*** The 2015 Gym Rats Thread ***

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Dreamforger

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I'm curious as to if anyone here has ever used knee wraps for raw lifting. I have been considering getting a pair for various reason recently; the first reason being is that when I have a lot of work on I become quite inactive for a while and my knees ache a little bit on the first, sometimes second, session back even though I have lovely sleeves to keep them warm to try and negate this. I would have thought that the extra compression of the wraps could be useful for stabilisation on the work sets. In this instance I also would not be increasing percentage I would be lifting and I would not wrap them 'powerlifting' style either (to the extent where it can actually damage your knees over a period of time). I would also like to point out that the use of knee wraps would not be to 'fix' the pain either, mainly because I'm not dealing with a knee injury, structural, or muscle imbalance problems, but instead as a way to overcome it for that single session and the rest of the time I would just continue with my trusty knee sleeves.

My second reason for considering to get a pair of knee wraps would be as a way to overload the the squat on the odd occasion throughout a training cycle in a similar way a slingshot can be used to overload the bench. It could also be quite fun and a confidence booster.
Any thoughts on this?
 

mrthingyx

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Depends what your objectives are...

Powerlifting? Then sure thing - why not (for the overload principle)?

For a dynamic sport, probably not as muscular activity needs to be in proportion (over-developed hamstrings or quads = knee problems).

If you are trying to guard your knees from injury, you may want to phase your training so you "do other things" to ensure balance... Like deficit Bulgarian split squats. ;)

Your knees may hurt for a reason, and wrapping up may just hide a problem (same way belts can).
 

Dreamforger

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mrthingyx said:
Depends what your objectives are...

Powerlifting? Then sure thing - why not (for the overload principle)?

For a dynamic sport, probably not as muscular activity needs to be in proportion (over-developed hamstrings or quads = knee problems).

If you are trying to guard your knees from injury, you may want to phase your training so you "do other things" to ensure balance... Like deficit Bulgarian split squats. ;)

Your knees may hurt for a reason, and wrapping up may just hide a problem (same way belts can).
Click to expand...

Powerlifting is always an objective.

I wouldn't use them to guard from injury as I know that if there is a problem then it should be addressed rather than hidden by using equipment. This kind of contradicts my point saying that my knees ache a little bit after a week of being inactive due to work, but within a week of inactiveness I'd be amazed if my legs went from being balanced to imbalanced. But from the perspective of only having them for the odd session (usually immediately after being inactive) I shouldn't need them for that purpose until the next time I'm off and sat at a desk for goodness how many hours a day over a week or so.

So what it comes down to is, would they be worth considering a way to overload the squat. As well as to help alleviate a bit of knee pain every once in a while to help me get through my squats but obviously if there is a problem it will be addressed by whatever methods are necessary (mobility, addressing imbalances should there be any etc) and wouldn't be used consistently.
 

mrthingyx

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In my opinion (massive caveat) there are better ways to 'overload' the squat, such as:

- dead squatting (starting from pins)
- paused squatting
- heavy partials
- deficit Bulgarian split squats (stop being such a Jessie and programme them in!)
- trap bar deadlift (technique dependent)
- step ups...

It is harder to "overload" the squat without moving to unilateral movements (step ups, as an example) because it is such a complex movement; bench is comparatively simple...

Generally, one would overload the legs (hence the unilateral work)... But if you have an itch you want to scratch (using wraps) then do it. I do not think they would add anything to your training you cannot get elsewhere, but if you want to do it then go for it. :)
 

Dreamforger

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mrthingyx said:
In my opinion (massive caveat) there are better ways to 'overload' the squat, such as:

- dead squatting (starting from pins)
- paused squatting
- heavy partials
- deficit Bulgarian split squats (stop being such a Jessie and programme them in!)
- trap bar deadlift (technique dependent)
- step ups...

It is harder to "overload" the squat without moving to unilateral movements (step ups, as an example) because it is such a complex movement; bench is comparatively simple...

Generally, one would overload the legs (hence the unilateral work)... But if you have an itch you want to scratch (using wraps) then do it. I do not think they would add anything to your training you cannot get elsewhere, but if you want to do it then go for it. :)
Click to expand...
I wouldn't quite say it was an itch needing to be scratched, just a thought that had crossed my mind. And I do DBSS already :o I just forget to post them :roll eyes: I do like the idea of dead squats or Anderson Squats I think they're called between powerlifters (I could be wrong). I definitely need to get more consistent with the DBSS though as at the moment it's more whenever I remember.
 

mrthingyx

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You forget to log the DBSS, yet your logs are some of the most detailed-looking on here?

It is a bit like me forgetting to log my daily max attempts for snatch... I topped out at 145kg this morning but forgot to log it. And video it. ;) :D
 

FrenchTart

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Noob question. I cricked my neck on Monday whilst stupidly not paying attention during DB OHP. Still painful today to the point of interrupting sleep and making doing most weights stuff not possible. I presume it's just a case of riding it out but is there anything I can do to help with the symptoms or ease the "tightness" at all?

edit: Super vague description ftw. Using my terrible knowledge of anatomy and some diagrams on ye olde internet the pain is roughly in the upper third of here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapezius_muscle. I get it mildy when turning my head left to right and back and more strongly when looking up and down. Rolling my neck is pretty intensely painful.
 
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tom_e

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FrenchTart said:
Noob question. I cricked my neck on Monday whilst stupidly not paying attention during DB OHP. Still painful today to the point of interrupting sleep and making doing most weights stuff not possible. I presume it's just a case of riding it out but is there anything I can do to help with the symptoms or ease the "tightness" at all?

edit: Super vague description ftw. Using my terrible knowledge of anatomy and some diagrams on ye olde internet the pain is roughly in the upper third of here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapezius_muscle. I get it mildy when turning my head left to right and back and more strongly when looking up and down. Rolling my neck is pretty intensely painful.
Click to expand...

Rest it, not a great deal else you can do for something like that.
 
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