Knee sleeves are used by people in every exercise. From bodybuilders and powerlifters to cross-fitters you will see people wearing these almost everywhere. Typically, made from neoprene, they keep the knees warm. Some people use them for squatting, as well.

1. What Are Knee Wraps? Its Uses,
Pros and Cons

3. The final, decision-making, battle of knee wraps
vs knee sleeves. Ready to find out who takes the
win.Knee wraps and Knee sleeves, aren’t they
the same thing and serve the same purpose?No,
and no. It might be surprising to hear but both
pieces of equipment serve a unique purpose
and have unique perks and drawbacks.

4. What Are Knee Wraps?

5. Knee wraps are worn for the purpose of knee
protection and are usually worn by competitive
bodybuilders and powerlifters (powerlifting
knee wraps). Made of elastic, similar to the one,
used to make wrist wraps, they are intended to
be wrapped around the knee in a diagonal or
spiral way to get knee support for squats.

6. Why Use Knee Wraps?
Knee wraps help you add more weights when
doing weighted squats as they let a lifter conserve
energy when going down during a squat. The
energy, being elastic in nature, lets a person get up
from the bottom of a squat. Besides, knee wraps
have been proven to decrease the pressure exerted
on the quadriceps tendon while heavy lifting. So, if
you use knee wraps for weight lifting, your quads
will stay attached to your knee during max effort
squats.

8. Pros and Cons of Knee Wraps
Pros:
• Knee wraps allow the storage of elastic energy
and let you lift heavier weights, thus, adding 15-
30% to your lifts.
• They reduce stress exerted on the quadriceps
tendon, which links to the patella and quadriceps.
Your tendons pull the patella when you squat
down. So, decreasing the tension on the tendon
assists in decreasing the chances of tearing the
quads while lifting heavy weight.

9. It is a mandatory piece of equipment used by
powerlifters taking part in an equipped division
to prevent any injury. As a matter of fact, knee
wraps alter the horizontal movement of lifters,
which changes the targeted muscles.

10. Cons:
• You can not use knee wraps for every exercise,
they are only used for a few specific exercises.
• While they help lift more weight, they don’t
help the lifter to get stronger because they are
restrictive in nature, and they increase the
friction between the cartilage and patella of
the knee cap.

11. According to a 2012 study published in the
Journal of Strength and Conditioning
Research (1), the decrease in horizontal
movement changes the lifters’ technique and
the muscles targeted, and it also, at the same
time, increases friction in the knee joint.

12. The Differences Between Knee Wraps
vs Knee Sleeves:
Knee wraps are wrapped so tightly around the
knee that it limits the knee from moving freely
in the absence of the loaded weight. It provides
stability to the knee and helps in lifting more
weight.On the other hand sleeves, hug the
knees snugly and are tight, but they still allow
you to bend your knee freely. Most people wear
their knee sleeves as tight as they can to gain
maximum stability and warmth, but they can
never be as tight as knee wraps.