I'm a 5ft 7in, 148-150lb male at around 13% body fat. At first I measured myself and was hitting 29.5 constantly, thus I placed an order for an XS belt. However, after measuring myself at various degrees of 'tightness' (simulating closely how tight I would need my belt when lifting heavy) and even measuring with a braced core and relaxed stomach respectively, I kept hitting measurments between 27.5 and 28.5 inches in measurement. By 2POOD's measurment chart, that's well within the recommended size for XXS. So to play it safe, before my order shipped, I contacted customer service to downsize the belt to an XXS and they were able to do so before it shipped.
Just tried the belt today with back squats, overhead squats, push presses, and some jerks. I felt great and stable at the core. At the belt's optimal 'tightness,' the ends of the belt were at 2POOD's recommended 2inch gap range, so getting the XXS was a good call for me. I could've probably been fine with the XS especially since I intend to slowly gain some lean weight over the course of the year. However, I still think the XXS will be fine over time even if the gap between the ends of the belt go up from 2 inches to 3-4 inches. I think I'd rather have that happen than have an oversized belt where the ends overlap and then having to either exhange for a smaller belt or stuff myself with donuts and grow into it. If I have to grab a new belt that's sized up to an XS in the future, so be it, but as of right now I'm diggin' my belt at XXS and believe it will hold up for quite some time. Plus the Chyna Cho checkered design with the hot pink 2POOD logo is sick and early 2000s pop-punk, which is my era and style. Keep rockin' those PRs folks.
