3 warm up sets??

bryandynaxus3

Does anyone do 3 warm up sets? Read that somewhere

Sam_I_Am77

bryandynaxus3 wrote: »

Does anyone do 3 warm up sets? Read that somewhere

I don't know that it should be that absolute, you need to understand where your body is at and what you need to do for max performance before you lift; this will just take some time and experience.

When it comes to barbell lifts like the squat and bench press, you should start with the bar. This is something that Mark Rippetoe has discussed. Get your form right and focusing on good quality reps and then work your way up. It also depends on where you're at in your session. If you're doing full-body for instance and you start with the squat and then go to OHP, well you may not need to do a full-blown warm-up for the OHP and maybe just one or two sets depending on how you feel.

Just for example purposes here's what my session looked like on Tue
-Squat
warm-up @ bar
warm-up @ 135 x 5 (I felt really good with the bar and felt good jumping past 95
warm-up @‌ 185 x 5
warm-up @‌ 225 x 3
warm-up @‌ 275 x 1
work-sets

- Press
warm-up @‌ bar
warm-up @ 95 x 5
work-sets

bryandynaxus3

How long are you at the gym for though?

DopeItUp

There's no optimal number. It comes down to things like age, how advanced you are as a lifter, what your goals are, how heavy you're going, etc..

Having said that, I typically do 7 sets with the 7th being maximal and the other 6 could be considered warm-up (though the last 4 are all pretty heavy).

Even more advanced lifters can potentially do more, especially if seeking something like a 1RM. Someone who can deadlift 800lbs is gonna take 10+ sets to reach that top set.

Older lifters tend to need more for injury prevention as well.

Just some examples.

Sam_I_Am77

bryandynaxus3 wrote: »

How long are you at the gym for though?

I only do strength training 3-days a week and I'd say I'm there for about 1 1/2 - 2-hours.

- warm-up & mobility work: 15-20-min's depending on how I feel... I'm getting old and I'm a little beaten up. LOL!
- strength-training is about 60-min's depending on what I'm doing. If I'm doing a lot of work at 85%+ of my TM or working on a new PR, I will take 3 to 4 min rests in-between sets
- cool-down & stretching: 15-20-min's depending

Doing warm-up sets is pretty important because it helps get you in the groove for the work-sets and gets your nervous system working and better ready to manage what you're about to do. I think if you don't warm-up properly you risk have a *kitten* workout or possibly even a decent injury.

Sam_I_Am77

Older lifters tend to need more for injury prevention as well.

Ha ha, don't make fun of me. LOL

CA_Underdog

I would do however many warm-up sets you need so the work sets don't feel like a huge shock to your system and joints. That may be 0, 1, 3, or more! For the warm-up sets I'm not doing the usual reps because I'm trying to strike a balance between warming up sufficiently without tiring out the very muscles I seek to train! I spend approximately 40min lifting per 60min session, although I plan to change that in the near future to 30min lifting per 75min session.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

joneallen

I usually stretch and warm up for 15 minutes before any session. My sets vary, depending on how I feel. There's no right or wrong way. Just listen to your body.

PwrLftr82

I do three warm-up sets because that's what's recommended in Wendler's 5/3/1, which is the program I follow.

lishie_rebooted

PwrLftr82 wrote: »

I do three warm-up sets because that's what's recommended in Wendler's 5/3/1, which is the program I follow.

It's also recommended in Stronglifts & ICF

PwrLftr82

lishie_rebooted wrote: »

PwrLftr82 wrote: »

I do three warm-up sets because that's what's recommended in Wendler's 5/3/1, which is the program I follow.

It's also recommended in Stronglifts & ICF

Well, there ya go then!

DopeItUp

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

Older lifters tend to need more for injury prevention as well.

Ha ha, don't make fun of me. LOL

I'm right behind you, no worries.

Daiako

I do one or two, depending on how I feel, the lift, and what I did before lifting (did I jog to the gym? Did I do yoga first? Am I coming in cold?)

bryandynaxus3

Ok but what about isolation movements? I feel like other gym goers might get inpatient waiting for someone to be finished their 10 sets of bicep curls in front of the dumbbells just to turn around and do another 10 sets of hammers or something. Just a thought I guess, because most things I've read suggest cutting down your gym time but still achieving everything you intended.

To put what's in my head into perspective let's say you're about to walk up a flight of stairs, if you possess the strength and know how to skip a step and still get to the top, wouldn't that be the better route instead walking up them one step at a time? Btw I just woke up and have crazy ideas so don't judge or hate haha

AllanMisner

If I’m going heavy, I’ll do 1 - 3 warm up sets for compound movements. I seldom do isolation movements, but when I did, they followed compound work, so I was already warm.

Sam_I_Am77

bryandynaxus3 wrote: »

Ok but what about isolation movements? I feel like other gym goers might get inpatient waiting for someone to be finished their 10 sets of bicep curls in front of the dumbbells just to turn around and do another 10 sets of hammers or something. Just a thought I guess, because most things I've read suggest cutting down your gym time but still achieving everything you intended.

To put what's in my head into perspective let's say you're about to walk up a flight of stairs, if you possess the strength and know how to skip a step and still get to the top, wouldn't that be the better route instead walking up them one step at a time? Btw I just woke up and have crazy ideas so don't judge or hate haha

I would suggest that your workouts start with a compound movement, which should be properly warmed-up. A proper warm-up may changed depending on how you feel but you should do something, especially as you get stronger. If your worksets in the squat, for example are 5x3 @ 315 and you load 315 without a warm-up your workout will suck and I wouldn't be shocked if you hurt yourself. If you start with a compound movement there's little reason to warm-up on an isolation movement. Compound movements work multiple muscles, so everything should be "warm" by the time you're done.

TR0berts

ISOs? No - no warmups at all. As Sam mentioned - start with compound lifts, then you're good to go for the ISOs at the end of your session.

Back to the original question - I typically do 4 warm-ups for most lifts, 3 for deadlifts.

Sam_I_Am77

Not to confuse the conversation but I was listening to a S&C that did conditioning for some special forces operatives and one thing he would have them do is sometimes come in and deadlift without a proper warm-up because they would have to do that in combat. But he still only started them at 50% - 60% of their max, which is still fairly light.

bryandynaxus3

Alright that's what I thought, I figured it would be silly to warm up for isos after completing compounds.
What would you consider a warm up set, vs a work set?

Sam_I_Am77

bryandynaxus3 wrote: »

Alright that's what I thought, I figured it would be silly to warm up for isos after completing compounds.
What would you consider a warm up set, vs a work set?

It depends on what your work-sets are. On any given training cycle my lowest work-set is 65% of my training max, so my warm-ups will only be up to my 65% weight on that specific day.

DopeItUp

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

bryandynaxus3 wrote: »

Ok but what about isolation movements? I feel like other gym goers might get inpatient waiting for someone to be finished their 10 sets of bicep curls in front of the dumbbells just to turn around and do another 10 sets of hammers or something. Just a thought I guess, because most things I've read suggest cutting down your gym time but still achieving everything you intended.

To put what's in my head into perspective let's say you're about to walk up a flight of stairs, if you possess the strength and know how to skip a step and still get to the top, wouldn't that be the better route instead walking up them one step at a time? Btw I just woke up and have crazy ideas so don't judge or hate haha

I would suggest that your workouts start with a compound movement, which should be properly warmed-up. A proper warm-up may changed depending on how you feel but you should do something, especially as you get stronger. If your worksets in the squat, for example are 5x3 @ 315 and you load 315 without a warm-up your workout will suck and I wouldn't be shocked if you hurt yourself. If you start with a compound movement there's little reason to warm-up on an isolation movement. Compound movements work multiple muscles, so everything should be "warm" by the time you're done.

Great advice, I agree completely.