight and I’m a gonna"
Dude, you’re making me laugh!
But just think of all the possibilities here : "Mating Rituals of the Belter", "In Search of: The Belter", "Belters: Urban Myth or Reality?", "Victuals for Belters: Typical Soy Eaters?".....and so on, and so on...
After reading this thread and laughing last night, I was shocked at what I saw this morning. There I was, preparing for some skullcrushers, when I saw not one, not two…but a herd of four wild belters roaming the plains of the great state of Nebraska like the wild herds of buffalo from days past(actually, doing triceps on the strive machine). All I could do is stare at the majestic beauty of this marvel of mother nature.
(In Croc Hunter accent)“And 'ere we see the elusive Belter in his natural habitat, the squat rack. You can see how concentrated and focused he is when performing ritualistic kickbacks. The determination on this fellow is evident as he completes upwards of 11 sets per arm, occasionally reaching the full range of motion. Notice how the veins in his neck bulge at the sight of himself in the mirror. He concentration only breaks to look down upon some scripture marked BFL. Though I cannot figure out what the ancient text provides for this species, it is evident there is unquestioned devotion to this idol.”
MBE: “One Phucked up Phyla since 1002. JADABB founder, 2002.”
-Eric
I finally found it, after many weeks of hiking through the iron jungle, I spotted him, the “Knee Wrapped Belter”. I spotted this elusive creature doing “close grip bench presses”. Yup, that’s right, close grip bench presses with a belt, and knee wraps. I would have taken a photo, but I coughed up my surge laughing, and he dissapeared into the bush. Maybe next time.
A knee-wrapped belter doing CGBench?! You’ve got to be joking…that’s just taking it too far! LMAO!!!