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Knee support Basics
Knee support is crucial for athletes looking to optimize performance and minimize the risk of injury. During weightlifting exercises, the knees experience substantial pressure and stress, which can potentially lead to long-term damage if not adequately supported.
High-quality knee supports provide essential stability, compression, and warmth to the joints, helping generate more force and power during exercises, reducing strain, and preventing injuries such as tendonitis or ligament tears.
Additionally, knee supports promote enhanced blood flow, aid in muscle recovery, and improve proprioceptive feedback, allowing weightlifters to confidently perform at their best while maintaining the health and longevity of their knees.
Commonly referred to as braces, knee supports are available in various shapes, sizes, and materials. We provide a comprehensive guide to assist you in selecting the ideal compression support for your weightlifting sessions.
Types of knee supports
Types of knee supports
Different types exist for different applications. Here are a few tips:
Knee Sleeves
Knee sleeves are tubular, compressive garments designed to easily slide over your knees, typically made from neoprene or similar materials.
They provide uniform compression and support, enhancing your ability to perform leg movements while redistributing the load from leg exercises.
Knee sleeves offer warmth, stability, and joint protection, making them suitable for a wide range of activities.
With various tension levels available, you can select the perfect knee sleeve to meet your specific needs.
Knee Wraps
Knee wraps are made from long cotton-elastic straps, using the same material used for wrist wraps.
Suited for heavy lifting sessions and powerlifting competitions, these wraps provide adjustable compression and support, enabling you to customize the tension to your preference.
To achieve optimal, support, comfort, and protection tailored to your specific needs, wrap the straps around your knees in a spiral pattern and adjust the tightness of each wrap to suit your specific needs.
Why should you use knee support?
Why should you use knee support?
Enhanced Performance
Knee supports, such as knee sleeves and wraps, are designed to enhance performance by harnessing the elastic energy generated during weightlifting movements.
This elastic energy is stored within the supportive material as it compresses and stretches, providing a spring-like effect that assists in the concentric phase of the lift.
As a result, weightlifters can generate more force and power during their exercises, effectively improving their performance.
The higher the tension provided by the knee support, the greater the rebound effect experienced when coming out of the lowest point in a lift. This allows for increased weight to be lifted safely and efficiently.
Joint Stability
Knee support plays a critical role in enhancing joint stability during weightlifting exercises.
By providing consistent compression around the knee joint, knee supports, such as sleeves and wraps, help maintain proper alignment and reduce unwanted lateral movements.
This added stability reduces stress on the ligaments, tendons, and cartilage, ensuring that the joint can withstand the demands of heavy lifting.
Moreover, knee supports improve proprioceptive feedback, heightening the athlete's awareness of their body position and movement, which further contributes to maintaining proper form and technique.
injury prevention
Knee support plays a vital role in injury prevention during weightlifting by providing the necessary protection and stability to the knee joint.
By offering consistent compression, knee supports, such as sleeves and wraps, help mitigate excessive strain on the muscles, tendons, and ligaments around the knee.
This support reduces the risk of common injuries, such as sprains, strains, and ligament tears. Proper form is crucial in preventing injuries caused by poor lifting mechanics.
By incorporating knee support into their training routines, weightlifters can effectively minimize the risk of injury, ensuring a safer and more successful lifting experience.
Knee Wraps VS Knee Sleeves
Knee Wraps VS Knee Sleeves
Which one is best for you?
Always use the right tool for the job
If you’ve ever seen knee wraps or sleeves being used in the gym, you’ve probably thought to yourself, “What’s the difference between knee wraps and knee sleeves?” Although they might look similar, they are not the same. Each has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages, and one might serve you better depending on your weightlifting goals.
Let’s take a closer look at the difference between the two, and which one is best for you.
Benefits of knee sleeves
Knee sleeves are super fast and easy to use. You simply slide them over your knee and you’re ready to hit your weightlifting workout.
They come in different levels of tension: level 1 is more elastic, offers less support but more comfort, and level 4 is much more rigid, and offers more support, but less comfort.
Any weightlifter or high-performance athlete who works with compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and cleans is better off using sleeves over wraps.
Benefits of knee wraps
Competitive weightlifters and powerlifters will appreciate the customizable support provided by knee wraps over sleeves, as they offer full control over the desired tension level.
While wraps may take longer to apply, the adjustable tension ensures optimal support tailored to your needs. By carefully controlling the stretch of the strap during the wrapping process, you can achieve the perfect balance of support and tension for your knees.
Experienced powerlifters frequently rely on knee wraps during squats to prevent serious injury and enhance their performance.
Choose knee wraps for a personalized and performance-driven weightlifting experience.
Which one should you wear?
The type of knee support you should use will come down to your fitness goals. In general, wraps are preferred by powerlifters and bodybuilders. Sleeves on the other side can also benefit powerlifters, but are mostly used by Olympic weightlifters, and cross-training athletes!