What's the consensus on knee wraps?

[Mr.Nick]

So I was cruising the RX muscle forum and came across an interesting thread regarding knee wraps. Here's the link Squats and Knee Wraps - RX Muscle Forums

Anyways, those guys are saying that the wraps not only don't help your knees, they can cause more damage than not wrapping. They also say that it keeps your quads from working as hard, which I think might be true b/c I definitely don't feel as much burn when I use wraps.

Do you guys know if there's truth to any of this? I haven't wrapped my knees for squats in a long time, but on heavy leg presses or hacks, I always wrap. I'm now wondering if that's really doing me any good, or if I should just quit with the wraps. My knees still get sore after heavy leg days when I wrap, so I think the key might just be doing more warmups and paying close attention to form.

[WetWorks]

I never use wraps for my knees. I also think they're not good to use and I'm not weak in my legs. I just make sure to always do leg extensions and lunges to keep my supporting muscles strong.

[powerman]

I personally ALWAYS use em and would never squat over 315 without em, but thats just me.I find it IMPOSSIBLE to believe that bullshit about not making your Quads work hard LMFAO you ever seen the legs/ quads on the 308s and superheavies that powerlift? They are MASSIVE and they all use wraps so thight that you can barely walk

[WetWorks]

Originally Posted by powerman

I personally ALWAYS use em and would never squat over 315 without em, but thats just me.I find it IMPOSSIBLE to believe that bullshit about not making your Quads work hard LMFAO you ever seen the legs/ quads on the 308s and superheavies that powerlift? They are MASSIVE and they all use wraps so thight that you can barely walk

I did try straps, but they were so uncomfortable, they're collecting dust. it was easier for me to squat with out them. probable just me

[Mr.Nick]

Originally Posted by powerman

I personally ALWAYS use em and would never squat over 315 without em, but thats just me.I find it IMPOSSIBLE to believe that bullshit about not making your Quads work hard LMFAO you ever seen the legs/ quads on the 308s and superheavies that powerlift? They are MASSIVE and they all use wraps so thight that you can barely walk

That's a good point. I'm just saying from my experience, it feels like my quads aren't being worked as hard when I wear em. Those powerlifter dudes are definitely fucking massive, no doubt.

I do like the wraps, they feel better on heavy lifts. That part I read about them causing extra friction in the joint with the cap is what I'm primarily concerned about. Is there a right and a wrong way to wrap knees? I always just start right above the cap and wrap several times till below the cap is covered. I keep the wraps really tight, so much so that I can feel a the circulation in my calves and feet being cut off if I leave them on for a while.

[freakofnature]

Originally Posted by Mr.Nick

That's a good point. I'm just saying from my experience, it feels like my quads aren't being worked as hard when I wear em. Those powerlifter dudes are definitely fucking massive, no doubt.

I do like the wraps, they feel better on heavy lifts. That part I read about them causing extra friction in the joint with the cap is what I'm primarily concerned about. Is there a right and a wrong way to wrap knees? I always just start right above the cap and wrap several times till below the cap is covered. I keep the wraps really tight, so much so that I can feel a the circulation in my calves and feet being cut off if I leave them on for a while.

This is FULL THROTTLE an amazing guy that was a member here but is MIA right now. He has some amazing lifts brother and uses all INZER gear, you can follow his YouTube and check out some of his insane lifts. This video shows him wrapping his knees. P.S CALL ME BUCK I'VE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT YOU BROTHER.

YouTube - Buck wrap!! Power lifting knee wraps NO injuries crashes brakes falls broken wreck slips

[Gman]

So this is a hard question to really answer. I had a knee blow out 20+ years ago, reconstructed and never gives me any problems. I wrap like powerman said whenever I get heavy. I limit the number of times I wrap to 3 each leg session because it leaves marks I wrap really tight. I am superstitious about my wrapping style. I start at the top and wrap 6 times then make and x pattern then tuck. If the wrap is not wrapped like this the lift will sux, If it's right the lift is easy. Pretty silly but never said I was rational. As my weights have increased over the years my wrapping points have gone up. I figure my knees have gotten stronger.

[WetWorks]

my belief is if your not squatting 500 lbs + you don't need knee wraps, my rule of thumb.

[Mr.Nick]

Originally Posted by freakofnature

This is FULL THROTTLE an amazing guy that was a member here but is MIA right now. He has some amazing lifts brother and uses all INZER gear, you can follow his YouTube and check out some of his insane lifts. This video shows him wrapping his knees. P.S CALL ME BUCK I'VE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT YOU BROTHER.

YouTube - Buck wrap!! Power lifting knee wraps NO injuries crashes brakes falls broken wreck slips

That's pretty much exactly how I've been wrapping when I use em. I didn't know if I was doing it the "correct" way or if one even exists, I just did what felt good.

I don't wrap when I squat, b/c my knees rarely if ever bother me when squatting, but that's probly b/c I've never done reps with more than 315. Lately, I haven't been doing bb squats at all due to my back injury, but I'll be getting back into it in a few wks if all keeps going well.

For me, it's the heavy leg presses and hacks that really make my knees sore. They aren't just sore the day or two following the workout, they get sore during the workout. It's been better lately b/c I've been less focused on pushing lots of weight and more focused keeping good form. Also, I've been riding the stationary bike for 10 min before I lift on leg day to get my knees good and warmed up. I then start with extensions, doing a cpl light sets followed by a cpl heavy sets before I do any squats, hacks or leg presses. The extra focus on warming my knees up definitely makes a difference in the amount of soreness I experience in my knees afterwards.

[WetWorks]

Originally Posted by Mr.Nick

That's pretty much exactly how I've been wrapping when I use em. I didn't know if I was doing it the "correct" way or if one even exists, I just did what felt good.

I don't wrap when I squat, b/c my knees rarely if ever bother me when squatting, but that's probly b/c I've never done reps with more than 315. Lately, I haven't been doing bb squats at all due to my back injury, but I'll be getting back into it in a few wks if all keeps going well.

For me, it's the heavy leg presses and hacks that really make my knees sore. They aren't just sore the day or two following the workout, they get sore during the workout. It's been better lately b/c I've been less focused on pushing lots of weight and more focused keeping good form. Also, I've been riding the stationary bike for 10 min before I lift on leg day to get my knees good and warmed up. I then start with extensions, doing a cpl light sets followed by a cpl heavy sets before I do any squats, hacks or leg presses. The extra focus on warming my knees up definitely makes a difference in the amount of soreness I experience in my knees afterwards.

my guess if your knees are hurting from leg press, your form is bad. you can't let your knees go over your toes. try putting your feet a little higher on the plate and maybe a little wider. your legs should never break a 90 degree angle.

[powerman]

This is a instructional vid from one of the top kneewrap suppliers. ( i use inzers right at the moment) id say 80% of competitors wrap with the first method shown here myself included starting at the bottom and working your way up. Ive never tried any other method but try some of these and see if you like em

YouTube - APT Knee Wrap Tutorial Technique

here you go

[crazedhate]

Originally Posted by powerman

This is a instructional vid from one of the top kneewrap suppliers. ( i use inzers right at the moment) id say 80% of competitors wrap with the first method shown here myself included starting at the bottom and working your way up. Ive never tried any other method but try some of these and see if you like em

YouTube - APT Knee Wrap Tutorial Technique

here you go

good video, thanks for sharing. but what the heck is up with the dude in the vid? think they could've put a dude in there that actually looked like they worked out and had muscle
i got me some crap knee's and i wrap on heavy sets (315 and up on squats, 10 plates + each side on leg press), def helps the pain

[powerman]

Originally Posted by crazedhate

good video, thanks for sharing. but what the heck is up with the dude in the vid? think they could've put a dude in there that actually looked like they worked out and had muscle
i got me some crap knee's and i wrap on heavy sets (315 and up on squats, 10 plates + each side on leg press), def helps the pain

agreed video guy should have been a superheavy who could squat 900 raw

[Gman]

The guy in the vid has no real mass. I can't get mine wrapped soo many times due to large quads and calves. Buddy wraps his legs using same wraps as me and gets like 2x the number of turns even though I am wrapping tighter.

[Mr.Nick]

So I did legs the other day and hit the leg press for the first time in a while and I didn't wrap at all and my knees felt great. I don't think I'm going heavy enough to really necessitate wraps. I did ride the bike at a moderate pace for 10 min then did some extensions starting really light before I got under the sled tho.

Also, I hit the extensions pretty damn hard to try to tire out my quads so I wasn't doing huge weight on the press. Lately, my quads don't get sore and I try really hard to trash the hell outta them with extensions before presssing/squatting and heavy lunges after. Legs are growing tho, so I guess soreness isn't what I should focus on. It seems like my quads only hurt after I pin the prop, and my hams and glutes get really sore after leg day.

[crazedhate]

pre-exhausting quads is almost a guarantee'd way to get you some sore legs the next day. it is good to start with extensions everytime to warm up knee's and quads. you my not be able to do as much on pressing stuff after, but whatever, as long as you're growing

[WetWorks]

Originally Posted by Mr.Nick

So I did legs the other day and hit the leg press for the first time in a while and I didn't wrap at all and my knees felt great. I don't think I'm going heavy enough to really necessitate wraps. I did ride the bike at a moderate pace for 10 min then did some extensions starting really light before I got under the sled tho.

Also, I hit the extensions pretty damn hard to try to tire out my quads so I wasn't doing huge weight on the press. Lately, my quads don't get sore and I try really hard to trash the hell outta them with extensions before presssing/squatting and heavy lunges after. Legs are growing tho, so I guess soreness isn't what I should focus on. It seems like my quads only hurt after I pin the prop, and my hams and glutes get really sore after leg day.

good to hear I didn't think you was lifting heavy enough to use wraps. my .02

[powerman]

Originally Posted by WetWorks

good to hear I didn't think you was lifting heavy enough to use wraps. my .02

Be right back squatting 465 for reps( just 5) hacks with 450 for reps and leg presses to finish with 900 for 10

[Mr.Nick]

Originally Posted by WetWorks

good to hear I didn't think you was lifting heavy enough to use wraps. my .02

Thanks for the encouragement, I guess that's inspiration to up the doses and begin operation infinity weeker.

I think it was more a matter of last year when I did my first cycle I started putting up much more weight than I had ever been capable of before and in short order. That combined with a lack of focus on form and less than adequate warmup, led to a lot of knee pain. I'm still gonna bring the wraps when I do legs cuz if my knees start gettin sore while liftin, I gotta wrap or they'll stay sore for days and not the good kinda sore.

I do think it's kinda weird that my quads don't get sore after blasting the shit outta them. I hit the extensions hard after I get thru the light warmup sets. I go all the way to failure, then do more. Walking over to the press or squat rack is difficult sometimes, but I'm getting stronger and my legs are starting to finally show some decent development compared to before.

[WetWorks]

Originally Posted by powerman

Be right back squatting 465 for reps( just 5) hacks with 450 for reps and leg presses to finish with 900 for 10

thats pretty damn good for an old fart

[WetWorks]

Originally Posted by Mr.Nick

Thanks for the encouragement, I guess that's inspiration to up the doses and begin operation infinity weeker.

I think it was more a matter of last year when I did my first cycle I started putting up much more weight than I had ever been capable of before and in short order. That combined with a lack of focus on form and less than adequate warmup, led to a lot of knee pain. I'm still gonna bring the wraps when I do legs cuz if my knees start gettin sore while liftin, I gotta wrap or they'll stay sore for days and not the good kinda sore.

I do think it's kinda weird that my quads don't get sore after blasting the shit outta them. I hit the extensions hard after I get thru the light warmup sets. I go all the way to failure, then do more. Walking over to the press or squat rack is difficult sometimes, but I'm getting stronger and my legs are starting to finally show some decent development compared to before.

my legs don't get sore unless I haven't worked out for a while. I know I've had a good leg workout when I can't walk and I need to go take a nap to so I can heal enough to walk.


your on the right track. just remember form is more important than hurting yourself, cause of your ego. one of the biggest guys I know told me to always leave my ego at the door.

[Mr.Nick]

Originally Posted by WetWorks

my legs don't get sore unless I haven't worked out for a while. I know I've had a good leg workout when I can't walk and I need to go take a nap to so I can heal enough to walk.


your on the right track. just remember form is more important than hurting yourself, cause of your ego. one of the biggest guys I know told me to always leave my ego at the door.

That's true. I've been much more focused on form since I fucked up my back this summer. This last go around happened from deadlifting, but that was just an older injury coming back that happened from shitty form on squats. I'm definitely not gonna make the same mistake again, it's not a pleasant one.

I'm still getting intense workouts in on leg day tho. There's points where I have to fight not puking or passing out, so I know the intensity is there. I just have to try to keep it up when I finish my cycle, that's gonna be the key.

[WetWorks]

Originally Posted by Mr.Nick

That's true. I've been much more focused on form since I fucked up my back this summer. This last go around happened from deadlifting, but that was just an older injury coming back that happened from shitty form on squats. I'm definitely not gonna make the same mistake again, it's not a pleasant one.

I'm still getting intense workouts in on leg day tho. There's points where I have to fight not puking or passing out, so I know the intensity is there. I just have to try to keep it up when I finish my cycle, that's gonna be the key.

you keep it going off cycle as good as on cycle, you have the battle won

[CompBB]

I have been lifting for 20 yrs and nevr wrapped my knees ever till about 2 mos age when I had the most excruating knee pain after doing heavy squats, up till then my knees have always been solid then bam I'm knocked out of leg training for 3 weeks which shot my next NPC show all to shit..So now I'm a firm believer in using wraps, I can go heavier and higher reps on squats and hack squats like never before, my training has improved 100% and my legs are getting thicker and better pumped because of it, so for me its wraps all the time, its working great for me..

[shlders]

[QUOTE=guitaryf;127386]It is a very good post, I appreciate it









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