Do You Need a Belt for the Overhead Press?

The last time I performed the overhead press with a barbell, I actually tweaked my lower back a bit. Given that I usually don’t wear a belt while overhead pressing, this prompted me to wonder, “do you need a belt for the overhead press?”. Low and behold, it was actually quite difficult to find a solid answer on this. Opinions varied quite a bit and the information was scattered. I did some digging and came up with what I believe to be the correct answer:

It is not necessary to wear a weight lifting belt for the overhead press, but it can be extremely beneficial if you are lifting heavy and/or feel your lower back is arching too much. Weight lifting belts provide extra support and stability for your spine through increasing intra-abdominal pressure. Added support is critical during the top portion of the overhead press, where your core and spine are most involved in stabilizing the lift. Wearing a belt takes unnecessary stress off the spine so the weight overhead is much easier and safer to stabilize.

If you are constantly tweaking your lower back and using it too much in the overhead press, that is either a sign of: 1) muscle weakness in your shoulders, or 2) poor form. Usually, it’s the latter. It makes sense to use a belt on your heaviest sets, but make sure you aren’t overusing it to cover up problems with form or muscular imbalance.

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How Do Belts Help With the Overhead Press?

To understand how and why weight lifting belts can be beneficial for the overhead press, it is important to first understand the mechanics of the overhead press. The mechanics change quite a bit between the seated and standing overhead press, and the standing version is the one you are more likely to need a belt with, so we will examine that.

Mechanics of the Overhead Press

First, let’s consider the lower portion of the overhead press. In the bottom of the movement, the primary mover is your anterior deltoids. They are doing the majority of the initial work of pressing the weight upwards.:

As the barbell moves vertically, the triceps then become more involved:

Finally, after you have pressed the barbell past your head, the abdominals and spine become the key stabilizers:

This is the point where a weight lifting belt starts to become beneficial. There is quite a bit of loading on your spine and abs here.

The Role of Weight Lifting Belts

Weight lifting belts reduce pressure on the spine by increasing intra-abdominal pressure. This pressure is achieved through the belt pressing against the abdomen, which directs pressure towards the spine (thus stabilizing it). In effect, this means you will have an easier time stabilizing weights which load the spine heavily. As we have seen, the spine becomes heavily loaded at the top of the overhead press.

This is doubly true when you are overhead pressing with heavy weights. This is because two things tend to happen when you lift heavy: 1) your form starts to break down, and 2) your body comes under greater stress. If you aren’t wearing a lifting belt while doing heavy overhead pressing, then these two factors could come together to compromise your lower back.

It is easy and natural for your lower back to arch during the final portion of the overhead press, in order to get the weight fully up and stabilize it. Obviously, we don’t want your lower back to arch because that puts it in a compromised position.

Because of the extra stability afforded by the weight lifting belt, what’s cool is you can actually lift more weight. Taking stress off of your spine goes a long way in freeing up your body to be in a more advantageous position to lift weights.

Everyone is always complaining about how weak they are with the overhead press, right? Well, here’s a way to quickly boost your PR!

How to Determine if you Should Wear a Belt for the Overhead Press

In order to determine your need (or lack thereof) for wearing a belt during the overhead press, you must ask yourself a few questions:

Is my form on-point for the overhead press?
Am I lifting heavy?
Do I have any muscular weaknesses which I’m using a belt to compensate for?

Let’s take each of these questions in turn.

Is My Overhead Press Form Dialed in?

For the first one, if your form is not dialed in, there could be all sorts of issues with the overhead press that may be causing problems. To make sure your form is on point, check out this video by strength training YouTuber Alan Thrall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wol7Hko8RhY

"How To" OVERHEAD PRESS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wol7Hko8RhY)

Am I Pressing Heavy Weight?

Okay, now that we have your form down, the next question becomes whether you are lifting heavy or not. When I say “heavy”, I don’t mean heavy in a powerlifting sense necessarily (your one rep max). I mean, you are straining and challenging yourself within a rep range that isn’t too high (less than 12 usually).

If you are someone who is lifting like this, then yes, a belt will likely help you. Again, you want to make sure you aren’t wearing a belt for every set. Make sure your lower back and abs are working as stabilizers when they are capable of it. The belt is only for when you are lifting intensely enough to compromise your lower back.

Do I Have a Muscular Weakness I Need to Address?

The last question is about making sure you are not using a belt for the wrong reasons. For example, let’s say you have weak triceps and you tend to stall and/or lose momentum in the middle of the overhead press. In this case, it doesn’t make sense to wear a belt since your problem is in the part of the lift in which the belt doesn’t help much.

If you simply spent more time training your triceps, you could solve two problems: 1) a triceps weakness, and 2) your overhead press. Now, that being said, it’s still probably a good idea to wear a belt for your working sets in the overhead press, for the reasons already discussed.

**Don’t be this guy. Wear a belt!**
“Good example of Crossfit Weight lifting – In Crossfit Always lift until you reach the point of Failure or you tear something”

FAQ

Q: How do you wear a weight lifting belt properly?

A: For an in-depth explanation on how to wear a weight lifting belt the right way, as well as tips on breathing with a belt, check out strength training YouTuber Alan Thrall’s excellent video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I9LIsIpsQE

How To: Use a Lifting Belt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I9LIsIpsQE)

Q: Do you have any recommendations for weight lifting belts?

A: Yes! I wrote an extensive article, detailing the best vegan weight lifting belts of 2020. For overhead pressing, any high quality nylon belt will do just fine. No need to go for artificial leather made belts (unless you will be using it to squat and/or deadlift as well).

Q: Should I wear a belt for the dumbbell overhead press?

A: No. When using dumbbells, the distribution of the weight changes drastically, and therefore the loading on the lower back changes. Because the load is more on each individual arm and shoulder and less on the lower back, using a belt for the dumbbell overhead press is largely unnecessary.

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