Here’s a great explanation about how to breath into a weightlifting belt. Thing is, this works very well WITHOUT a belt and should be done to stabilize the lower body and spine any time you lift anything. In martial arts, this is known as “kidney breathing” since the idea is to learn how to breath with/into the kidney area, something many people think is impossible but here it is. The health benefits of this are well known in certain circles and wearing a belt is a great way to train this kind of breathing since you normally need something to push against in order to train this feeling of expansion.
Yet another connection between martial arts and fitness, for anyone that cares to look.