KNEE SLEEVES: The Complete Guide and the BEST Way to Put Them On (Lifting Gear Series)

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Sometimes your knees need some lovin’, so we’re going to cover everything you wanted to know about knee sleeves - what they are, why you might want to wear them, where to purchase them, and more. We’ll provide a few solid knee sleeve recommendations, and perhaps most importantly, we’ll cover two easy and quick ways to put on your knee sleeves.

This is the third article in our “Lifting Gear” series, so be sure to check back in the coming weeks for future articles in the series. Click below to read the previous articles in the series:

Dave and Rich are both jealous of geneva’s knee sleeves.

What is a Knee Sleeve?
Let’s not complicate this - a knee sleeve is simply a sleeve that goes on your knee. Knee sleeves are usually made out of neoprene, and the most common thicknesses are either 5 mm or 7 mm.

Why Would You Want to Wear Knee Sleeves?
You want to wear knee sleeves if your knees have the very specific, medical condition known as “cranky knees.” In other words, if your knees are a bit achy when you train, you’ll probably appreciate wearing sleeves. Bear in mind that if your knees are bothersome, there may be some technical and/or programming issues to consider, but both of those are beyond the scope of this article (my recommendation: seek out a good coach). 

Suffice to say that if your knees are a bit cranky, knee sleeves will probably be useful for you. They provide some warmth and compression and, to over-simplify things, they essentially act like a nice, warm hug for your knees.

Where Do You Get Knee Sleeves
In general, I recommend purchasing knee sleeves online. You might be able to find a decent pair locally, but Amazon, Rogue Fitness, and other online retailers provide far more options. In addition, many reputable manufacturers (e.g., Pioneer Fitness and SBD) sell directly from their websites, so that’s another option.

What to Get
While I’m not endorsing one specific brand, a few solid options include Rehband, Pioneer, Stoic, SBD, and Iron Bull, and some links are provided below:

As mentioned earlier, the most common thickness are 5 mm and 7 mm, and I recommend that you go with the 7 mm option. You’ll like 5 mm-thick sleeves as well, but the day you use a 7 mm sleeve, you’ll wonder why you didn’t go that route in the first place.

Most manufacturers have a sizing guide, and be sure to read this. You want your knee sleeves to be very snug - tight enough to provide warmth and compression, but not so tight that you need someone to help you get them on and off. Another way to approach it is that you want them quite snug, but not so tight that you feel the desire to take them off between sets.

What Do They Cost?
As of publication, prices currently run anywhere from $40 - $80 for a pair of knee sleeves. The more expensive sleeves tend to be thicker, denser, and last longer than the cheaper options.

Addy thinks rob’s knee sleeves are pretty swell.

Which Lifts Benefit From Knee Sleeves?
Primarily, you use knee sleeves when squatting. With this in mind, you may want to wear them when performing the Olympic lifts as well (i.e., snatch and clean-and-jerk), and specifically, you use them in these lifts due to the squatting involved in the receiving positions of the snatch and clean (they also help with the landing aspect and the impact involved in those lifts).

If you wish to use them on the press and bench press, that’s fine, but they will not provide any noticeable benefit to those lifts.

chris shows off his knee sleeves while snatching.

The deadlift needs a closer examination. In general, I recommend not wearing them when deadlifting as the deadlift has relatively little knee flexion (compared to the squat), and thus, you probably won’t feel the need to wear sleeves. Also, the sleeves provide a slight, additional thickness with which you have to deal when endeavoring to keep the bar close when dragging it up your legs.

For these reasons, I recommend not wearing sleeves when deadlifting, but if you knees bother you a bit when pulling, then wear them as their presence is not a make-or-break issue.

When Do You Wear Them?
As with many things, don’t complicate the issue. Some lifters will leave their knee sleeves down around their ankles when the weight is light and wait until later in the warm-ups before hiking them up into position. If you prefer to do this, I recommend pulling them up for your last warm-up so you’re used to wearing them before you get to your work set.

Most lifters, however, simply pull their knee sleeves all the way up into position when they initially put the sleeves on - it’s one less variable with which to deal later on. In this case, the lifters perform all of the warm-ups as well as the work sets with the sleeves at the knees.

How to Put On Your Knee Sleeves: Option A
For both Option A and Option B, I strongly recommend watching the included video (above) as it’s easier to see and understand than reading and looking at a few pictures.

  1. Orient your knee sleeve so that it is inside out, upside down, and backwards (backwards isn’t necessary, but it usually helps the sleeve go around the ankle a bit easier).

  2. Pull the sleeve on, rotate it until it faces forward again, and then pull it up until it’s just below your knee.

  3. Grab the bottom of the sleeve (what will eventually be the top of the sleeve) and peel it up and over the rest of the sleeve. At this point, you can make minor adjustments.

Option A allows the sleeve to slide over itself instead of over your sticky skin as it passes over the knee joint, which is why it works well. Removing the sleeve is essentially just the reverse - peel the top down first, and then slide it down the rest of the way and take it off.

However, if you have 7 mm-thick sleeves that are very snug, a bit longer, and dense (e.g., Pioneer, SBD, Stoic), you may want to use . . .

How to Put On Your Knee Sleeves: Option B

  1. Leave the sleeve in its normal orientation - right side out, correct side up, and with the front of the sleeve facing forward.

  2. Fold the top half of the sleeve down over the bottom half.

  3. Slide the sleeve on until it’s past your ankle.

  4. Grab a pair of leather or cloth lifting straps (this is the only good use for cloth lifting straps) - even two short ropes will probably work.

  5. From the top of the sleeve, insert the straps down inside of the sleeve until they come out the bottom. Insert them far enough that you create handles for yourself as shown in the picture.

  6. Using the straps, pull the sleeve up until it’s roughly at your knee, pull the straps out, and then unfold the sleeve so that it covers the knee. At this point, you can make minor adjustments to the sleeve so it sits precisely where you want it.

If you compete in a powerlifting federation, this tactic may or may not be allowed at the meet, but regardless, it’s still awfully handy for your training sessions.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?

LIFTING BELTS: The Complete Guide and What NOT to Get! (Lifting Gear Series)

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Not sure about lifting belts - whether you should get one, what to get, or how to use it? You’re in luck as, in this article, we cover anything you could ever want to know about lifting belts as well as - very importantly - what not to get. Scroll to the end for a few solid belt recommendations as well.

This is the second article in our “Lifting Gear” series, so be sure to check back in the coming weeks for future articles in the series. Click here to read the first article in the series - Lifting Gear: What to Wear and What NOT to Wear!

Why You Want to Use a Lifting Belt
We won’t dive deep into all the details of the muscles of your trunk having something to contract against, intra-abdominal pressure, and hoop tension, but suffice to say for now - a belt helps you provide rigidity. In other words, it helps you provide efficient force transfer from the things generating force in a lift - for example, your hips and legs during the squat - through your rigid midsection (i.e., your trunk) into the barbell that’s sitting on your back.

Belt Width
If you’re reading this article, there’s a strong chance you’re thinking something along the lines of, “Hey, I should probably start using a belt,” and you’re probably right, but what should you get?

In terms of width, you’ve got two basic options - 3 inches wide and 4 inches wide. Some people might need a 2.5” belt, but this is less common.

The width you choose will depend on the space between your hips and your ribs as that’s where the belt is going to sit. You do not want the belt to run up against your ribs as this is extremely uncomfortable and will prevent you from getting or keeping your back set in extension (especially in the deadlift setup).

Ideally, you would try out a 3” belt as well as a 4” belt and see which one works best, and the deadlift will be your best indicator. If you can get your back set flat and rigid in the deadlift setup with a 4” belt, then that’s a solid option for you. If you can’t, then you’ll probably need to choose a 3” belt.

If you don’t have the opportunity to try out a few different widths, then you’ll have to make an educated decision. People who are taller and/or have longer torsos tend to do well with 4” belts while those who are shorter and/or have shorter torsos usually do better with 3” belts.

Belt Thickness
I usually recommend a 9-10 mm thick belt. You can get belts in the 12-13 mm thick range, and you might decide to do that sometime down the road, but a quality 9-10 mm belt will work well for pretty much everyone.

Sam locks out here deadlift while wearing a 3” wide, single prong belt.

Prongs
Get a single prong belt. Contrary to popular belief, a double prong belt isn’t all that difficult to become accustomed to - I have one, and I’m no physical genius (I bought it a long time ago when I didn’t know any better) - but at the same time, there’s not a compelling reason to have two prongs.

Quality
A high quality belt will probably last you the rest of your life. Don’t skimp here. This is an investment, and after your training log and your lifting shoes, your belt is probably your most important piece of personal training gear. I generally wouldn’t recommend anything under $100.

When to Get a Belt
On your first day of training, order your belt. Quality belts will often take several weeks to arrive - especially if you order a belt with a custom design and/or color - and by the time that belt shows up, you’ll be ready to start using it.

When to Put On Your Belt
A good rule of thumb is to put your belt on for your last warm-up set as well as all of your work sets. Take the belt off or loosen it between sets, of course, but by wearing it for your last warm-up, you’ve ensured that the only variable changing between that warm-up set and your first work set is the weight on the bar and not anything else like what equipment you’re using.

Over time, you’ll develop your own preferences as to when to put on your belt. For example, in the squat, you might decide to always wear your belt for anything above 225 lb, and an approach like that will work fine as well.

How to Put On Your Belt
A belt should be worn tightly, and at first, it probably needs to be uncomfortably tight to be correct. With time and experience, this level of snugness will feel natural and correct, but it will probably feel a bit uncomfortable at first.

using the squat rack to put on the belt

To get the belt tight, use your squat rack for assistance. Place the belt around your midsection - somewhere around the level of your belly button for most people (but you’ll figure out your exact location with practice) - then put the nose of the belt through the buckle. After that, wrap the nose of the belt partially around an upright of the squat rack, lean and sit back away from the rack, and then twist away from the rack so that the twisting motion tightens the belt around your trunk.

I strongly recommend watching the included video as this is far more easily understood via demonstration than the printed word. In addition, the video covers how to take off the belt as well as what to do when you don’t have a squat rack nearby to help put on your belt.

How to Breathe and Brace With the Belt
Breathing and bracing with a belt is not complicated - despite what a lot of “fitness experts” out there would have you believe.

Before starting the lift, take a breath in and hold that breath against your closed glottis. If you’re not sure how to hold your breath against a closed glottis, say the word, “hick” and hold your breath by holding the “ck” sound at the end. In essence, you hold your breath in your throat instead of against your lips or puffed out cheeks.

As you hold that breath, tighten every muscle in your midsection - pretend you’re getting ready to get punched from all sides, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to do. Watch one of the included videos for a demonstration and explanation.

In short, take a breath in, hold it, and get tight. Then maintain that held breath from the start of the movement all the way until the end of the movement.

For example, in the squat, you breathe in and get tight at the top, hold that breath down and back up again, and then release your breath once you’ve locked out the rep at the top of the squat. In the deadlift, on the other hand, you take a breath in and get tight at the bottom of the lift (i.e., when the bar is on the floor), hold that breath all the way up to lockout and back down again, and then you release your breath after the bar is on the floor.

One last note - don’t try to push your abs or your belly outward into the belt. Again, don’t complicate this - take a breath, hold it, and get tight like you expect to get punched.

What NOT to Get
Don’t get a tapered belt, i.e., one that is wider in the back than it is in the front. The extra material in the back is just a waste of material and isn’t doing what you think it is.

Don’t get a belt with padding in the back. The point of a belt is to help provide rigidity, and padding helps defeat that purpose as you now have compressible material between you and the belt.

On a related note, if you’re wearing a t-shirt as well as a sweatshirt when you train (for example, perhaps you train in a cold garage), I’d recommend wearing your belt over your shirt as usual but underneath your sweatshirt so you don’t have extra material between you and the belt.

For strength training, get a leather belt - not a velcro belt. Velcro belts have their uses - specifically in Olympic lifting where catching the bar on the buckle of a leather belt during a clean or snatch is a real possibility. However, for general strength training, a leather belt provides more rigidity and won’t pop open on you (as velcro belts have been known to do from time to time).

Some Belt Recommendations
There are a number of quality belt manufacturers out there - Pioneer, Dominion Strength, The Strength Co., and Inzer just to name a few, and with that in mind, here are a few belt options I typically recommend:

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?

EASY Way to Open Your Barbell Packaging | How to Unbox Your New Barbell

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Historically speaking, unpackaging a brand new barbell has been a fairly horrific experience. The method covered in this article, however, is going to change your life (better yet, watch the included video for a demonstration).

If you’ve bought a new barbell, you already know what I’m talking about, and if you haven’t bought one but are going to purchase one soon, you’re about to experience this cardboard-and-metal terror.

A new barbell comes in a thick cardboard tube, and it has a metal end cap or insert at each end of the tube. Each manufacturer does things a bit differently, but typically, the end cap will be anchored in place very securely with staples or some other fastener.

On one hand, this is good - you want your barbell safe and unscathed while traveling to you. On the other hand, it’s a pain to open the tube as a result of this packaging. The manufacturer’s recommendation is usually to grab a utility knife, cut along one of the seams in the cardboard tube, and then twist to open the packaging (picture yourself opening a tube of Pillsbury dough, and you’ll get the idea well enough).

Don’t do this. I write - unfortunately - from personal experience, and this is a terrible way to open the packaging.

You can see the torn section where I had started the process with the old “screwdriver-and-pliers” method before looking for a better option.

Many people settle on using a flathead screwdriver to pry the staples open and out a bit, whereupon they use a needle nose pliers (or something similar) to finish pulling out the staples. This method works reasonably well, but it takes a while, which is annoying.

The last time I opened a barbell, I had used this screwdriver-and-pliers method on the first of several staples when I thought I’d take a look on the web and see if anyone had come up with a better method . . . and indeed someone had. This method comes courtesy of Colin Burke and his video, and here’s how to do it:

Step 1
Grab a nail punch and a hammer. A flat head screwdriver will probably work if you don’t have a nail punch.

Note: This is the part where I should tell you not to use a flat head screwdriver for this task as you might damage the screwdriver. With that said, if I didn’t have a nail punch, I would certainly have used a flat head screwdriver.

step 2: Use a hammer and nail punch to tap the staples through.

Step 2
Set the tip of the nail punch on top of a staple and then use the hammer to tap that staple several times until the staple has broken through the cardboard (at which point it is no longer anchoring the end cap to the cardboard tube). Repeat this process with all of the staples.

After step 2, all staples have been pounded through.

Step 3
Once the staples have all been pounded through, the end cap is still wedged into place but is no longer attached to the tube, so use a pliers (needle nose pliers or otherwise) and simply pull the end cap out.

step 3: Use pliers to pull out the end cap

Step 4
Set the open end of the cylinder on the floor, lift up the other end, and pull the tube up and back until the barbell is completely out of the packaging (don’t let the bar drop to the floor).

Step 4: allowing barbell to slide out of tube

This process requires only a few tools, it’s quick, and most importantly - it’s easy. After unpackaging a barbell with this method, you’ll never go back to the cut-and-twist and screwdriver-and-pliers methods again.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

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EASY Way to Put on Tight & Stiff Knee Sleeves (TWO TIPS)

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What's the easiest way to put on knee sleeves - especially sleeves that are tight and stiff as with brands like SBD, Stoic, and Pioneer? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers gives you tactics to help you save your energy for . . . you know - actually training.

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Click the button below to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach and start getting stronger TODAY.

12 Pieces of Lifting Gear to THROW AWAY (and What to Replace Them With)

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

What pieces of weight lifting equipment would gym owner and Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers throw away and what would he replace them with?

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Click the button below to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach and start getting stronger TODAY.

Lifting Gear: What to Wear and What NOT to Wear!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

The topic of what to wear when training seems rather straightforward at first - you just put on a shirt, put on some shoes, probably put on some shorts as well, and you're good to go, right?

Not so fast. There’s a host of potential bad decisions to be made here, so let’s briefly (get it?) address a few considerations to help you train more effectively.

This is the first article in our “Lifting Gear” series, so be sure to check back in the coming weeks for future articles in the series.

Shirts
Whether you choose a t-shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, or a sweatshirt, they’re all fine, but the big takeaway here is cotton. Cotton is your best friend when it comes to training, and specifically, you don’t want a technical shirt, which is the type of shirt made from moisture-wicking material.

Tech shirts are great for running, playing basketball, etc., but they are terrible for lifting because the material itself tends to be rather slick. You want excellent friction between you and the barbell when squatting and cleaning, and you again want significant friction between you and the bench when bench pressing, and a tech shirt is simply awful in this regard. Wear cotton.

Additionally, if you’re squatting, benching, cleaning, or jerking (perhaps pressing as well), don’t wear a tank top. Humans are sweaty and oily when they train, and you don’t want your sweaty, oily, and therefore slick shoulders in contact with the bar or the bench when you train. Friction is important, so don’t wear a tank top. Unless you’re performing curls - tank tops are then, of course, mandatory.

Pants
Sweatpants, shorts, leggings - all of these are acceptable. You do, of course, want to make sure they allow you to move freely and don’t bind up on you, so if you’re wearing shorts, don’t wear shorts so long that they come to or below your knees. Shorts of this length tend to bind up at the knees when squatting (and should be reserved for 14-year-old male basketball players anyway), so they’re a bad choice.

the power diaper - Eat your heart out, people.

With that said, if your shorts are long, you can either roll them up a bit at the waistband or hike them up like I do and embrace the “power diaper” look (Figure 1). Granted, my shorts aren’t actually that long - I simply prefer the power diaper.

Socks
For the most part, any pair of athletic socks will do when training. The length of the sock doesn’t matter . . . unless you’re deadlifting, snatching, or cleaning. When pulling from the floor, you want to keep the bar as close as possible, but you also don’t want to nick your shins with the bar. Shins bleed easily, so I recommend wearing long socks if you’re not already wearing sweatpants or leggings.

By “long socks,” I mean over-the-calf-just-below-the-knee long socks. Don’t skimp here - once you’ve caught your shin with the bar, bled, and developed a scab, it’s extremely easy to break that scab open again during subsequent training sessions, and as a result, you won’t be as efficient at keeping the bar close to you (it might be a subconscious effect, but it’s a real effect, nonetheless).

Shoes
Wear lifting shoes. The most important feature of a lifting shoe is the rigid, nondeformable sole, which is extremely useful and efficient for force transfer. Regular shoes are great for walking and running but terrible for lifting - they are squishy and akin to lifting while standing on pillows. We have several videos that cover lifting shoes in depth, and I’d recommend watching one of those for more information.

Also, don’t lift in Chuck Taylors. A Chuck Taylor is not a lifting shoe. A Chuck Taylor is the shoe for someone who started thinking about lifting shoes but never completed the thought. Don’t lift in your squishy Chucks - you’re better than that.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?