Knee sleeves are a useful accessory for lifters looking to improve blood flow and reduce possible joint pain during training. From powerlifters to Weightlifters and CrossFitters, Knee sleeves can help aid all types of lifters during many lifts, especially squats. While knee sleeves can’t guarantee injury prevention, they do lead to improved awareness of where your knees are in relation to your hips and toes.

Why Knee Sleeves?

Knee sleeves are used for a couple of reasons. The first and most common is to keep your knees and joints warm. Any thickness of knee sleeve can be used if the goal is joint warmth. From cloth to neoprene, both are effective in providing joint warmth.

Others will use knee sleeves to help aid in compression at the bottom of a squat. This is only achieved with very snug knee sleeves, and neoprene (which are covered more extensively below) is recommended because the thickness will give compression at the bottom of the squat.

knee sleeves provide an extra layer of support that allows many lifters to feel confident when approaching a lift.

Do you need knee sleeves?

If you’re brand new to lifting you can probably wait a bit to wear knee sleeves while you learn proper technique with lighter weights. Knee sleeves are not meant to be used in place of a brace and do not take precedent over form and technique. Once you have experience and start training more seriously, knee sleeves will be a great aid in your training.

Cloth Knee Sleeves

Cloth knee sleeves are normally thinner and just used to keep your knees warm and increase blood flow.These will give you no help at the bottom of a squat.

Neoprene Knee sleeves

These are the most commonly worn knee sleeves. They normally come in 3-5-7-9mm depending on the level of thickness you want. These will give a slight help at the bottom of a squat if sized correctly and are tight enough. These knee sleeves are made to last throughout long workouts and hard training sessions.

Knee Wraps

Knee wraps are for advanced lifters and take experience and technique to use correctly. These greatly aid in lifts because they create artificial tension at the bottom of a squat that will help you be able to lift more weight. We don't recommend using knee wraps unless you know exactly what you are doing and are a high level lifter.

The most common question around knee sleeves is how to get the right size.

With knee sleeves you want to avoid loose or bagging fitting, as it will not provide the right support or warmth to your knees, but also do not go too tight as it will inhibit proper blood flow and feel uncomfortable. There is a goldilocks ratio of a perfectly snug knee sleeve. The sleeve is snug, comfortable and makes you feel confident while wearing it.

Our sizing chart looks at the circumference (in inches) of your calf to help you find the most accurate size.

*To accurately measure your calf we recommend taking a measuring tape around the widest part of your calf while you are standing up.

Once you've gotten yourself a pair of knee sleeves it is important to take proper care and maintenance of them to get the most out of your knee sleeves.

The number one complaint about knee sleeves is the smell after repeated use since they hold moisture. It’s a running joke in most gyms that knee sleeves smell. We would recommend spraying your knee sleeves down with a deodorizing spray after every workout, and leaving them outside of your workout bag to dry. Every couple weeks or so, soak them in hot soapy water and let them air dry in the sun. This will help reduce bacteria and unwanted smells when using knee sleeves.