How do you do your warm up sets?
dill_milk
Posts: 61 Member
I don't like calculating % of 1RM so I usually add 50 pounds for each set and do my regular # of reps, decreasing by 1 each set. For example, if I am doing 225 pound deadlift I will do:
Bar x 8
Bar + 50 x 7
Bar + 100 x 6
Bar + 150 x 5
3 working sets (Bar + 180) × 8
I know this is probably far from optimal. Just wondering what everyone else does.
Bar x 8
Bar + 50 x 7
Bar + 100 x 6
Bar + 150 x 5
3 working sets (Bar + 180) × 8
I know this is probably far from optimal. Just wondering what everyone else does.
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Replies
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If it works for you that's fine. You may find when your working sets are heavier you will want to jump from bar to 135 (adding 45's rather than 25's).
If I squat first then I jump straight in to working set.0 -
Depends on what the working sets are for the day. If I'm going to be squatting 5's at 195 my warm up would be like:
Barx10
135x6
160x4
175x 2 or 3
185x1
Working set
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It seems to me that most of you do more warm sets than the actual working sets. Any particular reason for doing that since the total workout for day would be very long?
I am not lifting very heavy and I never will, but my warm-up set is usually 1x10 or 15 reps of a lower weight, depending in what exercise I am doing. Just curious.6 -
It seems to me that most of you do more warm sets than the actual working sets. Any particular reason for doing that since the total workout for day would be very long?
I am not lifting very heavy and I never will, but my warm-up set is usually 1x10 or 15 reps of a lower weight, depending in what exercise I am doing. Just curious.
So I don't die? I'm not going to walk into the gym and throw 85% of my max on the bar. The warm up sets are relatively light and necessary to get your body tuned and and prepped for your working sets. The heavier you are lifting, the more warm up sets you have. I have less on my higher rep days because working set weight is lower.3 -
I don't stretch or do warm up sets.
Use to to them but found that I didn't need them. They take too much time and can tire you out if you do too many.
If you feel the need to do them, just a few reps w/an unweighted bar (or just a broomstick) should be enough IMO.
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I don't stretch or do warm up sets.
Use to to them but found that I didn't need them. They take too much time and can tire you out if you do too many.
If you feel the need to do them, just a few reps w/an unweighted bar (or just a broomstick) should be enough IMO.
So if you're squatting 300-400 pounds that day you just put it on the bar and get at it?5 -
I’ve been curious about the warm up set question as well. My heaviest lift is only 50 pounds right now and I’ve been doing one warm up set of roughly half the weight to get into the habit of it. I understand that warm up sets are important at heavier weights, but I hate to think of how long workouts must get with all those sets plus longer rests. I’ve been loving getting into lifting, but one hour is just about my perfect length, including a general warm up and cool down, and I’m about 45-50 minutes now.1
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MegaMooseEsq wrote: »I’ve been curious about the warm up set question as well. My heaviest lift is only 50 pounds right now and I’ve been doing one warm up set of roughly half the weight to get into the habit of it. I understand that warm up sets are important at heavier weights, but I hate to think of how long workouts must get with all those sets plus longer rests. I’ve been loving getting into lifting, but one hour is just about my perfect length, including a general warm up and cool down, and I’m about 45-50 minutes now.
50 pounds at what lift?
Some of my "lighter" lifts are like a dumbell press with 40's. I would only do a set with 30's first, maybe a couple reps at 35. Really it's a 30 second thing.
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It looks like people lifting very heavy, either by choice or because they follow a special power lifting program, need to warm-up in a different way than us wimpy, and in my case old, folks do. Unless they do that, they could have problems with their heavier working set. It makes sense.1
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Here is the warmup I did for 405 singles on squats yesterday. I am "warm" by the time I am finished with the doubles but I like to feel out a few singles to judge if I am ready for working weights. I don't rest much until I hit the singles and from start to working weight, it takes me maybe 10minutes total.
I don't warm up or stretch before this either.
45x10
45x10
135x5
225x3
315x2
355x1
385x1
working sets @4050 -
Yours seem reasonable for warm ups.
Last Friday I warmed up with...
Deads:
155 × 5
265 × 5
375 × 3
450 × 1
Working sets @ 485 × 4
Four back off sets @ 425 × 4
Bench:
45 × 6
95 × 5
135 × 5
195 × 3
245 × 1
290 × 6
290 × 6
290 × 6
290 × 6
Squat:
135 × 5
225 × 5
315 × 3
365 × 1
395 × 5
405 × 5
Back off set of 365 × 5
My warmups go fast as I can load the bar typically. So maybe 10 minutes to complete a warm up depending on how swollen my joints are.3 -
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JerSchmare wrote: »I do a warm up similar to @bbell1985 or @Okiludy
They didn’t say, but I don’t rest in between. I just add weight and do the next. I take a good rest before my working set.
I’m now doing other warmups for squats besides just doing squats.
While maybe it takes more time, warm up is part of the workout regimen. As @bbell1985 said, you don’t just walk into a gym and squat 400 lbs cold. That’s ridiculous.
Yeah, I rest like 30 seconds between warm ups. It's also a good time to assess the body that day. I could do a set at 135 and realize my hips are tight, so I might do another set of side kicks or a quite myofascial release.
Are my workouts a bit longer? Yes. But I'm in this for life.
Besides light warm-up sets I have dynamic warm ups for that particular lift, and even before that I have 20-30 minutes of physical therapy work for strength/core stabilization to prevent another back injury.
I really don't understand guys who walk in and throw two plates on. Even Mark Bell and some of the strongest people in the world put an empty bar on their back first.2 -
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JerSchmare wrote: »While maybe it takes more time, warm up is part of the workout regimen. As @bbell1985 said, you don’t just walk into a gym and squat 400 lbs cold. That’s ridiculous.
Completely agree. You don't need to do a lot but you do need to do something. I like doing the movement I am training at increasing intensity. I use bigger jumps in beginning and then around 10-20% when I hit singles for warm-ups. It doesn't need to be perfect. *kitten* doing 405 6x1 cold or even 345 6x4.
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MegaMooseEsq wrote: »I’ve been curious about the warm up set question as well. My heaviest lift is only 50 pounds right now and I’ve been doing one warm up set of roughly half the weight to get into the habit of it. I understand that warm up sets are important at heavier weights, but I hate to think of how long workouts must get with all those sets plus longer rests. I’ve been loving getting into lifting, but one hour is just about my perfect length, including a general warm up and cool down, and I’m about 45-50 minutes now.
50 pounds at what lift?
Some of my "lighter" lifts are like a dumbell press with 40's. I would only do a set with 30's first, maybe a couple reps at 35. Really it's a 30 second thing.
What would you consider lighter or higher rep where you wouldn't warm up as much? I really only do a larger warm-up (bar, 30%,60%, 80% of working weight etc) if I was doing 6 reps or under per set of a main lift. If I am doing 8-12 reps I would probably just warm up once or with the bar. Depends on the lift .. mostly I kind of go by feel. I probably don't warm up as much as I should though, then again I don't lift very heavy nowhere close to my 1RM.1 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »I’ve been curious about the warm up set question as well. My heaviest lift is only 50 pounds right now and I’ve been doing one warm up set of roughly half the weight to get into the habit of it. I understand that warm up sets are important at heavier weights, but I hate to think of how long workouts must get with all those sets plus longer rests. I’ve been loving getting into lifting, but one hour is just about my perfect length, including a general warm up and cool down, and I’m about 45-50 minutes now.
50 pounds at what lift?
Some of my "lighter" lifts are like a dumbell press with 40's. I would only do a set with 30's first, maybe a couple reps at 35. Really it's a 30 second thing.
What would you consider lighter or higher rep where you wouldn't warm up as much? I really only do a larger warm-up (bar, 30%,60%, 80% of working weight etc) if I was doing 6 reps or under per set of a main lift. If I am doing 8-12 reps I would probably just warm up once or with the bar. Depends on the lift .. mostly I kind of go by feel. I probably don't warm up as much as I should though, then again I don't lift very heavy nowhere close to my 1RM.
Oh...yeah totally. Let's say I would going to do Good Mornings for 95lbx8-12...I'd do the barx8, 65x8, 85 for a couple.
If I'm going to do light hip thrusts like 135x15-20 reps I won't even warm up. At that point I've already squatted and done some leg work as well. And I'm not gonna mess around putting anything less than 135 on the bar.1 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »I’ve been curious about the warm up set question as well. My heaviest lift is only 50 pounds right now and I’ve been doing one warm up set of roughly half the weight to get into the habit of it. I understand that warm up sets are important at heavier weights, but I hate to think of how long workouts must get with all those sets plus longer rests. I’ve been loving getting into lifting, but one hour is just about my perfect length, including a general warm up and cool down, and I’m about 45-50 minutes now.
50 pounds at what lift?
Some of my "lighter" lifts are like a dumbell press with 40's. I would only do a set with 30's first, maybe a couple reps at 35. Really it's a 30 second thing.
I’ve been using exclusively dumbbells so far, so my heaviest is the Deadlift at 48 pounds. That maxes out my dumbbells so I’m starting with a 50 pound trap on Tuesday. My lightest are shoulder press at 30 and bench at 36 - I’ve been doing a set at 15 to warm up for those. Per your later comment, I certainly hope that I’m in this for life too! I’m just happy with my life currently only including an hour of intentional exercise at a time.
But if getting up a half hour earlier is what I need to do, it’s what I’ll do! 0 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »MegaMooseEsq wrote: »I’ve been curious about the warm up set question as well. My heaviest lift is only 50 pounds right now and I’ve been doing one warm up set of roughly half the weight to get into the habit of it. I understand that warm up sets are important at heavier weights, but I hate to think of how long workouts must get with all those sets plus longer rests. I’ve been loving getting into lifting, but one hour is just about my perfect length, including a general warm up and cool down, and I’m about 45-50 minutes now.
50 pounds at what lift?
Some of my "lighter" lifts are like a dumbell press with 40's. I would only do a set with 30's first, maybe a couple reps at 35. Really it's a 30 second thing.
I’ve been using exclusively dumbbells so far, so my heaviest is the Deadlift at 48 pounds. That maxes out my dumbbells so I’m starting with a 50 pound trap on Tuesday. My lightest are shoulder press at 30 and bench at 36 - I’ve been doing a set at 15 to warm up for those. Per your later comment, I certainly hope that I’m at this for life too! I’m just happy with my life currently only including an hour of intentional exercise at a time. But if getting up a half hour earlier is what I need to do, it’s what I’ll do!
Yeah, just a couple sets with 15s should do the drink. I've I'm going to press 30's or something I'd do like a 17.5 for 8, maybe 25s for 5, then get to it.1 -
I personally only ever do one warm up set per workout at a weight that is “easy” for me! I’m not much into heavy lifting as I have suffered overuse injuries before! To each their own! If it’s working for you keep at it and if not just experiment! Good luck!1
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MegaMooseEsq wrote: »I’ve been curious about the warm up set question as well. My heaviest lift is only 50 pounds right now and I’ve been doing one warm up set of roughly half the weight to get into the habit of it. I understand that warm up sets are important at heavier weights, but I hate to think of how long workouts must get with all those sets plus longer rests. I’ve been loving getting into lifting, but one hour is just about my perfect length, including a general warm up and cool down, and I’m about 45-50 minutes now.
50 pounds at what lift?
Some of my "lighter" lifts are like a dumbell press with 40's. I would only do a set with 30's first, maybe a couple reps at 35. Really it's a 30 second thing.
What would you consider lighter or higher rep where you wouldn't warm up as much? I really only do a larger warm-up (bar, 30%,60%, 80% of working weight etc) if I was doing 6 reps or under per set of a main lift. If I am doing 8-12 reps I would probably just warm up once or with the bar. Depends on the lift .. mostly I kind of go by feel. I probably don't warm up as much as I should though, then again I don't lift very heavy nowhere close to my 1RM.
Oh...yeah totally. Let's say I would going to do Good Mornings for 95lbx8-12...I'd do the barx8, 65x8, 85 for a couple.
If I'm going to do light hip thrusts like 135x15-20 reps I won't even warm up. At that point I've already squatted and done some leg work as well. And I'm not gonna mess around putting anything less than 135 on the bar.
Yup makes sense, thanks! I could probably stand to warm up a bit more on certain lifts, I am going to make sure I really warm up on the upper body stuff because I am struggling a bit in terms of progression.1 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »I’ve been curious about the warm up set question as well. My heaviest lift is only 50 pounds right now and I’ve been doing one warm up set of roughly half the weight to get into the habit of it. I understand that warm up sets are important at heavier weights, but I hate to think of how long workouts must get with all those sets plus longer rests. I’ve been loving getting into lifting, but one hour is just about my perfect length, including a general warm up and cool down, and I’m about 45-50 minutes now.
50 pounds at what lift?
Some of my "lighter" lifts are like a dumbell press with 40's. I would only do a set with 30's first, maybe a couple reps at 35. Really it's a 30 second thing.
What would you consider lighter or higher rep where you wouldn't warm up as much? I really only do a larger warm-up (bar, 30%,60%, 80% of working weight etc) if I was doing 6 reps or under per set of a main lift. If I am doing 8-12 reps I would probably just warm up once or with the bar. Depends on the lift .. mostly I kind of go by feel. I probably don't warm up as much as I should though, then again I don't lift very heavy nowhere close to my 1RM.
Oh...yeah totally. Let's say I would going to do Good Mornings for 95lbx8-12...I'd do the barx8, 65x8, 85 for a couple.
If I'm going to do light hip thrusts like 135x15-20 reps I won't even warm up. At that point I've already squatted and done some leg work as well. And I'm not gonna mess around putting anything less than 135 on the bar.
Yup makes sense, thanks! I could probably stand to warm up a bit more on certain lifts, I am going to make sure I really warm up on the upper body stuff because I am struggling a bit in terms of progression.
Oh yeah. You said you've had an upper body injury too. Good idea.0 -
I don't stretch or do warm up sets.
Use to to them but found that I didn't need them. They take too much time and can tire you out if you do too many.
If you feel the need to do them, just a few reps w/an unweighted bar (or just a broomstick) should be enough IMO.
So if you're squatting 300-400 pounds that day you just put it on the bar and get at it?
I'm 67 and only weigh 155 and don't squat that heavy.
However, I currently squat the 1RM equivalent of 260 by routinely doing 3 sets of12x190 w/o any warm up whatsoever. It's set up like that in my rack and I just get under the bar and squat it cold.
I have done a true 1RM squat of 240 at 160BW (which was heavy for me at 1.5x BW) and only did a few warm up BW squats b4 successfully completing it. The lift was difficult for me but not because of the lack of warmup.
I also routinely DL the 1RM equivalent of 400 by doing 3 sets of 12x260 w/o warmup. Have also done a true DL 1RM at 360 at 160 (2.25x BW) w/o warmup w/o any problems apart from the heaviness of the weight itself. Warming up would not have made it any easier.
If you feel the need to warmup extensively before lifting heavy weight, do whatever you think is best for you, but personally I have found that don't need to warmup at all and have not suffered any injuries or failed to lift a weight due to a lack of warmup beforehand.
Based on this experience, if I was strong enough to actually squat 300-400, I probably would not do anything differently.1 -
I don't stretch or do warm up sets.
Use to to them but found that I didn't need them. They take too much time and can tire you out if you do too many.
If you feel the need to do them, just a few reps w/an unweighted bar (or just a broomstick) should be enough IMO.
So if you're squatting 300-400 pounds that day you just put it on the bar and get at it?
I'm 67 and only weigh 155 and don't squat that heavy.
However, I currently squat the 1RM equivalent of 260 by routinely doing 3 sets of12x190 w/o any warm up whatsoever. It's set up like that in my rack and I just get under the bar and squat it cold.
I have done a true 1RM squat of 240 at 160BW (which was heavy for me at 1.5x BW) and only did a few warm up BW squats b4 successfully completing it. The lift was difficult for me but not because of the lack of warmup.
I also routinely DL the 1RM equivalent of 400 by doing 3 sets of 12x260 w/o warmup. Have also done a true DL 1RM at 360 at 160 (2.25x BW) w/o warmup w/o any problems apart from the heaviness of the weight itself. Warming up would not have made it any easier.
If you feel the need to warmup extensively before lifting heavy weight, do whatever you think is best for you, but personally I have found that don't need to warmup at all and have not suffered any injuries or failed to lift a weight due to a lack of warmup beforehand.
Based on this experience, if I was strong enough to actually squat 300-400, I probably would not do anything differently.
lol okay. Thank you for that extensive response in which you describe yourself warming up.
My 1RM squat is 240 as well. My warm up would only take a few minute to hit.3 -
Honestly, I have no idea about % of one rep max. It appears you are talking about bench. In which case, I just warm up with 185. My sets look like:
185x8
225x8
245 to failure (4-6)
225 to failure
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If you're talking squats, I do similar. I just start with 135 to warm up and do more volume. My squat set look like this currently:
135x8
185x8
225x8
275x6
315 to failure (5 reps yesterday)0 -
I keep iot simple and just do a few lifts as I add a plate so if I was squatting 100kg I would start with an empty bar, then add the 20kg plates, then add the 15 or 10 kg plates, then add the final plates and squat0
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I don't stretch or do warm up sets.
Use to to them but found that I didn't need them. They take too much time and can tire you out if you do too many.
If you feel the need to do them, just a few reps w/an unweighted bar (or just a broomstick) should be enough IMO.
So if you're squatting 300-400 pounds that day you just put it on the bar and get at it?
I'm 67 and only weigh 155 and don't squat that heavy.
However, I currently squat the 1RM equivalent of 260 by routinely doing 3 sets of12x190 w/o any warm up whatsoever. It's set up like that in my rack and I just get under the bar and squat it cold.
I have done a true 1RM squat of 240 at 160BW (which was heavy for me at 1.5x BW) and only did a few warm up BW squats b4 successfully completing it. The lift was difficult for me but not because of the lack of warmup.
I also routinely DL the 1RM equivalent of 400 by doing 3 sets of 12x260 w/o warmup. Have also done a true DL 1RM at 360 at 160 (2.25x BW) w/o warmup w/o any problems apart from the heaviness of the weight itself. Warming up would not have made it any easier.
If you feel the need to warmup extensively before lifting heavy weight, do whatever you think is best for you, but personally I have found that don't need to warmup at all and have not suffered any injuries or failed to lift a weight due to a lack of warmup beforehand.
Based on this experience, if I was strong enough to actually squat 300-400, I probably would not do anything differently.
lol okay. Thank you for that extensive response in which you describe yourself warming up.
My 1RM squat is 240 as well. My warm up would only take a few minute to hit.
Where do you see a warmup?
He does 3 work sets of 12x190 and 12x260 for squat and Deadlift?
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I just add a plate each side as I go
Usually 20 reps bar
8 @ 60
8 @ 100
6 @ 140
6 @ 180
6 @ 220
Then work sets and usually 1 back off set0
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