One of the best tools you can ever buy for building an aesthetic and strong physique is a dip belt.
The quickest way to build up your back, shoulders, chest, biceps and triceps is by getting stronger on pull-ups and dips. Once you’re lifting 60-80 lbs (30-40 kg) on these exercises for multiple reps, you’ll see that hard dense V-shaped physique starting to appear. And to get there you need a durable dip belt.
The belt that I OWN and HIGHLY recommend is the Brute belt (check the price on Amazon here). The belt is extremely durable and reasonably priced.
Even though some gyms have dip/pull-up belts available for borrowing it’s always such a pain when the belt(s) are occupied and I have to wait 10-20 min just to get started.
So, I wanted to have my own belt ready to go, but at the same time I didn’t want a belt that was big and weighed a ton causing a lot of hassle just bringing it to the gym. Right around the time when I looked for a belt a friend of mine recommended the Brute belt. I tried his belt for a workout and I went home and bought one myself that same afternoon.
Here’s what the belt looks like:
What I Like About The Brute Belt
Convenient
The biggest benefit of the Brute belt is that it’s extremely light and easy to pack (it weighs just over 1 pound.) There’s no chain that takes up space and weight, instead it has a durable 40″ adjustable nylon strap.
Another great benefit is that you don’t have to take the belt of between sets, you can simply unclip the adjustable strap and weights with the 2 carabiners, keeping the belt around your waist. When you are ready for the next set, just clip the strap and weights back to the belt, and you’re ready to go.
Durable
The belt is very durable as it’s made entirely of military-grade materials. This includes the main fabric of:
- 1000D Ballistic Nylon
- 1.75” 17337 Mil-Spec Nylon Webbing (7,000 lb tensile strength)
- 1” tubular nylon loops/adjustable strap (4,000 lb tensile strength)
- 1.75” Locking V-Ring Steel Forged Buckle (2,000 lb tensile strength)
- 3” Steel Forged Carabiners (700 lbs tensile strength)
- 1” metal mini-cam buckles (600 lbs tensile strength)
In other words, the belt can hold 270 lbs (six 45 lb plates) with ease. Refer to the tensile strengths of individual materials listed above. Carl Nelson who is the man behind the belt says that it has not been tested above 270 lbs and anything beyond this amount will be at your own risk.
Versatile
One huge benefit of the belt is that it has 8 loops around it which allows it to be used for countless different exercises. Here’s a cool little video made by Carl demonstrating a few ways of using the belt:
Comfortable
The belt is very comfortable on as it has paddings with non-slip grip that can be tightened around the waist. Becuase of it’s light weight and fabric you feel slim to no uncomfort using it, as opposed to the normal ones made of leather, where the edges always bruises your stomach when the weights get heavier.
Adjustable
The nylon strap that comes with the belt can be adjusted from 1.5 feet to 3 feet in just a few seconds.
Can the Belt be Used as a Lifting Belt?
It’s possible to detatch the strap and use the belt for core support during big compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, barbell rows, T-bar rows, etc.
Even though the belt is not intended or designed to be used for this, I’ve found it to work quite well, however you’re much better of with an actual lifting belt that provides more stablility once/or if you’re lifting heavier weights.
Final Thoughts
The Brute belt is definitely one of my best investments when it comes to gym equipment. As I’ve said above it’s convenient, durable, versatile, comfortable and adjustable and it’s a big pleasure to own it.
I don’t regret buying the belt at all and I’m confident that most people will feel the same way. You can go ahead and check out the price of the Brute belt on Amazon here.