Safety equipments: safety is first priority, forced safety is not

Introduction 

Most of us, if not all, have seen these guys: roaming around in a gym wearing a stability belt the entire time, as if crippled by some detrimental lower back injury and cannot survive without one, then taking up a pair of dumbbells and doing curls! As a matter of fact, it doesn’t matter if they are working out, taking rest or simply wasting their time by chatting around, the stability belt is always wrapped around their waist as if it is mandated by law; wear it all the time or you will be arrested and convicted for violation of safety !!!

So you may ask: whats wrong with using such safety equipments, like stability belts, knee wraps, wrist straps, etc.? My answer: unless you are planning to go all out on a set and see your 1 rep max or rehabilitating from an injury, EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! You heard that right, you must avoid using these safety equipments unless you are in one of the above mentioned situations.

I’m sure you will be asking: Why is that? After all we all have been taught since our birth that safety first, and with these equipments ensuring safety when we are lifting weights, shouldn’t we be using them daily in our workouts? Very valid question, and if I had to answer the question in a sentence, it would be this: by using safety equipments on a daily basis to prevent injury, you are creating a structure that will be extremely vulnerable to injuries in the long run, because of the strength imbalances that accompany with usage of such equipments on a regular basis.

Shocked? Confused? Well maybe I should explain the various aspects in detail then, and since you have stayed with me this far in this article, I know you deserve one. Here you go.

Safety equipments: purpose 

The very purpose of the safety equipments is fairly self-explanatory: they ensure safety through stabilization of the core and/or joints, so the trainee does not get injured while he is trying to lift the weight.

Such stabilization is achieved by wrapping the belt or the strap around the core or the joint. In case of core, such wrapping of belt increases the intra-abdominal pressure, and provides an additional wall of support for the core muscles that are worked upon for lifts such as deadlifts and squats. Similar factor goes for joints: wrapping up the knee or elbow stabilizes the joint by providing an additional support from all directions, thus decreasing the chances of an injury to a much lower level.

So why using them on a regular basis is detrimental 

In order to understand this, we need to first understand the various processes involved in weight training, and the recruitment patterns of various muscles (I will be assuming that we are using free weight training here).

Lifting and lowering of a weight involves extension and flexion of the muscles throughout the movement, but this also involves recruitment of various stabilizer muscles and connective tissues. These ensure that the weight remains in control of the lifter and does not go off balance, and also that the muscles stay in place connected with the bones, and do not just snap off and tear apart.

While executing squats, its not just the leg and glute muscles that undergo intense stress; the knee joint, the hip flexors and the various tendons and ligaments that keep the muscles attached to the bones also take a beating. The core does overtime in an effort to just balance the structure: body and the weight loaded on top of it, while we squat down and stand back up.

Now in a scenario where one is training raw, i.e., is not using any safety equipment, the various ligaments, tendons, joints, stabilizer muscles etc. become stronger in tandem with the muscles being worked upon. This creates a physique that is complete from every angle, can take severe beatings if forced to and still keep up, injury free and strong in all aspects.

Now lets take another scenario, where one is using knee wraps and stability belts while squatting. With the use of such equipments, functioning of the stabilizers, connective tissues etc. goes out of the window. The knees do not need to recruit the various small connecting tissues that surround it, because it already is getting the necessary stability from the wrap. Core activation goes for a toss, since the belt is taking care of the entire stabilization. So when squatting, one is basically lifting the weight with almost no assistance from these muscles and connective tissues.

The trainee keeps doing squats with the belts and knee wraps on, for months. The legs, glutes are getting stronger, core and connective tissues are not; because they were never brought into the play since day one, their strength has remained the same. So the trainee, for the sake of being safe, has developed a strength imbalance in his physique where his core, stabilizers and connective tissues are in no position to support the rest of his musculature if the need arises; they are weaker and vulnerable. Worst part, the strength difference just keeps on increasing as he keeps training with more and more weights, the perfect recipe for injury in the long run.

There is a saying: you are only as strong as your weakest link. When you take a hit, its your weakest link that takes the beating first. With core and joints that are so weak when compared to the rest of the musculature, what is the possibility that the person will sustain an injury in case some small accident happens? Pretty high, ain’t it?

Beginners beware: don’t even think about it!!! 

The stakes are even high when someone is starting off weight training (usually the first year of training), and is being told to use a belt (Why? Ummm, for safety?). With the body having no experience to weights, its catastrophic when a beginner uses a belt just for the assurance that it will keep him safe and out of injury. With his muscular strength going up and the stabilizers staying where they are, the imbalance created is simply detrimental to the initial structural development of the body. I request everyone reading this article, if you get to see any beginner using equipment like stability belts, ask them not to use that and instead, advise them to focus on the correct technique of doing the exercise instead, and progress gradually in the training. This simple advice will save their day and will help them to build a complete structural foundation for future intense heavy training.

So I won’t use one; what about increased chances of injury?

OK, so since using a safety equipment on a regular basis can cause strength imbalances, its usage should be minimized; then what about the chances of injury when lifting heavy weights without them?

I want to convey this little but true fact, and convey it very clearly: Almost all of the injuries that we come across do NOT happen because of lifting heavy weights without any safety, they happen because of two major reasons: 1) Incorrect technique while lifting such heavy weights because of the inability to keep it under control, 2) Lifting heavy every single day, every single week.

This goes to very basics of weight lifting: you need to master the technique of the movement very very well, in order to avoid injury. Even a simple misalignment of the joint can cause a sprain that can take days to recover. Keeping the form right is more important when you lift heavy; actually you should not go heavy unless you are sure your form is correct. Even a small deviation from the movement pattern can put the body in a vulnerable position, and with a resistance fairly high, its only a matter of time before an injury puts you out of the game.

Also, heavy duty power training is beneficial to the body, but you simply cannot do it all the time. Such weight training puts enormous strain on the joints and connective tissues, thus making them stronger, but if such training is done every single day, they might just give up and snap under the load. Such over training with heavy weights is also a reason for injuries.

So guys, no need to get all tensed up with the fear of injury. If you are a beginner, learn how to do the movement correctly (esp. the complex movements like squats), and practice them over and over for weeks. Train your neuro-muscular system to learn the movement pattern, and do not do heavy training all the time. With these tips in mind, you can train hard, make balanced progress and be safe.

When they can be used

So should we just stop usage of the belts, wraps etc. , and throw them in the garbage bins? No, of course not! While its true that their usage will create strength imbalances, but they do have their place in weight training.

Once in a while, it is a good thing trying to keep track of our 1 rep max (1RM), i.e., weights we can lift for one rep only, for any lift. This provides us a good feedback about our strength gains, but such 1 rep sets put an unimaginably high stress on the joints. Since such an all out set of extremely high intensity will be done only once in a while and not on a regular basis, its advisable to use belt/wraps for such a movement, to protect the joints and stabilizers/connective tissues.

Such equipments also come handy during a rehab, i.e., when you are rehabilitating from an injury, and trying to return to the world of weights. Its highly recommended to use belts and other safety equipments in such scenario, because the joints are still not strong enough to handle the weights by themselves, and can be injured again.

Conclusion

Safety equipments have their place in strength training, not because they can assist you in your strength gains, but for an added assurance of safety in cases of heavy lifts. However, such assurance comes for a price you might not want to pay. Progress in weight training, above all, should be balanced in every aspect. If the price to pay is structural weakness and an under-performing core, its an unfair deal, period.