The heaviest I go squatting is 405 for a few reps... I have a huge ass and legs so I never even bother to go past that and make more gains I just work legs to work them I guess. But even at that weight should I be using knee wraps?
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The heaviest I go squatting is 405 for a few reps... I have a huge ass and legs so I never even bother to go past that and make more gains I just work legs to work them I guess. But even at that weight should I be using knee wraps?
How do your knees feel at that weight? I squat about 325 and I feel good with 0 pain. I would think you'd want to wrap only if you are starting to feel pain or maybe doing a 1RM. Not a pro though.
Personally, I don't want to start relying on something to aid. I don't like the idea of wrist strap or lifting gloves. I don't ever plan on competing so I'd never buy a bench shirt or any of that other stuff. I like to strengthen what is weak on me by doing the lift natural.
Just my thoughts on it, others who are more advanced in their lifts than you may have a different opinion though. 400+ would be a good goal for me at the moment.
Not really getting any pain but was thinking maybe I should do it as a safety measure.
don't use wraps as a crutch. the safest thing you can do is to warm up and use proper form. my knees are shot, so i just leg pressQuote:
Originally Posted by yeahbuddy289
me too, knees are shot. good advice on the wraps, that's probably what screwed up my knees.Quote:
Originally Posted by Times Roman
never use anything on your knees unless its for warmup purposes, any more support than knee sleeves is not needed.
if you intend to break a world record in powerlifting then i guess you have to. but from a health point of view there is nothing supporting the use of wraps. your knee is either strong enough for the lift or not - dont mess with fake security from wraps because it will mess you up real bad
I use knee sleeves only. My knees are shot as well. But then again I never go past 305 for reps. I feel like I have no reason to. Just learning to increase my reps.
Personally I wouldn't be doing squats reps any lower than 6 as I think you're setting yourself up for injury. About the heaviest I go is 365 lbs. (slightly below parallel)...this is the heaviest I typically go because I normally can only eek out 6-8 reps. Now if I was able to do 405 lbs. for 6 reps then I would step up in weight. Note: I don't use knee wraps or sleeves and about 2 years ago I have my miniscus scoped (wakeboarding accident).
I always thought it was a good precaution to use them. Just starting to get my legs back and haven't used them again. I thought it added more support. I had always seen a lot of vets in the gym wrapping their knees, when I asked them, (many years ago) they replied for extra support.
i've had two acl reconstructions (one each knee... ;-)) and a repaired hip labral tear.
no more squats for me. leg press only, with sleeves to help keep warm and maintain some modest compression. i press slow and steady anywhere from 800-1200 lbs for 4-8 reps depending on the press. i need to stay away from leg extensions too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beethoven
BS. It simply allows them to handle more weight. Be careful with wraps. Had mine wrapped for opening attempts prior to a power meet years ago and they were so tight they broke veins in my gastroc causing internal bleeding. Put me in the hospital for 3 days. Never again. Only neoprene to keep them warm.
I don't use them any more and I feel like my knees (which are pretty beat up) and associated stabilizers are stronger as a result. The guys in the powerlifting section will probably have a different take on the subject.
Only you can answer this question because the answer would be different for every body. At my age(40) and my body's wear and tear I use knee wraps when I go above 275 on squats and above 600 on leg press, I do this for a safety precaution and don't ever try to rep as much as I can.
I see the best results when I do 225 for lots of reps (15+). Why I go heavy (305 is heavy as hell for me), I have no clue. I don't need massively huge legs and could care less for them. I have knee pain now and I hope it's nothing bad. Back to 225 for me, I don't want to have destroyed knees when I'm 40+