Original Article: PDF OnlyThe Use of Lumbar-Supporting Weight Belts While Performing Squats Erector Spinae Electromyographic ActivityBAUER, JEFFREY A.1; FRX, ANDREW2; CARTER, CORY1 Author Information 1University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611; 2University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: November 1999 - Volume 13 - Issue 4 - p 384-388 Free Abstract This study sought to analyze the effects of subjects' wearing weightlifting lumbar support belts on surface electromyo-graphic recordings of the erector spinae muscle group while the subject executed parallel squats. Ten healthy college-age men with weightlifting experience participated in this study. Participants completed a total of 6 repetitions of high-bar parallel back-squats at loads equaling 60% of their 1 repetition maximum. Experimental conditions required subjects to perform 6 squats, 3 while wearing a belt and 3 without. Electromyographic electrodes recorded muscle activity at 800 Hz on both the right and left erector spinae at the lumbar (L3-L5) and thoracic (T5-T7) regions during all lifts. The results indicate that subjects' mean erector spinae activity was greater (p < 0.0125) in the lumbar region of the spine when wearing weight belts (±258 SD; 69.0 analog-to-digital units) during squatting exercises than the mean activity in subjects who were not wearing weight belts (±235 SD; 71.3 analog-to-digital units). © 1999 National Strength and Conditioning Association
