Workout accessories were created to make our lives easier, but following our nature to scrutinize everything, accessories like Knee Sleeves are always subject to debate as their importance remains unclear to some.

Perhaps you believe that Knee sleeves are cheat codes for squats, or you’re on the extreme opposite end, convinced that knee wraps just don’t cut it for squats, or maybe knee sleeves are useless. While we explore this debate, it becomes clear that knee sleeves are actually important. In fact, we found that squats are better and safer with knee sleeves.

Before you pick a side, we discovered these incredible 7mm knee sleeves that are crafted to improve the quality of your squats and are specially designed by Olympic athletes for champions like you. Now, are you ready to learn more about knee sleeves?

What are knee sleeves, anyway?

Knee sleeves are tube-like fitness accessories that act as compression sleeves to be worn on the knees and are designed with strong materials (neoprene) to provide support and stability for the knee joint. They vary in thickness and could range from 3–7 mm, depending on the degree of rigidity you desire from them. Knee sleeves could also be confused with knee wraps, which are less versatile than the former, owing to the fact that wraps are typically used for heavier lifting since they offer way more rigidity than knee sleeves.

What Are the Benefits of Knee Sleeves in Squats?

Squats take a heavy toll on your knee joints, like most other workouts, so leaving your knees vulnerable to such stress is just a recipe for disaster. Otherwise, you can choose safety and go with knee sleeves, which were primarily designed for the purpose of reducing the risk of injury to your knee joint. Here are some benefits of squatting with knee sleeves:

Support, Stability and Reduced risk of injury

Crafted from the strongest and most elastic materials, knee sleeves support your knee joint by limiting the movement of your knee cap (patella) as it anchors the joint, stabilizing it against excessive movement without limiting your squats. This then makes it easier for you to have a more focused lifting experience as you squat without being worried about unnecessary lateral movements in your knee.
Consequently, a stabilized knee means that your ligaments, tendons, patella, and other joints of your knee joint won’t easily slide out of place, therefore reducing the risk of injury from twisting and sudden lateral shifts.

Decreased pain

While you squat, you might experience some pain in your knees, no matter how little, and if you’re blessed with grandma knees, your pain situation is on a whole different level. With such pain, the chances that you successfully complete your squats and achieve your goals are much lower than you think.

Owing to their compressive mechanism of action, knee sleeves increase blood flow to the knee joint and bring about warmth because of their heat retaining capacity. These two functions alleviate joint pain in the knee, as increased circulation could relieve pain resulting from decreased blood flow, while warmth tackles the issue of having exacerbated pain from colder temperatures.

Improved recovery and enhanced performance

To reduce the frequency of getting sore knees after squats, you should definitely incorporate knee sleeves, as their compressive functions on your knee joint shorten your recovery time by reducing the accumulation of toxic metabolites such as lactic acid. This study also suggests that compression reduces muscle soreness during recovery and, therefore, enhances performance during exercise.

Boosted confidence

You know how reassuring it is to know you’ve got something to lean on? That’s a perk that comes with using knee sleeves while you squat. This could be due to the fact that knee sleeves increase your sense of proprioception, meaning you’re more aware of your body’s position in space; hence, you have better joint control. Knowing that your sleeves will enhance your squats, you’ll be psychologically comforted and dare to exceed your own expectations.

Do you need knee sleeves for squats?

Despite the various functions they serve, knee sleeves are mostly protective and supportive in nature, meaning that they only supplement your efforts and keep your knees aligned. Surely, there’s enhanced performance in your squats, but not one that can be achieved without putting in the required effort to perform well. In fact, research showed that there was no significant improvement in vertical jump height, barbell squat power and velocity, one-leg extension strength, or load volume handling capacity using knee sleeves, although there was ​​enhanced maximal barbell squat strength.

When should you squat with knee sleeves?

They’re great additions to your gym bag, but you don’t need them for every workout. However, if you’re dealing with a knee injury or chronic knee pain, you could benefit from the healing effects of the compression provided by the sleeves [you’re advised to seek medical help, regardless]. Also, you can do lighter reps without the sleeves, but for heavier lifting, you should definitely use them, as the more weights you carry, the more stress you expose your knees to.

Conclusion

You’ve heard it from us, knee sleeves are great accessories to squat with, and they provide a myriad of benefits such as support and stability, reduced pain, boosted confidence, and faster recovery. Certainly, your squat performance might be enhanced while you use them, but they don’t take them from 20 to 80- meaning you still have to put in the hard work. You shouldn’t use your knee sleeves for every squat, but heavier routines would require more safety and support for your knees.

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