Muscle Gain Forum

Feels like everyone’s rocking belts, wrist wraps, knee sleeves and all kinds of gear lately but not all of it really makes a difference. For those who’ve been lifting consistently, what gear has actually helped your numbers or stability on squat, bench or deadlift? What’s legit useful vs just overhyped?

Belt is the only thing I’d say is 100% worth it. Once I learned how to brace properly, my squat and deadlift both went up.

Knee sleeves for me, no question. Not even just for strength my knees feel way better on heavy leg days.

Wrist wraps helped my bench a lot. Used to get wrist pain, now it feels way more stable under the bar.

Yeah that’s kinda what I was thinking. Seems like belt + sleeves are the go-to combo. Still on the fence about wraps though.

Lowkey most of the extra gear is overkill unless you’re lifting heavy heavy. But belt and sleeves? Yeah those actually do something.

Deadlift felt way safer once I started using a belt. Before that my core would gas out quick.

Appreciate the input. Sounds like I should stop overthinking it and just get a solid belt first, then add stuff if needed.

For me it’s pretty simple, not everything is useful.

On squat, knee sleeves and a belt made a real difference. More stable, more confidence at the bottom, especially on heavier sets.

On bench, I mainly use a belt and wrist wraps. The wraps help a lot for keeping the wrists solid. Sometimes elbow sleeves too, but mostly in winter when joints feel a bit stiff.

For deadlift, just a belt for now. But I’m planning to start using straps, not really for deadlift itself but because I also do weighted pull-ups and I don’t want to destroy my grip every session.

So yeah, some gear actually helps, but a lot of it is just extra.

definitively***