For anybody lifting heavy at the gym, you might need extra knee support for heavy leg workouts.
Whether you need the support to lift a few extra pounds or prevent injury, we are looking at knee sleeves vs knee wraps to help you find the support that suits your training.
There are a few key differences between the two supports and as a result, they are often used for different purposes. So let us get to it.
What Are Knee Sleeves?
Knee sleeves are special accessories used in lifting designed to provide the knee with additional support, warmth, and compression.
These sleeves are generally made of something like neoprene, as they are very durable, flexible, and elastic.
The elasticity allows knee sleeves to provide the knees with plenty of compression and support during various knee exercises.
Knee sleeves can come in various thicknesses, with the thinnest of sleeves being about 3mm. These are usually just used to keep your knees warm in between sets.
However, some sleeves go up to 7mm thick and provide much more compression and support during exercises.
What is interesting to note is that although knee sleeves are approved in powerlifting divisions around the world, some federations only allow specific brands with exact specifications to be used.
For example, if you are competing under the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF), the sleeves must come from approved manufacturers and must be a maximum of 7mm thick and 30cm long.
Now that we know what knee sleeves are, let's find out what their biggest benefits are.
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The Benefits of Using Knee Sleeves
The fact is that knee sleeves come with many benefits for your knees while lifting heavy, so let's take a closer look at them right now.
Better Stability
One of the biggest benefits of using knee sleeves is that they improve your overall stability, especially concerning the knee joint. The more stable your knee is, the more you'll be able to lift.
The compressing and stretching of a knee sleeve can help you lift up to 50 lbs more, depending on the exact knee sleeve you use and how you use it.
They can literally help you lift more weight.
Preventing Injuries
One of the main reasons why so many lifters use knee sleeves is because they can help prevent injuries from occurring.
Thanks to the high amount of compression and support that they provide, they stabilize the knee joint and keep it in place. This means that there is a lower chance of an injury occurring.
At the same time, the knee sleeve also keeps your knee joint warm, which in turn increases blood flow, Something that not only reduces pains and aches, but can also help prevent injuries from occurring.
Versatile
If we're talking about comparing knee sleeves to wraps specifically, knee sleeves are very versatile.
When it comes down to it, you can use a knee sleeve for virtually any exercise that involves extending the knees and flexing them, whether this be a leg press, leg extension, squat, lunge, or anything in between.
Easy To Use
On that note, knee sleeves are also very user-friendly. All you have to do is slip them on your foot, slide them up your leg, and position them over your knee. It really doesn't get much easier than that.
Cons of Knee Sleeves
Just like knee sleeves have their benefits, they do also have a couple of minor drawbacks that need to be mentioned.
Limited Compression and Support
Although these sleeves do provide support and compression, these are somewhat limited when compared to knee wraps.
If you need as much support and compression as possible for extremely heavy lifts, then knee sleeves may not be your best choice.
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Who Knee Sleeves Are Best For
Now what you might be wondering is who should actually use a knee sleeve.
One person who should use a knee sleeve is anyone who wants to improve their squat. If you need a bit of compression and support for your knees, a knee sleeve can add up to 50 lbs to your squat.
If you have past knee injuries or have a high risk of developing a knee injury due to an intense training regimen, using a knee sleeve is a good idea.
Furthermore, if you just have minor injuries, such as pains or aches, then the warmth factor of knee sleeves can also be of an advantage.
Moreover, most powerlifters who compete in powerlifting should use knee sleeves to allow for a greater competitive advantage.
What Are Knee Wraps?
We then have knee wraps, which are long and stretchy wraps that are designed to wrap tightly around the knees.
Unlike knee sleeves which form a tube that you can just slide up your legs, knee wraps are one long piece of elastic fabric, which can differ in length.
Longer wraps generally provide more compression and support but are also difficult to wrap.
The tighter you wrap a knee wrap around your knee, the more compression it will provide you with.
Although knee wraps aren't allowed in raw powerlifting divisions, they are often used in equipped powerlifting divisions.
Now that we know what knee wraps are, let's take a closer look at some of their biggest benefits.
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Maximum Compression
Without a doubt, the biggest benefit of using knee wraps is that they provide you with a great amount of compression if wrapped correctly.
They provide you with much more compression than knee sleeves. This is mainly because you can choose how tight the knee wraps around your knee.
The tighter you wrap the knee wraps, the more compression they will produce for you.
On that note, they're also very versatile in this sense, because you can also wrap them looser, which provides less compression.
Better Support
Something else worth considering with knee wraps is that they generally provide better support than the sleeves.
This really comes down to the same thing as above, which is that with me wraps, you can choose how tight to wrap them.
The tighter you wrap them, the more support they provide you with, therefore adding extra levels of safety for your lifts.
Stronger Lifts
The massive amount of compression and support provided by knee wraps can help you with a lot more weight than you would otherwise be able to.
If properly used, knee wraps may add up to 70 lbs to your squat.
Cons of Knee Wraps
Although knee wraps are useful for a variety of reasons, they do also have some drawbacks that need to be mentioned.
Uncomfortable
Knee wraps can be very uncomfortable. You have to wrap them very tightly, and this can cut off circulation in your leg and dig into your skin.
Generally speaking, this means having to put them on and take them off after each set which can be time-consuming.
Not User Friendly
Something else worth noting is that knee wraps can be very difficult to use. More often than not, the best way to get them on your knees is by having someone else do it, and that's certainly not very convenient.
Limited Mobility
The other drawback of knee wraps is that they limit the mobility in your knee. This can make it difficult to perform a variety of exercises that require you to bend the knee to a high degree.
Who Knee Wraps Are Best For
In terms of knee wraps, the only people that should really be using them are athletes that require maximum compression and support for very heavy lifts.
In other words, if you're a competitive strength athlete, then knee wraps are for you.
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Main Differences Between Knee Sleeves and Knee Wraps
Before we call it a day, let's just take a quick look at the main differences between knee sleeves and knee wraps, so you can make an informed decision.
- Knee sleeves are much more versatile in terms of what they can be used for due to their flexibility. They're ideal for virtually every type of leg exercise, whereas knee wraps are not.
- With knee wraps, you have extremely limited mobility, whereas with knee sleeves, you have more mobility.
- Knee wraps are more versatile in terms of being able to adjust the level of support and compression they provide. This means that you can adjust them based on the exercise you are doing.
- Knee wraps also tend to be much more durable than knee sleeves, as they're made out of tougher material. Knee sleeves are soft and tend to stretch out over time. On the other hand, knee sleeves are far more comfortable than knee wraps.
- The biggest difference of all is that knee wraps provide much more support and compression for your knees than knee sleeves.
Rounding Up
When all has been said and done, both knee wraps and knee sleeves serve their specific purposes.
If you're somebody who just needs a bit of support, compression, and warmth, then knee sleeves should be enough.
However, if you need maximum support and compression for those really heavy lifts, then you need wraps.
