Review of Popular Knee Sleeves

When it comes to weightlifting gear, knee sleeves are a popular item. It's likely you have seen athletes wear them in events and competitions.

Knee sleeves provide warmth in and around the knee joint which promotes local circulation. For an individual with minor injuries. the warmth can alleviate pain and make leg exercises tolerable. In contrast, knee wraps provide compression at the joint and positively affect performance while knee braces offer mechanical support.

So, are knee sleeves necessary? Not entirely - it's up to the lifter. For an individual with no issues, they can engage in exercise perfectly fine. Knee sleeves may offer comfort to an injured or older trainee. However, they aren't a 100% fix and some trainees might find the sleeves don't help as much as they'd like or if at all.

I opted to use knee sleeves after injuring one knee a few years back. These days I can perform squats fine without knee sleeves, but I stick with them for comfort.

That being said, knee sleeves range in a number of factors such as price, brand, and warmth. Depending on preferences, this can make choosing a pair more work than it should be. Therefore, I'll discuss popular knee sleeves I own or have had a chance to use.

The main points I'll be looking at are: material/fit, warmth, and price.

Como/Hookgrip

Having seen several Olympic weightlifters wear these, I purchased a pair in June. I would call these lightweight knee sleeves - adequate warmth, low price, and movement feels most natural with these. The fit is comfortable and as the knees become warm, the sleeves tighten around the leg. They can bunch up but that can be fixed easily.

Como sells single sleeves whereas hookgrip sells them as a pair with the sizing listed on the site. The second difference is the hookgrip logo is sewn on each sleeve - mine eventually came loose and I removed them. Lastly - while it's not a huge issue - be aware that as the bar slides up your thighs there will be a very small bump in movement from the logos.

These are a nice pick for someone who wants minimal support at a low cost.

FIT: Comfortable and tightens as knees warm up in training.

MATERIAL: Stretchy - hookgrip site lists it's a mix of nylon (55%), rubber (35%), and spandex (10%). Can be machine washed.

WARMTH: Adequate and absorbs sweat.

PRICE: For a pair, $12-14.

WHERE TO BUY: Hookgrip store here.

*Update: Here's a brief review I wrote of the newer sleeves from hookgrip:

Here's a follow-up to yesterday on hookgrip's new knee sleeves. I put the new sleeve over my black one to show the change in size (both are medium). You can see the red sleeve is about an inch shorter in height. They didn't line up perfectly because the old one actually molded to the shape of my leg, but it still gives a decent comparison. The fit is definitely tighter. For reference, I'm 5'9” and 185 lbs. If you want a tight feeling but don't want to size down, go with the red sleeves. Side note: The socks are also beyond comfortable. I wish they made them in black. #kranknutley #bestgyminnutley #hookgrip #olympiclifting #snatch #cleanandjerk #crossfit #weightlifting #chineseweightlifting #oly #mcdonalds

A photo posted by Niel Patel (@niel.patel) on Aug 7, 2015 at 11:14am PDT

Tommy Kono (TK)

This was the first pair of knee sleeves I bought. Reviews I read stated they either were better than the Rehbands, or were worse and tended to rip. I've had no issues with them. They're tight and take practice to put on [view this video here for help]. The rubber material on the inside gives a tighter feeling. For bilateral movements they perform okay, but they don't feel comfortable in single leg exercises.

If warmth is what you need, the TK's are it. When I use them my knees become very sweaty. For squats in particular, the perspiration would drip down my legs. This does cause them to shift and move around a bit. As a result, they needed to be adjusted here and there.

Overall, it's a good mid-priced knee sleeve, especially if keeping your knees warm is your main priority.

FIT: Tight and loosens slightly from sweat in training. Takes practice to wear quickly.

MATERIAL: Neoprene on the outside with rubber-like material on the inside. Has to be hand washed.

WARMTH: Very warm! Knees will become very sweaty.

PRICE: For a pair, $39.95 on Tommy Kono website and slightly less on Amazon.

WHERE TO BUY: Tommy Kono website here or Amazon here.

Rehband (Original)

Unlike the other two, I don't own Rehbands. My experience with them has been through Krank. The Krank coach for school athletes is a strongman competitor who uses them. He has used them for a long time with no problems. My more direct experience with Rehbands was when one of the Krank members bought a new pair and let me try them on. I instantly noticed it was comfortable and easy to slide on. It felt like a good mix between the Como/Hookgrip and TK knee sleeves.

Of course, the better quality comes at a higher price. Rehbands are one of the most expensive knee sleeves and are not sold in pairs. Therefore, the cost you see is for a single sleeve and most trainees are looking to purchase two.

If you want quality, long lasting, and see it as an investment, Rehband makes a great choice.

FIT: Comfortable.

MATERIAL: Neoprene inside and out. Can be machine washed.

WARMTH: Warm and absorbs sweat.

PRICE: For one sleeve, $39.95.

WHERE TO BUY: Amazon here.

Earlier I mentioned I started using knee sleeves because I injured a knee. As great and comforting as the knee sleeves were, they never fixed the issue. What did cause significant improvement for my knee was fixing my squat mechanics. Knee sleeves can be a great accessory item in your training, but know that you're moving correctly first.

Remember, knee sleeves can help you but they can't fix you.

Kettlebell Rack Position

Prior to Krank, I used kettlebells about two or three times. When I started interning, once again I was introduced to them. To make it more interesting, I had to learn how to use them immediately if I wanted to teach any kettlebell exercises.

Through some trial-and-error, advice from the coaches, and research, I finally reached a level of being okay. No more forearm bruising and losing the kettlebells out of my hands (which did happen once). I realized they're not all that tricky - knowing a few subtleties helps make adjustments that lead to big improvements.

Enter the rack position.

It's a very common posture in the carries, cleans, squats, and push presses that we program. However, it can be glanced over when the focus is on the dynamic parts of those exercises. This became apparent when one person mentioned their forearm was hurting during single-sided rack carries.

A good kettlebell rack is actually simple to understand.

First and foremost, it begins with the grip. The intuitive thing to do is grab the middle of the handle like a dumbbell. Surprisingly enough, this won't lend itself to the most comfortable grip when cleaning it. Instead, take a hold of it with your thumb near the end of the handle as shown below.

Left: How it's commonly grabbed in the middle

Right: This offset grip will set us up to comfortably clean & rack it

A proper rack will:

• Have your grip in the upper corner of the handle.

• Have the hand inside the shoulder with the thumb close against the chest.

• Be in the bottom of your hand with a straight wrist:

Take note of where the handle rests in the hand

Another thing to keep in mind is to stay tight and compact - keep the armpit closed with very little space between your arm and your body. Done correctly, there won't be enough room for a hand to slip through. This accomplishes two things:

1. It allows your body to support the weight compared to only your arm. In the latter case, the arm  alone has to support the weight against gravity. This unnecessarily strains your arm.
2. Since your entire body is giving support, you're able to handle more weight with ease.

You can check if the kettlebell is in a good position by opening your fingers up. Held correctly, there will be little change in effort. The kettlebell is supported by the corner space between your thumb and index finger and will hardly move.

Even with the hand open, there's little change in how the kettlebell sits

The adjustments described here can lead to a better rack position to reduce discomfort on the working arm as well as move around more weight in your exercises. Play around with the set-up to get a feel for it.

Next time you're using a kettlebell, remember Ice Cube's words of wisdom, "You better rack yourself before you wreck yourself, cause poor movement is bad for your health."

Welcome to Krank

Back in March of this year, I started interning at a strength and conditioning gym in Nutley, New Jersey known as Krank. For me it has been as an opportunity to learn more, gain hands on experience, and interact with a variety of individuals.

In my initial weeks, I would shadow classes and talk with members before or after class. Throughout the conversations, I'd usually pick up on something. Topics would cover things such as occupations, day-to-day ongoings, pains & injuries, performing an exercise, you name it. A lot of times, there would be similar information overlapping between people. Combine this with everything I would be taught by the coaching staff, I thought I could take a more proactive role through this site.

This site will allow me to share information and help everyone at the gym, as well as current clients and readers. Not only that but when I need to look something up, I actually revisit a lot of what I write. It's a win-win for everyone. I'll be writing similarly to how I have been and keep in line with the theme of exercise.

The regular posts will still be part of this site. The only change now is I'll feature something geared more towards the Krank members that can benefit everyone.

Enjoy the content and welcome to Krank.