Tip The Squat Machine That Actually Works Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip The Squat Machine That Actually Works Master the belt squat build your legs and boost your regular squat and deadlift numbers Here' s how by Travis Hansen June 18, 2017August 18, 2019 Tags Legs, Squat, Tips, Training The belt squat is a strength exercise that's been practiced by powerlifters for years now. It can be categorized as a supplemental lift or corrective exercise for people with squat technique issues. If you're lucky enough to have a belt squat machine in your gym, here's what the exercise looks like: A unique feature of the belt squat is how it tries to draw you into a severe anterior pelvic tilt position. The body then naturally counters this by generating more hip hinge action along with an increased muscular contraction from the glutes. In addition, the pulley drives downwards into the ground and helps decompress the spine a bit. So, in theory, there's some potential value in helping to resolve both flexion and extension-based lower back pain. The belt squat also takes your shoulder out of the squat movement, much like a safety bar squat or goblet squat. So if you have some shoulder issues and back squatting tends to irritate them, find a belt squat station. For athletes, this exercise reduces total-body workload and helps preserve an already drained CNS during an in-season training phase to help maintain performance and structural health. Last but not least, the nature of the belt squat station drives resistance onto the lifter in both a forward and downward direction, which causes the lifter to "reactively" shift his hips backward and engage the posterior chain more during the squat. No Machine There are some specialty "hip squat" belts available that have many of the same benefits. All you need is one of these and some weights. Google around for one if you're interested. You can also do something similar with a dip belt and dip station: Not quite the same thing as the specialized machine, but it does have some of the same benefits. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training 5 Battle-Tested Strategies for Size and Strength James Chan is into machine gunning, shot guns, and cross wiring. If we didn't know better, we'd think he was one of those militia guys holed up in some shack in Montana, swearing never to be taken alive. Training James Chan September 11 Training Tip Build Your Back by Stretching Your Pecs Do this drill before training your back. It'll fix those tight pecs which make it difficult to recruit your upper back muscles. Chest, Mobility, Tips, Training Andrew Heming August 27 Training Tip Bench Heavier With Full-Body Tension Use a unique variation of the plank to bench press more weight safely. Here's how. Tips, Training John Gaglione February 16 Training Tip This Type of Workout Music is Best Music can power your workout to new heights, but the wrong kind can trash your nervous system. Bodybuilding, Motivation, Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training John Paul Catanzaro January 30