Knee Wraps Good Tool for Raw Squatters?

Hey guys, Ive been slowly getting my squat up and wanted to know if using knee wraps once lets say every 3 weeks, and adding 20-30 lbs to the normal work sets, would be beneficial tool to use to help get full ROM squats but allow the heavier load? Or if just keeping it raw and no wraps at all would be better the option for long term?

If knee wraps give you an uncomfortable training boner and makes you get into beast mode to load up more weight on the bar, go for it. I’d go more often that once every three weeks tho.

I love them I am without doubt a wrap whore haha. I use them weekly on Squat and Front Squats. I usually use them as I am finishing up my unwrapped stuff. Like say if I am working up to a heavy 5 for the day I’ll work up to say 440 without wraps and bust put a hard 5. Then ill wrap up and work up to say 500 or so for 5.

If you have a tendency to round over they are awesome for training overloading the upper back and forcing you to stay upright especially if your using then on Front Squats. Also if you compete in them and honestly are wearing them very tightly they can mess with your groove so learning and being very comfortable in them is a requirement basically. Also using Knee Wraps is still considered Raw.

"Also using Knee Wraps is still considered Raw. "… and let the fight begin…

[quote]StrengthDawg wrote:
If knee wraps give you an uncomfortable training boner and makes you get into beast mode to load up more weight on the bar, go for it. I’d go more often that once every three weeks tho. [/quote]

While these are my exact thoughts, I’m not sure I would have been able to word it so eloquently.

Are you going to compete in powerlifting? If you’re just lifting and getting stronger for your own purposes I wouldn’t bother with wraps. If you ever want to do a powerlifting meet, definitely buy some good 2.5m wraps and practice with them until you’re comfortable using them. I like to train without wraps as much as possible and add them in a few weeks out from meet time.

I think its a great way for any lifter to do some overload work. Along the lines of what Reed said: if you’re doing something like 531 joker sets you can end it with the knee wraps.

For me personally I have to have knee wraps. Look at what happened to Brandon Lilly, if he had knee wraps I can almost guarantee that would not have happened. I don’t train above 80% without wraps, just scared shitless that my knees will give. Granted it isn’t some all protective peice of gear that you will never get hurt under, but it just helps in the protection of you knees. My family is cursed with bad knees so that is why I am so scared.

[quote]Umbrata Fortis wrote:
For me personally I have to have knee wraps. Look at what happened to Brandon Lilly, if he had knee wraps I can almost guarantee that would not have happened.[/quote]
This has potential to be a big sidetrack lol, but I don’t think wraps were the issue here. Maybe it wouldn’t have happened this time if he’d been wrapped, but it would have still just been a bandaid. The real reason for this injury has nothing to do with wraps, but everything to do with the fact that steroids help your muscles outpace your connective tissue and on top of that they dry out your joints (especially if they are lowering their estrogen even further in relation to test).

I think this hit Brandon especially hard given his background as an ultra-wide stance, 100% posterior chain geared lifter. He built most of his strength base with this style, and only relatively recently started hammering front squats, high bar oly squats and things like that. His quad strength skyrocketed much faster than his knees could keep pace with.

Anyway, that’s my opinion at least. I don’t think wraps would have saved him. They didn’t save Coan when he fell.

[quote]Umbrata Fortis wrote:
Look at what happened to Brandon Lilly, if he had knee wraps I can almost guarantee that would not have happened. I don’t train above 80% without wraps, just scared shitless that my knees will give.[/quote]

Riight…

OP:

  • If you plan to compete with wraps you should obviously do it.
  • As a tool to increase your non-wrapped squat, I would say that your time and energy are better spend doing other things.
  • For fun, go for it once in a while.

ps: I have seen one research study that showed that powerlifting knee wraps INCREASE the harm for the knees.

I have wondered in the past on the subject of the real safety bonus of supportive gear. On the one hand, it sort of makes sense that gear makes things safer. If your options are to squat x pounds in gear or x pounds without gear, then gear would seem to be safer. The problem comes in when you just figure out how much more you can squat in gear. Is it really safer to squat 500 in wraps than it is to squat 450 without them?

Also, on the subject of knee wraps in specific, does anyone feel like they actually compromise the knee by distending it in the flexed position. Basically, what I mean is that if you have a big leg your hams and calfs touch in the bottom of the squat. If you start to ram stuff between you hams and calfs, they’re going to put more pressure on your knees (or so it would seem). I’ve never squatted in wraps although I have used rehband knee sleeves. They seem to help me squat more but I wouldn’t really say they remove stress from my knees for the above reason.

I guess this is what you’re referring to? Wearing knee wraps affects mechanical output and performance characteristics of back squat exercise - PubMed

If you intend to compete in a meet that permits wraps in the raw division then training in wraps would be necessary. It will take a number of sessions to get accustomed to wrapping and using them. Otherwise, the time it takes to ‘manage’ the wraps could be better spent. I have generally added wraps during training anytime I do work over 2x my bodyweight.

overload work is fine but knee wraps can change your squat groove. i would recommend using bands if you want to use a heavier load at times. reverse band work doesnt beat you up much so you can do it much more often without altering your squats.

[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
I guess this is what you’re referring to? Wearing knee wraps affects mechanical output and performance characteristics of back squat exercise - PubMed
[/quote]

These guys are idiots.

Spoken like someone who has never seriously trained in wraps. And again:

Idiots. They conclude:

[quote]Although further research would be needed to corroborate these claims, changes to technique cannot be denied, and it is for this reason that we feel that knee wraps should not be used during the strength
and conditioning process.[/quote]

What was the measurable change in technique, you might ask? Less horizontal bar motion over the course of the rep compared to unwrapped. More upright torso. Greater flexion at knee joint. These all sound like technical improvements to me. So it seems that a bunch of naked-raw zealots set out to prove that wraps were bad for you. They were surprised when their totally ignorant hypothesis turned out to be completely wrong, but went ahead with their forgone conclusion anyway. That is bad science and lacks rigor.

Oh, what wrap technique did they use? A “figure eight” style, where the wraps cross directly over the front of the kneecap in an “X” pattern. That may be the worst possible way to wrap your knees from a joint health standpoint.

Anyone here every try using wraps as a form of ROM training? For example, starting with tight wraps, and then loosening them a bit each session over a couple of months until you can move the same weight without wraps? I’ve never tried wraps and was curious if this might work.

[quote]asooneyeonig wrote:
overload work is fine but knee wraps can change your squat groove. i would recommend using bands if you want to use a heavier load at times. reverse band work doesnt beat you up much so you can do it much more often without altering your squats.[/quote]

This sounds reasonable, and the overload benefit is clear. But if one wanted to do ROM squat training, is there an easy way to adjust the resistance offered by the bands? It would seem that switching bands wouldn’t work due to the large jumps in resistance when you go from a stronger band to a lighter band. Perhaps adding a 1/2" mat or piece of plywood to the floor each week with the same band to shorten how far it is stretched and thus slowly reduce band tension?

I have a bit of pain in my patella tendon if I do too much volume squatting so knee wraps help stabilize my knees a lot. They are a very useful tool and are allowed in some raw feds. I would still consider them non-supportive gear. I think there’s a difference between supportive and stabilizing, but that could be splitting hairs too so who knows. I think you gain a few pounds using them because your knees are much more stable rather than actually supporting the lift. But they are certainly a far cry from a suit or shirt.

[quote]grappling_hook wrote:
Anyone here every try using wraps as a form of ROM training? For example, starting with tight wraps, and then loosening them a bit each session over a couple of months until you can move the same weight without wraps? I’ve never tried wraps and was curious if this might work.
[/quote]

IMO…gauging the tightness of a set of wraps would be challanging. A better approach might be to go from a set of top of the line meet wraps, to a set of training wraps, to a set of retail store wraps, to a set of sleeves, to nothing.

Great thread, been thinking about getting a set myself, I find myself back at that double BW place, this time at 40, so both for saftey, and competing in the future. Nice to be able to here solid advive and no bickering, from both side of the arguement. Latter

As I am getting older, my knees just feel a hell of alot better with light wraps on.

I am using them on my top heavy sets. I feel much more stable and supported. I am training for my first meet now and if they help keep me feeling better and progressing I will continue to use them.

Right now I am using some old red wraps from EFS and like them. They are pretty light overall and even when wrapped “tighter” they are still pretty comfy to wear. I have a set of the metal blacks and will save them for a bit later in my training cycle when I need to wrap super tight.