stiff knees and squatting(need knee wraps?)

[qdiddy69]

So i did the base cycle of smolov and my squat went through the roof, i did some powercleans for speed work and am currently taking time off to let my knees rest before squating heavy again.. Its been about a week of no direct leg work and my knees still feel stiff, do i just need to give my joints more time to heal or is the fact that im squatting without knee wraps hurting my knees in the long run.

I would like to keep knee wraps off if i can. but for those of you experience powerlifters who are lifting heavy, would you say knee wraps are a must when you start to add some seriuos weight on the bar?

[isaku900]

knee sleeves.

i recommend dese:

http://prowriststraps.com/inc/sdetail/129177

[FedorVladimir]

Rehbands are pretty popular:

[isaku900]

Rehbands are pretty popular:

if you can get the blue ones...the grey ones aren't nearly as good.

[FedorVladimir]

if you can get the blue ones...the grey ones aren't nearly as good.

http://www.jackalsgym.com/store.aspx?prod_id=RH-KS

bought some earlier this month.