How to Put On and Take Off Knee Sleeves (Even the Really Tight Ones)

If you're upgrading from stretchy knee sleeves (or if it's your first pair) to your first pair of powerlifting knee sleeves you're likely to be in for a surprise when you try to put them on the first time, I know I was! 7mm stiff powerlifting grade neoprene does not stretch the same way a cheap pair of Amazon or drug store knee sleeves do. When sized properly competition knee sleeves are hard to get on, which is why they provide good compression and support for your heavy lifting.

Why are the knee sleeves so hard to put on?

The main reason is the compression is what makes them effective. Follow that up with a lot of people have bigger calves than they have knees and you have a recipe for trouble. In order to get them tight on your knees you will invariably struggle to get them up past your calf. The style of knee sleeve will also dictate how hard they will be to get on. From easiest to hardest:

• SBD Weightlifting Knee Sleeves (5mm): these are designed for more dynamic movements and are made with a thinner (5mm) and slightly stretchier neoprene. Still way more supportive than a generic brand sleeve but the easiest of what we carry.
• SBD Knee Sleeves (7mm): the classic SBD sleeve. A very good balance of compression and support while still having enough give to make them easier to get on and more comfortable for longer sessions.
• SBD Powerlifting Knee Sleeves (7mm): while they are the same thickness (7mm is the max thickness for many powerlifting feds), they are made with a denser, stronger neoprene than the standard knee sleeves. Harder to get on and off but amazing compression.
• Inzer Ergo Pro Knee Sleeves (7mm): the densest knee sleeve we sell. For many people these won’t be as compressive as the SBD Powerlifting Knee Sleeves but they are stiffer, making it harder to bend your knees. Warning: these will not be approved in the IPF in 2027 and beyond.

If this is your first pair we normally recommend going with the SBD Knee Sleeves or the SBD Weightlifting Knee Sleeves. (More on the differences in Understanding the Differences Between SBD Knee Sleeves.)

What’s the best way to get them on?

Before you start

• Sit. Trying to pull on your knee sleeves while standing is probably going to result in a bad time. Plus standing on your calf will cause it to flex and be harder to get the sleeve over vs a relaxed calf.
• Don’t try to pull them over your shoes, in fact, knee sleeves are likely to be the first thing you want to put on. The sweatier you are the harder they are to get on.
• Dry skin is a good thing, like sweat, moisturizer on the leg will make the sleeves stick and be way harder to get on.
• SBD Knee Sleeves are sided, check the tags to figure out which leg they go on, a quick check: the spiral seam goes from the inside of the knee at the bottom of the sleeve to the outside of the thigh at the top of the sleeve, and at the back of the knee.

How to put them on, step by step

1. Fold the sleeve in half by folding the top half down outside the bottom half. Folding the sleeve does two things: makes the sleeve smaller so there is less friction and makes it firmer so you can apply more force to it without it bunching.
2. Pull it over your foot placing the tag toward the back of your leg. If you have big ankles or feet it can even be hard to get it over the foot, that’s not super uncommon.
3. Holding the top of the folded sleeve pull it as high as you can before it gets stuck on your calf. Then grab the bottom of the folded sleeve (both layers) and pull it hard to get it up to your knee. Once the top of the folded sleeve gets to the centre of your kneecap you are good. If you struggle you can lift your leg up, knee bent, towards your chest, hold the bottom of the folded sleeve then instead of just pulling with your arms push with your foot as if you are trying to straighten your leg.
4. Now that the top of the folded sleeve is in the right spot, pull the top half of the sleeve up and unfold it. You may need to pull up on the top of the sleeve to get any creases out.

Big Calves? Big Problem

If you are walking around with cantaloupe calves then you will need to take that into account when measuring and buying your sleeves.

• Measure your knee and the largest part of each calf. One calf is often bigger than the other, especially if you’ve played jumping sports.
• If your calf is about 4 cm or more bigger than your knee, your calf decides your size. The Find your knee sleeve size calculator on every knee sleeve page takes this into account for you.
• When putting them on, get the whole doubled sleeve past your calf before you unroll the top half.
• You may find more luck by tripling up the sleeve, roll the bottom cuff up, then the top cuff down, this creates an even smaller, firmer sleeve that can be easier to get over the big calves.

How to take knee sleeves off

• Grab the top edge of the sleeve.
• Peel it down inside out, over your knee and down your calf. I normally find doing this as quickly as possible is the best way, momentum and speed can be your best friend for this.
• If it catches on itself, very common with the textured SBD Powerlifting knee sleeve, keep it moving with small side to side tugs.
• Don’t try to pull it down by the bottom edge, if you can get your sleeves off like that, they are probably not tight enough.
• A bonus tip if you have a lot of trouble, you can use something slippery like a deadlift sock or plastic bag. Pull it up over top of the bottom half of the knee sleeve, then pull the sleeve down over it. The bag or sock will reduce the friction between the outer layers of the knee sleeve and allow it to slide off more easily.
• Once they are off we recommend leaving them inside out and standing them like tubes to air dry. First it’ll make them less stinky in the future and also neoprene will stiffen slightly as it cools and it will hold its shape better in the future.

How tight should knee sleeves be?

Normal

• Very snug, maybe a bit uncomfortable the first few times you wear them.
• Challenging to get on, but doesn’t take more than a minute or so.
• Can feel nice support and resistance when bending the knee.
• They leave indentations in your legs when you take them off that last for a few minutes.

Too small

• You can’t get them past your calf even with all the techniques listed above.
• Numbness or tingling down your leg when you get them on.
• Remember you have to be able to get them off after without destroying them.

Too big

• You can slide them up without needing to fold them.
• They consistently slide down and bunch up while squatting. A bit of movement of the sleeve when squatting is normal.
• You can grab and pinch loose neoprene when they are on.

How to measure for your next pair

• Sit with your leg straight but relaxed.
• Using a flexible measuring tape measure around the centre of your kneecap.
• Measure your largest calf and use that measurement instead if it’s 1.5 inches/4 cm larger than your knee measurement.
• Compare your measurement against the sizing chart on the product pages.

Looking after your sleeves

A good pair of knee sleeves should last you years if you take care of them.

• Leave them inside out after taking them off and stand them upright like tubes to air dry well after a session. Don’t leave them stuffed and flattened in your gym bag.
• When the time comes, hand wash in a sink with a mild detergent, agitate and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Then rinse well and stand them to dry. Don’t put them in a washing machine or dryer.
• Watch our video: How to Wash Your Knee Sleeves