Can Someone Please Explain the Crossfit Knee Socks

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Elitist wrote:

Also, watching people do those squat-thrusts or whatever they are just make my knees scream out in pain.

umm prolly cuz u dont have elite fitness bro

Prissy white girls like this is one? ;-)

http://www.crossfitsv.com/gallery/

I don't know if she's prissy or not, but that's a pretty ordinary snatch.http://www.crossfitsv.com/gallery/snatch/

Cookie Mosnter wrote:

Prissy white girls like this is one? ;-)

http://www.crossfitsv.com/gallery/

Crossfit is a money making scheme first, exercise program second. The crossfit trainers probably get a couple bucks from the sales rep to push compression socks. Same is probably true for vibrams, paleo diet and tribal tatoos. Crossfit is nothing more than a product and a marketing scheme for related products. It is no coincidence that Reebok has jumped on board and started sponsoring crossift events.

Precious Roy wrote:

Crossfit is a money making scheme first, exercise program second. The crossfit trainers probably get a couple bucks from the sales rep to push compression socks. Same is probably true for vibrams, paleo diet and tribal tatoos. Crossfit is nothing more than a product and a marketing scheme for related products. It is no coincidence that Reebok has jumped on board and started sponsoring crossift events.

Add ChiRunning and P90 to this. They take something generic, trademark it and then market the hell out of it. For P90, they were very smart by having these "coaches" work as guerrilla marketers. Funny, if you Google PX90 scam, you get all P90 coaches using it to lure you in. Then they fill youtube up with the before and after vids.

I read all the typical Letsrun snarky comments about these companies and didn't really believe them, then I started researching. I think many of these companies have something to offer, they just over hype and over price it. As for P90, I found Supreme 90 for $23 which all reviews I have read say is just as good. I then found that there were simpler ways to accomplish my goals anyway.

its all part of the whole "bad girl" image that xfit chicks always seem to want to buy into. every girl ive known that gets into xfit suddenly adopts this tuff chick personna and suddenly has something to prove to everybody she comes across. seriously, theyre the female equivalent to every ed hardy wearing dooshnozzle running his mouth just u can hear him. god help ya if youre unlcuky enough to cross paths with a group of them.

Its so you don't destroy your shins doing deadlifts or box jumps. Missing a box jump can lead to a bloody mess freaking out ppl around you in the gym.

You obviously don't lift, or you would know the purpose of the socks. They are to protect your shins during heavy lifts and box jumps. If you deadlift and DON'T hit your shins, you are deadlifting WRONG.

Sorry but this isn't true. Using correct starting position and technique will bring the bar close to the shin but wont drag up. When you get lazy and/or fatigued is when you hit your shins. Think about it, when you're warming up with a light weight how often do you rip up your shins? I know from experience that even thick padded socks don't do shit for your shins if you're using the wrong technique. I've had bloody shins under padded socks, then I learned how to deadlift properly. And if you miss a box jump and crash your shins, no sock is going to help. You'll just have a really bloody sock. I suppose it would prevent blood from spilling all over your legs, but that's not the purpose of knee socks.

The primary purpose of knee socks is cosmetic. Somewhere along the line a really fit, pretty crossfitwoman wore these and it caught on. Women think they look cool and they wear them. They're into the Crossfit lifestyle and these socks are one of the things associated with looking like a crossfitter. A lot of Crossfit men wear them too. A lot of male and female runners wear knee high compression socks too. They will tell you it's for the improvement in circulation which speeds recovery. In reality it's a fashion trend that some runners like and they think they look cool. Doesn't make either group bad people, just slightly different than you, which you apparently don't like.

Lighten up Francis wrote:

Sorry but this isn't true. Using correct starting position and technique will bring the bar close to the shin but wont drag up. When you get lazy and/or fatigued is when you hit your shins. Think about it, when you're warming up with a light weight how often do you rip up your shins? I know from experience that even thick padded socks don't do shit for your shins if you're using the wrong technique. I've had bloody shins under padded socks, then I learned how to deadlift properly. And if you miss a box jump and crash your shins, no sock is going to help. You'll just have a really bloody sock. I suppose it would prevent blood from spilling all over your legs, but that's not the purpose of knee socks.

When you get to pulling 4-5 plates or more there is no way to do it without dragging the bar along your knees, no amount of hip drive can move your center of balance over far enough to hang 500 lbs out an inch or two in front of you.

If you are scraping your knees repping out 3 plates you are just lazy (or weigh like 120 lbs)

paulo wrote:

You obviously don't lift, or you would know the purpose of the socks. They are to protect your shins during heavy lifts and box jumps. If you deadlift and DON'T hit your shins, you are deadlifting WRONG.

This is the answer. Its for deadlifts.

The point is they are a fashion accessory. She definitely doesn't need them to protect her shins.

If the crossfit chicks really wanted to look fierce, bloody shins would be the "in" thing.

IMO no heterosexual male should wear knee socks, unless he's in a professional sporting league that mandates them-- NFL, NBA...

Not sure I'm the lame source you claim. I pull 4 plates routinely with no socks and don't have a new mark on my shins. My scars are from 2 plates when I didn't know what I was doing. 5 plates and beyond I don't have experience with. I notice now that you're talking knees and I'm talking shins. I've never hit my knees at any weight, so not sure what we're doing differently.

Lighten up Francis wrote:

The primary purpose of knee socks is cosmetic. Somewhere along the line a really fit, pretty crossfitwoman wore these and it caught on. Women think they look cool and they wear them. They're into the Crossfit lifestyle and these socks are one of the things associated with looking like a crossfitter. A lot of Crossfit men wear them too. A lot of male and female runners wear knee high compression socks too. They will tell you it's for the improvement in circulation which speeds recovery. In reality it's a fashion trend that some runners like and they think they look cool. Doesn't make either group bad people, just slightly different than you, which you apparently don't like.

^ This right here. It's the same thing with arm warmers. Years ago everyone got by fine with long sleeve shirts. If you got warm you pushed the sleeves up, no big deal. Then some pros started wearing arm warmers, and suddenly every Joe Jogger and Sally Strider is rocking arm warmers so they "look the part." It's all about image and "identifying" with a certain lifestyle.

Shalane Flanagan and her white socks.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lHWxAXPdScw/TN14duM2lAI/AAAAAAAAA1c/br35HlzODKE/s1600/Shalane+Houston+running-1.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUREtQ_Onmg/TN65azkiLRI/AAAAAAAAA6w/64y9lVB1hF0/s1600/10+shalane.JPG

http://media.oregonlive.com/trackandfield_impact/photo/flanagannycjpg-942c251e066b9d64.jpg

http://media.oregonlive.com/trackandfield_impact/photo/flanagannycjpg-942c251e066b9d64.jpg

http://racingnews.runnersworld.com/files/2011/11/Shalane.jpg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/75391_456868307975_65604112975_5320265_389937_n.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tsFWYZkLJP4/TsRwb-oQfEI/AAAAAAAADL8/OmSnER15bjY/s1600/shalaneflanagan.jpg

I assume from what's been said that crossfitters wear kneesocks for protection when lifting, not compression socks for distance running, so Shalane's socks are beside the point. I doubt crossfitters are trying to look like Shalane.

For distance running, it was actually Paula Radcliffe who first popularized compression socks.

Sure, I'll have a crack at it ... by the way, found this post while looking for something else.

We (men and women) wear long socks for at least two reasons:

1. Protection. If we're doing some sort of lift (ie. deadlift) where the bar might scrape, long socks keep you from bloody shin syndrome (I actually saw this a couple days ago). Rope climbs are another one ... I've got scars from that.

2. Cold. Lots of folks come in shorts and long socks instead of wearing sweats in the winter.

Thrusters (assuming this is what you meant by "squat-thrust things), if done correctly, aren't hard on your knees, and we're usually doing them at a relatively light weight -- 95lbs or so (for men, and some bad-ass women).

Lastly, when we say "elite fitness", we aren't trying to imply that we're going to outrun a dedicated runner. There's lots of ex-runnners/tri guys in CF ... give it a shot sometime, you might like it.