Breath Belt Review

The Breath Belt is a unique diaphragmatic weightlifting belt that helps me brace properly so I improve core and spine stability to lift heavier.

It’s elastic yet it provides plenty of lower back support without restricting any movement.

What’s interesting about this belt, is that it has pockets in the front to provide tactile feedback (which helps a ton!)

Let’s check it out!

Unboxing

I opened up the FedEx box and the belt came neatly folded in a plastic wrap.

Being a flexible belt, it doesn’t require a huge package but once I unfold it, it has a decent length to it.

I took out of the wrapping and here’s what the inside looks like.

It’s wide, elastic, and if you look closely, there’s two pockets on the inside on the belt (right side in the picture above).

Later on I’ll touch up on why those pockets play an important role.

Specs

• Material: High performance lightweight fabric

• Locking mechanism: Double belt closure with heavy duty velcro

• Size: Fits adults with waist sizes ranging from 30 to 40

• Color: Black and silver

• Inner pockets: Used for inserts to provide tactile feedback and improve abdominal bracing (Can insert rolled socks, tennis balls, lacrosse balls)

What Is The Breath Belt?

The Breath Belt is a flexible, weightlifting belt that helps to emphasize abdominal breathing while providing lower back support.

What’s unique about this belt is that it has two pockets on the inside where I insert tennis balls or lacrosse balls.

This provides me with tactile feedback so it reminds me to belly breathe and helps to relax tight muscles in the abdomen.

By breathing through my belly, I increase pressure in my abdomen to stabilize and brace my spine and that allows me to lift heavier.

Top Benefits Of The Breath Belt

No Restrictions

I train with my Powerblock adjustable kettlebells weekly and a lot of the exercises are unilateral and require a lot of trunk rotation.

Exercises like windmills, Turkish getups, and kettlebell snatches require my torso to twist under load.

If I was using a regular weightlifting belt, it would restrict those movements because those types of belts are rigid.

But with the Breath Belt, I get full lower back support without any restrictions because it’s flexible.

Tactile Feedback

The tactile feedback is something I’ve never had with weightlifting belts and it’s simple but makes a big difference.

This is where inserting two tennis balls into the inner pockets plays a big role.

Those balls sit next to my belly button constantly pushing into my abdomen so I’m reminded to breathe out through my belly to brace properly.

By bracing properly, my spine is supported from all sides providing full stability so I can lift heavier.

Lumbar Support Without Restriction

Because this has a double belt design, I can tighten it twice to get a lot of compression and lower back support.

So even though it’s not rigid like regular weightlifting belts, it still gets very tight so that I can bend over while lifting without hurting my back.

I actually like this better than rigid belts because there’s no pinching or restriction of movement.

Best Features Of The Breath Belt

Stabilizing Supports

The Breath Belt has 10 built-in cross stabilizers and that’s what gives me support even though it’s flexible.

Internal Pouches

I talked about the two inner pouches earlier and here’s a close up of what they look like without balls in them.

This feature here is something I haven’t seen in other belts but it makes a huge difference.

With two tennis balls inserted in the pouches, they’re gonna be pushing into my abdomen when I put the belt on.

This gives me a constant reminder to push out against the balls (belly breathing) so I can brace my spine properly when lifting.

Here’s a bird’s eye view of what the balls look like after I secure the inside belt.

As you can see, the tennis balls sit beside my belly button, right on top of the Psoas muscles.

So another function of the belt is to relax those muscles so my lower back and hips move better.

Double Belt Closure & Strong Velcro

With its double belt closure design, it’s like having two belts in one.

The inner belt is about an inch wider on top and bottom then the outer belt.

The velcro patches on the belt are long, wide, and strong so the belt doesn’t snap off while I’m lifting.

I like that both belts (inner and outer belt) have velcro so I can tighten the belt twice, giving me great compression.

In the pic above, I velcroed (is that a word?) the inner belt and you can see it has velcro patches on top of it.

That allows me to attach the outer belt so I can apply more compression.

Stitching

When it comes to the stitching, it’s all over the belt so there’s a lot of reinforcement which is great for obvious reasons.

This gives the structure of the belt a lot of stability and durability.

There’s all sorts of stitching patterns all over the belt.

It has zig zag stitching in some areas which helps to distribute stress across seams and reducing the chances of thread breaking.

And some areas like the velcro straps have box x stitching which makes sense since that pattern provides excellent resistance to pulling forces.

How To Use The Breath Belt

Using the Breath Belt is straight forward…

First, I insert tennis balls inside the inner belt pouches.

Take a deep breath and secure the inner belt.

Then I add more compression by tightening the outer belt on top.

Does The Breath Belt Work?

Yes, the Breath Belt works by using a combination of compression and the tennis balls (for feedback) to enhance spine stability and relax tight muscles.

This provides me with a tactile cue or feedback so that I push the tennis balls out to increase intra abdominal pressure and brace my core.

Watch the video above so you can see why learning how to belly breathe and abdominal bracing is important.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Flexible: Unlike rigid weightlifting belts, I can move in all directions without any restrictions or pinching

• Double layer: Two layers give me a lot of compression and lower back support

• Inner pockets: Allow me to use balls as tactile cues so I can breathe through my belly out and brace properly and relax stiff muscles

• Secure: Strong velcro keeps the belt on me at all times

• Durable: Box x and zig zag stitching patterns all around the belt keep it from falling apart

Cons

• Pricey: It’s an expensive belt but it works and there’s no other belts with the inner inserts

Breath Belt Price

Because it’s a premium product and doesn’t have any competitors, the Breath Belt is not cheap.

At $159 it’s pricey but I can say it does work and 100+ reviews seem to back up its efficiency.

Breath Belt Discount Code

I haven’t seen many discounts and the coupon code I had has already expired.

Most discounts are sporadic throughout the year without a predictable pattern.

If you’re looking for a discount, it might be good idea to follow them on social media to keep an eye out when they have specials.

Breath Belt Alternatives

Core360 Belt

The Core360 Belt has 4 specific pressure points that apply pressure around the waist.

This increases awareness of proper core engagement and breathing.

It’s not as wide as the Breath Belt and does not have a double belt closure so it’ll have less compression.

Buteyko Belt

The Buteyko Belt is another diaphragmatic breathing belt.

It creates resistance around the midsection to bring awareness to your breathing so you can use your diaphragm.

My Experience Using The Breath Belt

Using the Breath Belt for tactile feedback is extremely helpful because I’ve always lifted with air out of my abdomen (flexing my abs).

But that doesn’t give my spine and core as much stability as it should have and a weak core limits how much I can lift.

By actively breathing through my belly and increasing intra-abdominal pressure, my core is solid and my body works better as a whole to lift heavier.

The Breath Belt claims it helps with muscular imbalances and other things but for me, learning abdominal breathing has been the biggest benefit.

Is The Breath Belt Worth It?

The Breath Belt is not the most budget friendly weightlifting belt but it plays an important role in proper lifting technique.

It teaches you to belly breathe for proper abdominal bracing so your spine is supported properly.

With proper spine support, you’ll be able to improve your lifts in a safe way.