I just bought some Titan THP knee wraps for a compeititon in December. It’s kind of important that the wraps are performing as well as they possibly can since I will be going for a record with them. If I squat in them 3 or 4 times between now and then, will the wraps still be performing at 100%. I’ve read that wraps wear out much more then wrist wraps, and I have no previous experience with knee wraps.
Definitely won’t be worn out in 3-4 wears… Honestly, I think wraps can be used for at least 50 sets before they are not performing their best. I would say brand new wraps are actually not as good as those that have been worn 3 times. Ergo, wearing the 3-4 times is a good plan.
Sidenote:
If you are going to wear knee wraps for the first time, I would train in some wraps (not necessarily the ones you are competing in) 10 times before competing in them. While obsiously you dont really need this much practise, it really does pay off with knee wraps in my experience. Personally, I dont know why you wouldnt wrap once a week, every week, until the meet.
As a side note here, I had some efs heavy wraps that were getting kind of clapped out. I had nothing to lose so I washed and dried them and lo and behold, they returned to their former glory. Or at least they weren’t dirty and loose anymore.
[quote]arramzy wrote:
Definitely won’t be worn out in 3-4 wears… Honestly, I think wraps can be used for at least 50 sets before they are not performing their best. I would say brand new wraps are actually not as good as those that have been worn 3 times. Ergo, wearing the 3-4 times is a good plan.
Sidenote:
If you are going to wear knee wraps for the first time, I would train in some wraps (not necessarily the ones you are competing in) 10 times before competing in them. While obsiously you dont really need this much practise, it really does pay off with knee wraps in my experience. Personally, I dont know why you wouldnt wrap once a week, every week, until the meet.[/quote]
Maybe I’ll buy a cheaper pair to use to train in a little more often. I was just figuring on only using them a few times since I won’t even really do my competition squat that much between then and now (I’m following the conjugate method), but maybe I’ll use them a few times on my box squats and things to get used to them. I figured there can’t be much of a learning curve, but I have yet to use them so maybe I’ll learn different haha.
Also … is it possible to have them too tight? I just messed around with wrapping, and my foot feels like it’s going to fall off and turns kind of white haha. I’m not sure if the lack of circulation will negatively effect the lift, or if the tightness is just so awesome that you can lift anything. Wondering if I should not quite go so all out when wrapping, or if it doesn’t matter that it’s just about killing you.
I second Arramzy on practicing with wraps. I found that they took me a while to get used to. Mind you I still don’t like them and did my last equipped meet in knee sleeves. It really depends on the person. Some people like them cranked so tight they can barely bend their knees. I find that they distract me to the point that I rush my squat set up. If you’re planning on going for a record, I’d make sure you’re head is okay with your feet hating you 
I love the knee raps i bought. try warming up with out them, when I get into my lifting phase I put mine on to save my knees.
You only get 50 sets out of a new pair of wraps? Do you gear whores have to take on a second job to afford all that shit?
[quote]arramzy wrote:
Definitely won’t be worn out in 3-4 wears… Honestly, I think wraps can be used for at least 50 sets before they are not performing their best. I would say brand new wraps are actually not as good as those that have been worn 3 times. Ergo, wearing the 3-4 times is a good plan.
Sidenote:
If you are going to wear knee wraps for the first time, I would train in some wraps (not necessarily the ones you are competing in) 10 times before competing in them. While obsiously you dont really need this much practise, it really does pay off with knee wraps in my experience. Personally, I dont know why you wouldnt wrap once a week, every week, until the meet.[/quote]
This^
Personally speaking, knee wraps did throw me off a little the first time i used them. But i have a couple pairs of metal all black wraps that i’ve used on my heavy sets for over a year(i also use the rhino wraps, and will be trying rhinos new anaconda wraps soon). I just don’t fully crank them on unless it’s a max set and i don’t wrap as tight on the couple of sets leading to my max set. Yes i do get some poundage from them, but i mainly use them to protect my knees as much as possible. So far, knee pain has been minimal compared to when i didn’t squat with knee wraps.
Good luck on your record attempt when you get there.
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
You only get 50 sets out of a new pair of wraps? Do you gear whores have to take on a second job to afford all that shit?[/quote]
lol… you can get hundreds, but the ‘optimal’ performance I would say is less than 50 sets
[quote]EveryLastingScar wrote:
[quote]arramzy wrote:
Definitely won’t be worn out in 3-4 wears… Honestly, I think wraps can be used for at least 50 sets before they are not performing their best. I would say brand new wraps are actually not as good as those that have been worn 3 times. Ergo, wearing the 3-4 times is a good plan.
Sidenote:
If you are going to wear knee wraps for the first time, I would train in some wraps (not necessarily the ones you are competing in) 10 times before competing in them. While obsiously you dont really need this much practise, it really does pay off with knee wraps in my experience. Personally, I dont know why you wouldnt wrap once a week, every week, until the meet.[/quote]
Maybe I’ll buy a cheaper pair to use to train in a little more often. I was just figuring on only using them a few times since I won’t even really do my competition squat that much between then and now (I’m following the conjugate method), but maybe I’ll use them a few times on my box squats and things to get used to them. I figured there can’t be much of a learning curve, but I have yet to use them so maybe I’ll learn different haha.
Also … is it possible to have them too tight? I just messed around with wrapping, and my foot feels like it’s going to fall off and turns kind of white haha. I’m not sure if the lack of circulation will negatively effect the lift, or if the tightness is just so awesome that you can lift anything. Wondering if I should not quite go so all out when wrapping, or if it doesn’t matter that it’s just about killing you.[/quote]
IMO… no such thing as too tight. Perhaps I’ve just never had them tight enough, but frankly, if you watch Olech or Malanichev wrap, the wraps are about to rip practically. Obviously as you are learning, super tight will hurt more than help. But in time, IE wearing them often (which is a must I think), you SHOULD be cranking as tight as you can physically get them. Even on conjugate method, you should still use them often. Even on DE days, you can up the weight and wrap them looser, but practise with them. On ME days, whenever you do a squat variation of the bar, or the box or whatever, wrap em.
Lol, How do you even walk out when the wraps are THAT tight. I tried to wrap them as tight as possible and by the time I got under the bar, I can’t even feel anything below my knees. Is it something you just get used to over time?
[quote]Zerpp wrote:
Lol, How do you even walk out when the wraps are THAT tight. I tried to wrap them as tight as possible and by the time I got under the bar, I can’t even feel anything below my knees. Is it something you just get used to over time?[/quote]
Yes you partially get used to it, partially just man up to it. It hurts, but it is worth it. This is precisely why I am telling this guy and frankly anyone using wraps, that I think that you ought to wear them highly frequently.
Just ordered some cheaper inzer z wraps to get the practice in with wraps without wearing out the ones I want to use in competition. Thanks for the advice.
[quote]EveryLastingScar wrote:
Just ordered some cheaper inzer z wraps to get the practice in with wraps without wearing out the ones I want to use in competition. Thanks for the advice.[/quote]
Still need to make sure you get some reps in with your competition ones if they’re different wraps i.e. different brands, or different model of wrap since each wrap will have some differences.
[quote]LiquidMercury wrote:
[quote]EveryLastingScar wrote:
Just ordered some cheaper inzer z wraps to get the practice in with wraps without wearing out the ones I want to use in competition. Thanks for the advice.[/quote]
Still need to make sure you get some reps in with your competition ones if they’re different wraps i.e. different brands, or different model of wrap since each wrap will have some differences.[/quote]
Yea I realize this. I plan on working them in. The other wraps I’ll use more often to get used to the wraps, and my competition wraps I’ll use now and then to get used to those wraps specifically.
New wraps become ‘openers’; ‘openers’ become ‘meet’ training wraps; ‘meet’ training wraps become ‘routine’ training wraps; and so on.
Between 1987 and 2009 I squatted at least 40 weeks a year, every year. I started wraps at 2xBW and usually did 4-6 sets from there. I know we are talking ‘meet quality’ here, but on Wednesday evening I used a pair I bought in 1988.