[scorpian]

Although many out here would have mixed responses i shall put my case forward and how i feel about supporters---- Extremely important.

I used to work out without one and thought tight briefs would suffice but i developed a hernia purely doing heavy weights for which i was operated and trust me its pure agony!

Now if you look at supporters they have a thick elastic band which provides some pressure to your abdomen, which is absent in a brief purely taking in to account the thickness and material of the elastic in a supporter.

If you are in to lifting serious weights then you must support your lower abdomen, one step ahead of this besides wearing the supporter is to use a hernia belt without pads over the supporter,this is like creating sufficient external barrier to avoid any internal ruptures in the abdominal wall.

In supporters you have a choice for choosing omtex or even LP,both are equally good.But guys do wear one,i learnt the hard and painful way.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by scorpian

I used to work out without one and thought tight briefs would suffice but i developed a hernia purely doing heavy weights for which i was operated and trust me its pure agony!

If you don't mind sharing, which hernia was it? And how heavy were the weights exactly? Did you doctor tell you which specific routines increase the risk of hernia, like squats and deadlift or benchpress/military press too?

EDIT: And does your doctor second the fact that a supported would've prevented hernia?

[scorpian]

Squats and dead lifts as per my surgeon, i had inguinal hernia.

On the advice of my surgeon who is a avid gym goer himself i have been using the supporter and belt for the last few years post surgery.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by scorpian

Squats and dead lifts as per my surgeon, i had inguinal hernia.

On the advice of my surgeon who is a avid gym goer himself i have been using the supporter and belt for the last few years post surgery.

Thanks for sharing! Belt still somewhat makes sense to me, at least on a theoritical level but I'm highly skeptic how much support a supporter provides when one deadlifts or squats 200-300 pounds. I mean what's the newton force on that elastic of supporter that it counters the force on the abdominal area due to heavy weights.

Now when it comes to the belt I agree that the newton force is far greater but then if something has to rupture, its most likely going to rupture downwards if it doesn't find adequate space sideways. I tried looking up on the net but unfortunately no medical sounding website (webmd and its likes) have listed belts/supporters as one of the prevention approaches to hernia.

[scorpian]

Each one has his own reasoning, i have shared mine based on something that i have gone through, i have purely taken advice on what the surgeon told me, infact multiple docs gave me the same advice so i thought il just listen and stop experimenting with the family jewels.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by scorpian

Each one has his own reasoning, i have shared mine based on something that i have gone through, i have purely taken advice on what the surgeon told me, infact multiple docs gave me the same advice so i thought il just listen and stop experimenting with the family jewels.

Of course, which is why I'm trying to find answers because this hernia condition is scary man! Better be safe than sorry.

The journey of bodybuilding, however inviting, can turn one's life upside down if they aren't careful.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by scorpian

Now if you look at supporters they have a thick elastic band which provides some pressure to your abdomen, which is absent in a brief purely taking in to account the thickness and material of the elastic in a supporter.

If you are in to lifting serious weights then you must support your lower abdomen, one step ahead of this besides wearing the supporter is to use a hernia belt without pads over the supporter,this is like creating sufficient external barrier to avoid any internal ruptures in the abdominal wall.

In supporters you have a choice for choosing omtex or even LP,both are equally good.But guys do wear one,i learnt the hard and painful way.

Wait, so the doctor didn't tell you that the inguinal hernia is an inherent condition usually (mostly genetic), which is only exacerbated while exerting considerable intra-abdominal force? (Something like defecating with constipation can also result in the same symptoms)

What you seem to be suggesting is the use of weightlifting belts. The purpose of which is to increase the intra-abdominal pressure.
Which is understandable but does nothing for hernia. In fact it may only worsen it. I am amazed if the surgeon claimed that using a weightlifting belt would've prevented hernia!

Whenever you lift anything while standing up, it is only the entire lower torso area (from pelvis to rib-cage) which is the least stable. Increasing the intra-abdominal pressure is the best way to transform this "wobbly" column into a rigid column, thus allowing the athlete to lift more and with better control.
Incidentally this increased intra-abdominal pressure also protects the discs in the spine by allowing them them to "float" instead of "grinding" them on each other.
(http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a215224.pdf)

Normally and naturally the body increasing this intra-abdominal pressure using the muscles of the abdomen and the spine. But since athletes are always interesting in pushing their bodies till destruction they look forward to using the belts.

Now coming over to the suspender or the jock-strap. The purpose of jock strap is to provide a resting place to the scrotum. Why would someone need it? The jock strap mostly comes from jockeying, where you mount the saddle and your testicles swing around wildly like ping pong balls. It must've been uncomfortable and thus lead to the jock strap concept. (similar to Sports bra in modern times).

But I still cannot fathom how the jock has come to be associated with the weight lifting? More so since there is hardly any tension it creates on the abdomen. If you are not convinced them you need to wear the weightlifting belt properly once to understand how it works and how tight it should be.

[scorpian]

I think you have misunderstood!
I am referring to a hernia belt,not a weight lifting belt.A hernia belt am sure is quite different from a weight lifting belt.

I am using one as i have been recommended one, almost all the people in the three gyms i have frequented suggest and insist on using a supporter.

I do not disagree with any of you guys,maybe you guys are right,but i see no harm in wearing a supporter even if it provides me with 0.1% protection to my assets.Am sure there must be a valid reason behind most trainers asking you to wear one.

please do look at the belt difference i use the one made by vissco, google should throw up some images, and i use them without the internal pads.

My post a few days back-- "If you are in to lifting serious weights then you must support your lower abdomen, one step ahead of this besides wearing the supporter is to use a hernia belt without pads over the supporter.""

[fine69]

Originally Posted by scorpian

I do not disagree with any of you guys,maybe you guys are right,but i see no harm in wearing a supporter even if it provides me with 0.1% protection to my assets.Am sure there must be a valid reason behind most trainers asking you to wear one.

Remember, these are the same "trainers" who recommend a whole lot of other stuff which doesn't have any basis. These are the same guys who wouldn't shy away from telling you to start popping pills or buy that mass gainer the moment you tell them you aren't building muscle.

Let me share an example. A lot of my female colleagues that I hang out with knew that I used to swim a lot. Once we started talking about it and I realized that most of them weren't taking it up that summer because they knew that pool water has chlorine and it makes you tan.

9 out of 10 people would agree to the fact that pool water makes you tan because of chlorine use. Unfortunately, that's not true and I can bet a lot of people on this forum would be surprised too. I started to explain these highly educated women in their late thirties that its not the chlorine but the sun (assuming you are in an outdoor pool and in direct contact with sunlight) but they found it really hard to believe because that's what everybody had been telling them all along.

Point is, when you see a lot of folks teaching & preaching something, it tends to register as the right thing in our head without trying to figure out the logic/science behind it. I'm no different and have done so and might do so in future also.

Coming back to the topic, the manufacturer of the product themselves don't really seem to claim that their belt would be preventing hernia.

WHEN TO USE
- Holding herniated tissue in the pelvic region before surgery
- Cases where surgery is contraindicated

Source

The doctor might've asked you to use it as a precaution, especially because you underwent a surgery, and the extra pressure helps your case, however little. Preventing hernia through this belt is a big question though.

From what I could gather, hernia can be prevented to a large degree by the following:

1) Up the weights gradually. If you are planning to indulge into 1 rep max kind of situations, be prepared to face this or other similar predicaments. If 1 rep max is your thing then the payoff better be worth the risk.

While the entire world believes in '8-12 reps, 3 set' funda, I up the weights only when I'm comfortable with a weight with at least 15+ reps across 4-5 sets. But then this is my own choice and might not suit others.

2) Work your core. If you have a strong core and are only increasing poundage gradually then the probability of hernia goes way down. All hernia cases are caused due to pressure (or a combination of it with something else) so it makes absolute sense to work one's abdominal muscles.

[scorpian]

Agree with all your points,however i still do feel that the belt creates adequate external pressure on the abdomen.

As far as the trainers are concerned i do agree with you but thats where one needs to use his brain and differentiate between good information and weird information.

Core training works wonders but after a surgery even after passage of time doing intense core sometimes aches the operated area.I have been systematically training my core to negate any further issues.

Lifting the weights in a proper form and controlled manner is the key!

[phamilyman]

American Ninja warrior.
What functional fitness!!

https://www.facebook.com/ninjawarrio...29395/?fref=nf

[fine69]

What could possibly be wrong if my anterior delts are getting extremely sore after a benchpress while the pump in chest is totally missing.

I've tried to avoid all the mistakes I could possible make - http://stronglifts.com/bench-press/mistakes/ but not sure what's really wrong.

Anybody faced something similar? I'm assuming anterior delts would definitely need to get strengthened before one can take heavy loads but is this how the progress usually is i.e. anterior delts need to be developed to a good extent before one can bench press heavy loads?

Till last week I was doing 20-22kg benchpress (excluding 12 kg rod) and while the shoulders were sore to a similar extent, at least I got a good pump in my chest. Yesterday I tried it with 25kgs and the only thing getting a pump was my anterior delts. I was very very careful with my form but nothing could help me really.

[Piyadassi]

Originally Posted by fine69

What could possibly be wrong if my anterior delts are getting extremely sore after a benchpress while the pump in chest is totally missing.

I've tried to avoid all the mistakes I could possible make - http://stronglifts.com/bench-press/mistakes/ but not sure what's really wrong.

Anybody faced something similar? I'm assuming anterior delts would definitely need to get strengthened before one can take heavy loads but is this how the progress usually is i.e. anterior delts need to be developed to a good extent before one can bench press heavy loads?

Till last week I was doing 20-22kg benchpress (excluding 12 kg rod) and while the shoulders were sore to a similar extent, at least I got a good pump in my chest. Yesterday I tried it with 25kgs and the only thing getting a pump was my anterior delts. I was very very careful with my form but nothing could help me really.

Start with 20-22 and then go to higher weight in the next set (not next day). Some issue with the form.

What had helped me get good with the form has been pyramid scheme as advocated by Arnold for the beginners.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by Piyadassi

Start with 20-22 and then go to higher weight in the next set (not next day). Some issue with the form.

What had helped me get good with the form has been pyramid scheme as advocated by Arnold for the beginners.

Glad to report that I did 24 kgs with ease yesterday. Absolutely no pain in the front delts and the only time my shoulders started to take a beating was when I was running out of energy to press more.

I think the culprit was that I was doing way too many warm-up sets which left me with no energy to pull off 25kgs the other day and I was struggling with keeping form which was compromising the shoulders.

I did 2 sets with 10 kgs yesterday, then one set with 15 kgs, another set with 20 kgs and then moved to 24kgs (3 sets, 12 reps).

[Piyadassi]

Originally Posted by fine69

Glad to report that I did 24 kgs with ease yesterday. Absolutely no pain in the front delts and the only time my shoulders started to take a beating was when I was running out of energy to press more.

I think the culprit was that I was doing way too many warm-up sets which left me with no energy to pull off 25kgs the other day and I was struggling with keeping form which was compromising the shoulders.

I did 2 sets with 10 kgs yesterday, then one set with 15 kgs, another set with 20 kgs and then moved to 24kgs (3 sets, 12 reps).

Good to know that. Too many warm up sets lead to fatigue which in turn leads to bad form.