Abstract
It is widely known that exercise is a key aspect of maintaining good health, and a key component of exercise is resistance training. A very commonly cited barrier to exercise initiation and adherence is low self-efficacy (SE). One possible way to increase SE may be through the use of supportive weight lifting equipment, such as knee wraps or sleeves. So far, no research has been conducted surrounding the influence of supportive equipment and SE. The purpose of this study was to determine what effect, if any, compressive knee wraps had on squat SE in non-competitive exercisers. Nine non-competitive exercisers (minimum four months of experience) with the ability to properly perform a squat were used as the sample. Measures taken were SE before/after using knee wraps, and desired weight adjustment after using wraps. Participants were instructed to complete their normal warm-up, to 75% of their predicted squat max. Subjects indicated their SE for this weight and performed a single repetition. Subjects applied knee wraps and were asked to repeat the same process with the same weight. Following the wrapped set the participant was asked if they would like to adjust the weight. No significant differences in squat SE with use of the knee wraps were observed. Goal setting (measured by how much weight the participant wished to add following use of the wraps) was unaffected. Knee wraps do not appear to be an effective way of increasing squat SE in a recreational exercise population.
