Dip Belt For Heavy Curls and Pushdowns

When you start getting stronger at barbell curls, one of the first things you notice is that even when using very strict form, the path of the weight means a lot of the torque goes into your lower back. Many people try to get around this by using a weight belt that tightens everything up to prevent injury. But that's like putting a band-aid on a headache - it doesn't address the root of the problem, which is weight out in front of your body and outside your base of support.

The same is true with heavy pushdowns. As you build up to heavier and heavier weights, the resistance is outside your center of gravity and it puts tremendous torque on your lower back. With pushdowns, you have to resort to leaning forward, doing pushdowns in a semi-lunge position or having someone hold you down!

The best way to go to solve this probelm? Use a dip belt with a couple of heavy plates hanging from your waist. This will dramatically increase your body mass and make the weight that is putting the torque on your back much less heavy, relative to your bodyweight. For example, if you weigh 180 lbs and you're curling 110 pounds, that's more than 60% of your body weight out in front of you. But if you add 90 lbs of plates to your bodyweight, that drops to 40%. This is a LOT less torque being directed onto your lower back. The same is true for pushdowns. Heavier "body" mass means less torque on your lower back.

The upsides? Less back stress and the ability to immediatley curl and do pushdowns with more weight. Your biceps and triceps are still doing all the work - you just don't have the back stress associated with it.