There you are, stuck on the couch and you can’t even get up without your knees hurting. You can’t bend down, walk, or even lift a leg without feeling some sort of pain. That’s what it would feel like if you experience a serious Knee injury.
Don’t think it could ever happen to you?
A serious knee injury can crop up out of nowhere, especially if you are an active person who enjoys doing things with lots of movement. Just think about it.
Whether you’re a runner or an extreme fitness enthusiast, your body has to go through lots of motions for you to complete these types of exercises.
If you engage in any exercise with poor form, you run the risk of hurting your joints. Out of all the parts in your lower body – your knees are taking the brunt of the impact.
Take a minute and think about it.
The knee is a stable joint designed to bend in only two directions. But it is located between two mobile joints – your hips and your feet – that have a wider range of motion. Anytime your form isn’t utilizing the hip or feet in an optimal way, your knees are the ones to pay for it.
Even if you have perfect form, accidents happen where you can land from a lateral jump in the wrong way just one time and BAM! You twist a knee.
Injuries like those can take a lot of time to heal – taking you out of training for weeks at a time. Of all the areas of your body you should be most concerned about when it comes to exercising, your knees should be one of the top considerations.
Luckily there are workout sleeves available designed to do just that – protect your knees! With all the training I’ve done and watched others go through, I’ve ran through the gauntlet of knee protection.
From the cheap-o depot products to the top of the line, I’ve used tons of knee sleeves and want to share which ones work the best so you don’t have to waste your time.
Imagine thick bulky ones, which limit your range of motion. Who wants that? Or thin knee sleeves which don’t really do anything to Support your joints – total waste of money. You can skip trying all the ones that don’t work because I’ve picked out my top 3 favorites and will tell you all about them.
But first, let’s take a look at how a good pair of sleeves can improve your performance and protect your joints.
Do Knee Wraps Really Impact your Weight Lifting Performance?
You might be wondering why I’m qualified to even talk about the best fitness products? Well, let me tell you. I was a wrestler and played football all throughout my adolescence. I won state championships and was invited to wrestle at the collegiate level.
But by then, my joints had already paid a toll and I wanted to focus on my studies instead. So I racked up 90K in college debt and needed a way to pay off those student loans.
So what did I do?
I joined the Army. That’s right, I shipped myself off to basic training and spent my 30th birthday getting yelled at by drill sergeants who were many years my junior.
The amount of running and working out required to get through basic was tough on my joints, especially my knees. I reached a point where I couldn’t even touch them without feeling pain. If I went to the doctor for a knee injury, I would’ve gotten kicked out.
The only thing that got me through?
You guessed it. Knee sleeves.
I was desperately having family ship out sleeves to me in an effort to stabilize my joints so I could keep training on them. Without the added support, I never would have made it through.
My experience is an extreme one where I didn’t feel like I could get help without losing out on a lot of things that were important to me.
Luckily for you, it’s what drove me to go through so many types of products to find the ones that worked. The joint protectors I recommend have been tested through rigorous workouts by myself and others. I am confident they all offer exceptional support and help prevent injury.
There were times when I was already hurt and the only way I could walk was with knee protection that stabilized the joint and let it move only in the proper motions without straining and worsening my condition.
I’ve trained alongside many fellow Army men and women and seen a wide range of athletic injuries. My recommendations have helped a lot of people to continue weight training and engage in other forms of extreme exercise.
I’m confident they are the best and will work for you too.
Some people, especially when they are younger, heal quickly and don’t think they need protection. But any time you have hard impact on your joints, your knees are the most affected.
In fact, knee surgery is one of the most common types of joint surgeries – and it’s no wonder since they support almost all of the weight in the human body.
Now that you know how important protecting these particular joints is for ensuring full fluid motion in your body – let’s look at the best products available for purchase.
Here's my Personal Review on What I Think are the Best Knee Sleeves for Fitness
The best sleeves to protect your knees all share the same things in common. They offer enough support to keep your joints from engaging in motions that are unnatural, thereby preventing injuries.
Here are the top 3 best products on the market:
#1: Emerge Compression Support Knee Sleeve
Which brings me to my top recommendation for the best compression sleeve available for you to buy! These sleeves by Emerge offer the ultimate joint protection and support without compromising the fluidity of your movements.
You’ll notice as soon as you put them on how much of a difference they make. Not only will they help stabilize your precious joints, they’re optimized for thermal warmth to keep blood flow going strong.
The materials these are made out of are also designed for sweat absorption so you won’t have to deal with funky odors. The fit is impressive and comfortable, free from rubbing or pinching while you’re working out.
Whether you’re looking to prevent injury or heal an existing strain – these will work as an all-in-one solution. They’re also affordable and have worked for me personally as well as a bunch of my Army colleagues who have had to deal with patella issues.
Here’s how to get the right ones so you can experience the difference for yourself.
#2: Rehband RX 3MM – Froning Series
Rehband makes a thinner version of a knee sleeve but don’t let that fool you. These knee sleeves offer plenty of support and are best for preventing injuries. The 3mm thickness also allows for full range of motion without feeling bulky.
With a moderate amount of compression, these are well suited for fitness enthusiasts who engage in motion heavy activity.
The design is attractive and simple, offering more support to help you prevent injuries.
But if you are already hurt, you’ll need something with more support to get you rehabbed and healed. So while this is a great option – it’s not the most versatile.
#3: Rehband 7790 Strongman
This sleeve offers the ultimate support and stabilization to protect your knee. It comes with adjustable straps so you can customize the amount of compression to your personal preference.
The heavy duty material makes it durable and able to stand up to heavy wear and tear – so if you workout a lot and are looking for a lot of support, choose this one.
Some people may find this particular sleeve offers too much support and gets in the way of your natural movement. But if you are struggling with some pain already, I would highly recommend it.
It’s sure to last for a long time and you’ll have no need to replace it. Specifically designed to give you maximum support and help you heal an injury, it’s made from the very best material and sold as a single sleeve.
For that reason, it’s a bit pricy – making it my #3 recommendation.
Ready to try this Protective Gear for Yourself? Here's the Best Place to Buy Without Getting Rippedd Off.
If you’ve already experienced a serious injury and are looking for the maximum amount of support available, go with the Rehband 7790 Strongman compression sleeve.
It runs a bit on the expensive side at $69.99 for a single one but will definitely get you back up and running as quick as possible.
If you’re into high motion fitness activities and are looking for something a bit lighter that interferes the least with your movements – get the Rehband RX 3mm for a simple compression sleeve to help you prevent injuries.
But if you want the best product to help stabilize and support your knee, whether you’re preventing or healing an injury, then you definitely need to get the compression sleeves by Emerge for $34.97. Trust me, you won’t regret it and you won’t have to get multiple sleeves for different reasons because they are great for everything.
Right now you have several options:
1. Keep working out without any preventative gear and hope you never have to deal with an injury.
2. Go through a bunch of different compression sleeves and waste a bunch of time and money looking for the ones that work.
Or 3. Choose one of these top products and start seeing how they can change the way you work out now!
