Warm up sets

bbell1985

Depends on what your working set is for the day and how many reps you're going for. I used to be so anal about my warmups. Now for a squat with a working set at 200, my warmup looks like this: Barx8, 95x6-8, 135x5, 155x4, 175x2, 185x2, 195x1. I always like to hit a single about 5 to 10 pounds below my max

Use a belt for 85%ish percent of your max and above.

TR0berts

I generally use a version of bar, quarter, plate, quarter... until I get near my working weight.

For squats, it'll be something along the lines of 5x45, 5x95, 3x135, 3x185, 2x225, 2x275, 1x315, and then whatever, depending on the working weight(s) for that day.

Bench gets a little different, as it's usually something like 10x45, 5x95, 3x135, and then whatever - sometimes going to 185, sometimes something like 165 and then on.

Deadlifts start at 135 and work up.

IIRC, Lou/Alwyn suggest - in the New Rules of Lifting series - to pick a low weight, do half the amount of working set reps, and work up - each warmup set, doing one less rep than previous. I tried that, but found it didn't work very well. That is, however, what led me to experiment with what I typically do now.


Really, you'll just have to experiment to see what works well for you. You want to be warmed up and ready/prepared to lift your working weight(s), but you don't want to do too much warmup, so that you're tired when it comes to your work set(s).