
RMY MMA Knee Wraps,RMY MMA Knee Sleeves,COMPLETE GUIDE TO KNEE WRAPS
WHAT ARE KNEE WRAPS?
A knee wrap is a long piece of elastic material – usually 80 inches long and 3 inches wide – that is placed on the bottom, top, and across the front of the knee.
You’ll find that knee wraps are similar to the elastic and durable material that is used to make wrist wraps.
The purpose of knee wraps is to support your athletic performance and decrease your risk of injury during heavy lifting movements. Squats are the most common example of an exercise where knee wraps are recommended.
Easy to adjust according to your body type, knee wraps follow a spiral pattern until they are tight and your movement is restricted. The limit in joint motion helps with strength and stability, ensuring you can lift more weight without worrying about falling or getting stuck at the bottom (isometric) portion of the lift.
BENEFITS OF KNEE WRAPS
Knee wraps offer a variety of fitness-focused benefits that can take your performance to the next level while supporting recovery.
Supports Heavy Lifting
The biggest appeal of knee wraps is their ability to help with heavy lifting. The best way to demonstrate the benefit of knee wraps for weightlifting is by taking a look at the squat.
During the eccentric portion of the squat, the knee wrap will tighten. Before you reach the isometric portion of the lift, a giant amount of elastic energy builds, helping you spring upward. It’s this extra boost that allows you to push heavier weights during a training session or meet.
Improves Performance
Continuing with the point above, knee wraps improve your performance in two key ways:
First, elastic energy builds during the lowering phase of an exercise. Once you enter the concentric portion of the lift, that extra energy helps you return to the starting position.
Second, since your knee is tightly wrapped, the range of motion in your joint is limited. You don’t have to worry about overextension. Instead, the limited joint movement supports your strength output.
But here’s the catch for performance and heavy lifting: You must maintain proper form. Some users will report that they feel thrown off by the knee wraps. Almost like they have to fight to get into the proper starting form. This could be an issue of aggressively tight knee wrapping but most likely, it’s the result of having to readjust to performing an exercise like the squat with the knee wraps.
We highly recommend performing lighter sets in the beginning with the knee wraps. Meanwhile, have a spotter check your form. Your spotter can cue you in when your form changes. The result is that you become more comfortable with the knee wraps and you can begin to increase the weight.
Reduces Risk of Injury
Some experts suggest that knee wraps reduce stress on the tendon that connects the quadriceps to the patella. Normally, as you squat, the tendon pulls on the patella. When wearing knee wraps, the tension placed on this tendon is reduced, helping to reduce your risk for a torn muscle or tendon.
The same word of caution applies here as well: You must make sure that you’re performing the squat correctly while wearing the knee wraps.
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