How to do my warm up sets?

[MidEastBeast74]

Can someone explain to me how warm up sets work? I started HRT this week and have been doing 1 set of 10 for my warmup, before going into my HRT sets for each exercise.

I can't seem to find a definitive area that says how many sets I should be warming up for and at what percentages and for how many reps. As of right now I've been doing 1x10 @60-70% of my 60% of that lift max, then going into the HRT sets. Thanks.

[BloodySalad]

There's no set number. You do what you do until your muscles and CNS are ready for your working weight.

I find that for me, setting out with high reps and then going lower as I get towards my working sets works.

So say I'm going to be squatting 300lbs for 10. I start out really light with only the bar and squat 10 just to loosen up. Then I go 75 and squat 7. Then 150 for 5. Then 225 for 3. Then I hit the working weight.

Play around and see what suits you. Only thing I'd say is to be careful and not do too many reps as you approach your working weight otherwise you run the risk of tiring yourself out before you get there.

[rbowman91]

There are two types of warm ups: General and Specific.

A general warm up would be your 5-10 min of light cardio before your hell session.

A specific warm up are the light weight lifts that you do before you blast a mus cle group, in order to prep them for the slaughter ahead.

Example: Doing 3 sets of 12 light weight barbell curls BEFORE you start your biceps routine. This pumps blood into the muscle and gets them ready, as well as allowing them to put forth more effort during the actual workout.

The warmup shouldn't be something difficult. I usually do sets of 3x10 or 3x12. It shouldn't "fry" or "burn" your muscles, just get some blood in there and a nice pump ready to go.

[RSPres]

Can someone explain to me how warm up sets work? I started HRT this week and have been doing 1 set of 10 for my warmup, before going into my HRT sets for each exercise.

I can't seem to find a definitive area that says how many sets I should be warming up for and at what percentages and for how many reps. As of right now I've been doing 1x10 @60-70% of my 60% of that lift max, then going into the HRT sets. Thanks.

It depends on the type of training you are doing, particularly rep range. If you are doing low volumes or maxing out you want to do a specific warmup that approaches anywhere from 70-85% for one rep to activate your CNS without tiring muscles. If you are doing "standard" worksets of 8-12 reps for multiple sets I typically start with 45% of my 1 rep max for around ten then get up to about 60% for 5 or 6 to feel the weight. A lot depends on how responsive your CNS is and varies by individual. Aside from that you want to cover the basics and get blood flowing to prevent injury. Hope that helps.