I have been competing in strongman for four years. Not at the elite level — I am a regional competitor, I have a full-time job as a civil engineer, and I train four times a week around everything else life requires. But I take it seriously. I track my lifts, I follow a structured programme, and I invest in equipment that actually makes a difference rather than gear that just looks the part.
For two years I used a standard lever powerlifting belt. It was fine. It did the job for deadlifts and squats. But strongman is not powerlifting, and the limitations of that belt became increasingly obvious as my training evolved.
The Problem With My Old Belt
The issue was specificity. A lever belt is rigid and excellent for static lifts where you set your position and do not move. Strongman events are different. Log press requires you to clean the log, rack it on your chest, and press overhead — a sequence of movements that demands support across a range of positions, not just one. Moving events — sandbag loading, stone loading, carries — require you to hinge, rotate, and load in ways that a front-buckle belt actively restricts.
I had been compensating by loosening my belt for moving events and tightening it for pressing, which meant I was either under-supported or losing time on transitions. Neither was acceptable at competition level. I needed something designed for the specific demands of strongman rather than adapted from powerlifting.
Why the Cerberus MH Pro
The Cerberus Strength MH Pro Strongman Back Support Belt had been on my radar for a while. The co-development with Mitchell Hooper — 2023 World's Strongest Man — was not just marketing. Hooper is known for being methodical and evidence-based about his equipment choices, and the design of this belt reflects that. The 7mm hybrid neoprene body delivers the stiffness and warmth you need for heavy loading without the bulk of a traditional leather belt. The reinforced skeletal splints provide rigidity where it matters. The dual heavy-duty elastic Velcro straps replace the front buckle entirely, which is the key design decision that makes this belt work for moving events.
No front buckle means no hard edge digging into your abdomen during a stone load or sandbag carry. That single feature changes the usability of the belt across the full range of strongman events in a way that anyone who has tried to load a stone over a bar while wearing a lever belt will immediately understand.
I found it through ALTOE's Weight Lifting Belts collection, which is the obvious starting point if you are comparing options. It also sits within the Weight Lifting and Fitness & General Exercise Equipment collections, and the broader Sporting Goods section if you want to browse the full range.
Getting Used to It: The Learning Curve
The product description is honest about this: the belt is extremely firm and challenging to put on. This is not an exaggeration. The first time I wore it, it took me several minutes to get the straps positioned and tensioned correctly. The high-tension design means it is doing its job — the compression is significant and immediate — but it requires a technique to apply efficiently.
By week two I had the application down to about thirty seconds. By week four it was automatic. The sizing guide is worth following carefully — this is not a belt where you want to guess, and the correct size makes a significant difference to both comfort and performance.
The Training Impact
The difference in my log press was immediate and measurable. The stability the MH Pro provides through the clean and the rack position is categorically different from what my lever belt offered. I hit a 5kg personal best on log press in my third week of using it — a lift I had been stuck on for four months. I am not attributing that entirely to the belt, but the belt was a significant factor.
The moving events improvement was even more pronounced. Stone loading in particular — where you are bent over a heavy stone, pulling it into your lap, and then extending to load it over a bar — requires a belt that moves with you rather than against you. The MH Pro does this. The neoprene flexes appropriately while the splints maintain the rigidity where it is needed. I loaded stones in competition last month that I had previously been unable to complete efficiently. The belt was part of that.
Four Months On: The Honest Assessment
The MH Pro has replaced my lever belt entirely. I use it for every session now — pressing, deadlifts, moving events, carries. The neoprene has retained its stiffness and shape across four months of heavy use. The Velcro straps show no signs of degradation. The belt looks and performs exactly as it did when it arrived.
It is not a belt for beginners, and the product description is clear about that. It is designed for experienced lifters who need competition-grade support and understand how to use it correctly. If that describes you, the Cerberus Strength MH Pro is the most impactful single piece of equipment I have added to my training in four years of competing.
Browse the full range in ALTOE's Weight Lifting Belts collection. If you are serious about strongman or heavy compound lifting and your current belt is holding you back, this is where the conversation ends.
Declan Farrow is a civil engineer and regional strongman competitor based in Newcastle. He writes about strength training, competition preparation, and the equipment that has made a measurable difference to his performance.
0 commentaire