Bodybuilding with Knee Sleeves or Wraps

I Initially started competing as a powerlifter when I was 16 years old and knee wraps were of course a staple because we could lift more weight with them. I didn’t train with them always, but practice was needed so it wasn’t a shocker to put them on for competition day. Typically, I could get another 50lbs out of my squat with just knee wraps alone.

When I made the transition to bodybuilding I never used wraps as it just didn’t make sense to me. The wrap itself is what created more force production not the muscle. But you still had all the same joint and connective tissue loading from being able to lift more. It seemed higher risk to me. Also, range of motion and movement patterns were harder to control with knee wraps on. But I did opt for knee sleeves for a stent of time. I notice a perceived stability, but without any added advantage in lifting heavier. I just lift without anything now, as I just didn’t see a need personally to use a sleeve or wrap.

I think it’s important to remember what our main focus should be in training for hypertrophy within a lift. The main mechanism of hypertrophy is mechanical tension within a muscle. This is not the same as lifting the largest external load possible, you need that tension to be at the fiber level. What I mean by this is if you wear a knee wrap, the wrap is generating force to lift more weight, the muscle fiber is not. Now, if you do lift a heavier load with a wrap and that set is taken close to the same failure point, it is likely the fibers will get the close to the same tension exposure. But the risk of needing a heavier external load for the same internal stimulus is really the opposite of what our goal is for bodybuilding and the risk jumps even higher.

I know the argument is about knee safety for many. Which there is a compression of the knee with a wrap and decreased perception of pain. I would really say if you are trying to work through pain and using a wrap as a band aid, this is going to lead to some major issues. For hypertrophy ditch the lift that is killing your knees. Then ditch the low rep work. We know hypertrophy can occur in a variety of rep ranges as long as the sets are close or at failure. So, hit some 20-25 reps on the leg press and progress the lift up in the higher rep ranges.

Just to toss a little bit of evidence around so I am not talking too anecdotally. Sinclair et al, compared squat kinetics with knee wraps, sleeves or no sleeves lifting 70% of their 1 RM for 5 reps (easy lifting FYI). The main finding was muscle forces (quads and glutes) were lower in the knee wrap condition verse the sleeves and no wraps. Both sleeves and wraps had the same perception of knee stability, but sleeves increased squatting comfort while wraps decreased it. Less muscle force is not good when hypertrophy is the goal.
End of the day training hard is going to get you a very long way to your goal and knee sleeves or wraps aren’t going to be the game changer. But it’s not fun if we don’t talk about some nuance in the getting swole game.

Train hard!

John Jewett MS, RD, IFBB Pro

Reference

1. Sinclair J, Mann J, Weston G, Poulsen N, Edmundson CJ, Bentley I, Stone M. Acute effects of knee wraps/sleeve on kinetics, kinematics and muscle forces during the barbell back squat. Sport Sciences for Health. 2019 Nov 19:1-1.