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A car salesman may have some great selling tips; however, it's doubtful he would have the best closing tips for a computer salesman. Be especially wary of the "gym lawyer" (the big guy in the gym who tells everyone to train like him for good results). In your case, the athlete isn't even from the same sport as you.In any event, frequent use of knee wraps (and I'm referring to the heavy, elasticized-cotton wraps that powerlifters use) would be a big mistake for an Olympic lifter; however, you are a powerlifter and that's a different story. Without question, knee wraps will
help you hoist bigger weights, particularly on your squat - ten
to twenty percent, as a matter of fact. In powerlifting, the total
is all that matters, so obviously you want to do everything you
can (within the confines of the rules, of course), to get every
last pound you can. Although greater weights can be handled using wraps, your quadriceps are actually relieved from some of the stress they'd ordinarily receive when you lift with wraps.Another problem is that, even properly worn, knee wraps jam the patella against the femoral groove throughout the squatting movement, and over time, this may potentiate chondromalacia patellae (wearing away at the inside of the knee cap). Given these risks, should you use the wraps in the gym with any regularity? Yes, but with prudence. Since the wraps take a little getting used to, they would be of little use to you in competition if you never use them in training.You can get the best of both worlds by only using the wraps when you exceed a selected intensity, which, in my opinion, is 85% of 1RM and up. To minimize the hazards on your knee joints, take the advice of renowned sports medicine lecturer, and co-founder of the ISSA, Dr. Sal Arria.Arria recommends wrapping your knees tightly in a cylindrical fashion around the upper shin (where the patellar ligament attaches), then more loosely over the kneecap itself, then tightly again over the lower third of the thigh. Arria also suggests that wrapping the knees prior to heavy squatting reduces the pulling forces on the patellar ligament at it's attachment to the shin. This may translate to significantly reduced chances of avulsing (detaching) your patellar ligament during heavy leg movements. |
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