Warming Up

[fattofame3]

Hey Guys,

Do you guys warm up e.g do 1-2 sets before your main compound lifts only or you guys warm up 1-2 sets for accessories aswell? E.g I am following VBB 3x Full Body and I warm up before very exercise with 2 sets of half the weight but I am taking a while in the gym and wanted to know what you guys do, Cheers

[Axel15810]

2 sets of warm up usually at the beginning of the workout only, for major muscle groups. I don't really feel it's necessary to warm up for secondary muscle excercises because if I do tri's or bi's it's going to be after doing chest or back so they're already warmed up just fine. If I did them on separate days then yeah I'd probably warm up with a light set or 2 first.

On leg day I do 10 minutes on the stationary bike in addition to 2 warm up sets. Especially now during the winter when I walk into the gym extra cold.

[jademonkey]

Hey Guys,

Do you guys warm up e.g do 1-2 sets before your main compound lifts only or you guys warm up 1-2 sets for accessories aswell? E.g I am following VBB 3x Full Body and I warm up before very exercise with 2 sets of half the weight but I am taking a while in the gym and wanted to know what you guys do, Cheers

I warm up some of my second compound lifts. I warm up rows or incline press when I add them to leg day.

[Allm1ght]

I think 2 sets is a bit lackluster for heavy compounds can easily do 5 to 6 ramping sets of low reps in little time and warm up more effectively

[nemLifts]

Depends on how heavy the working sets are. For a 5RM or heavier working set, I usually ramp up with 6 to 7 low rep sets. So I'd start with the bar for 5, and then slowly go up until I reach 90% 5RM for 1 rep. Then move into working sets. For 8RM, I'd probably warmup with 8x30%, 6×50%, 5x60%, 4×80% or something alike. It really depends on how heavy the weight is.

Having said that, I wouldnt bother warming up for accessories unless they work several muscle groups (ex. Seated rows) or they're the first exercise of the day.

[Xpiro]

Depends on how heavy the working sets are. For a 5RM or heavier working set, I usually ramp up with 6 to 7 low rep sets. So I'd start with the bar for 5, and then slowly go up until I reach 90% 5RM for 1 rep. Then move into working sets. For 8RM, I'd probably warmup with 8x30%, 6×50%, 5x60%, 4×80% or something alike. It really depends on how heavy the weight is.

Having said that, I wouldnt bother warming up for accessories unless they work several muscle groups (ex. Seated rows) or they're the first exercise of the day.

I do your ramping method for my 8RM stuff. Why would a single warmup set of low reps at whatever % be more effective? Been considering trying out a new warmup sequence to see if it benefits me since I’ve been using the 50-90% with declining reps ramping for a few years. Only for my first and second lifts of the day though, so either bench or squats followed by rows or RDLs/deads. No warmup sets for anything else.

Following 90%, I’ll also load the bar with 110% of my working weight and simply un-rack and re-rack it... mental prep thing. This for only Bench or squats.

[supramax]

Hey Guys,

Do you guys warm up e.g do 1-2 sets before your main compound lifts only or you guys warm up 1-2 sets for accessories aswell? E.g I am following VBB 3x Full Body and I warm up before very exercise with 2 sets of half the weight but I am taking a while in the gym and wanted to know what you guys do, Cheers

I do a Reverse Pyramid style warm up of 5 reps @ 60%, 3 reps @ 75% & 1 rep @ 90% of the work set weight for squats, presses and hyperextensions and I use kettlebell swings a as a pre warm up to my low volume ramping warm up for the deadlift .

[nemLifts]

I do your ramping method for my 8RM stuff. Why would a single warmup set of low reps at whatever % be more effective? Been considering trying out a new warmup sequence to see if it benefits me since I’ve been using the 50-90% with declining reps ramping for a few years. Only for my first and second lifts of the day though, so either bench or squats followed by rows or RDLs/deads. No warmup sets for anything else.

Following 90%, I’ll also load the bar with 110% of my working weight and simply un-rack and re-rack it... mental prep thing. This for only Bench or squats.

Both ways are effective but it's a few small differences that have seemed to help me out personally. For starters, when lifting 5RM or heavier I take these 2 things into account for maximizing my working sets effectiveness:

1) Pre working set fatigue - It's important to get an effective warm up while minimizing muscular fatigue going into a working set. By ramping up starting with 5 reps and going down to 1, total warm up volume typically isn't very high. I don't like losing my breath before going into a heavy lift as well, so rest between warm up sets is usually upwards of a minute. With the reduced warm up volume and getting enough rest between warm up sets, it really allows me focus on point #2


2) Technique - By following the ramping up for a 5RM or heavier, it leaves more than enough in the tank to give maximum focus on solid technique. This can often make the difference between finishing a solid set with full 15 reps (in the case of 3x5) as opposed to struggling through 13.

Having said that, when doing 8RM, I'm not as worried about working through technique pre-working sets. This is because a lighter load (in the case of 8RM) is much easier to control than the weight for a 5RM.
Total volume can be kept the same in warm up (for 8RM) as you would expect from a ramping up set (like mentioned above). But.. to get the same volume with a % scheme like I mentioned in the original post, you'll be doing lighter weight with slightly more reps. I typically find more reps with a smaller amount of weight (less sets as well) to be less physically taxing which allows me to get through the warm up quicker without feeling any less warmed up.

To sum it up, doing a % style warm up can allow for the warm up to be quicker when doing sub 5RM loads without being any less effective. Hope that makes sense

[Xpiro]

Hmm I find that I need to drill in my technique on many points before I start my working sets, given that there’s always something in my notes from the previous session that I need to work on. And it can be difficult for me to maintain focus under the pressure of completing my reps, so I try to condition my body beforehand as much as possible... actually, the more reps I’m doing, the more likely I am to lose focus.

50-90% x 5-1 reps isn’t even remotely fatiguing, and I usually wait 2-3 minutes between those sets as well. Saving time is something I don’t really think about, but I was wondering if warming up with 6+ reps would be more conducive to succeeding with 8 rep working sets.

[nemLifts]

Hmm I find that I need to drill in my technique on many points before I start my working sets, given that there’s always something in my notes from the previous session that I need to work on. And it can be difficult for me to maintain focus under the pressure of completing my reps, so I try to condition my body beforehand as much as possible... actually, the more reps I’m doing, the more likely I am to lose focus.

50-90% x 5-1 reps isn’t even remotely fatiguing, and I usually wait 2-3 minutes between those sets as well. Saving time is something I don’t really think about, but I was wondering if warming up with 6+ reps would be more conducive to succeeding with 8 rep working sets.

That makes sense. Focus is a commodity in the gym so moving through a warm up in a way that gets you mentally firing is going to be the best way.

At the moment, there's one study out that actually address' the results of different warm ups on resistance training performance. Hopefully I get a chance to look at it when it's publicly available.

If hypertrophy is your goal and you're looking to maximize it, what I understand is that - A submaximal load performed for more reps will create a greater metabolic response. So 6+ rep warm up might positively influence your metabolic response, but whether it would improve 8 rep performance is another question.

[Millz12323]

I stopped doing most of my stretching or mobility type stuff and lately have just been doing more warm up sets.

Like for squats and deads I'll do maybe 2-3 sets at 135 until it feels really strong And my joints are loosened up.

For bench I'll always do 2 sets with just the bar and then I'll do reps at 95 or 135 until it feels good without any sort of like tightness.

Once my form feels good then I'll ramp up quickly.

For example on deads

RDL just the bar
135 sumo 5-10 reps
135 RDL 5-10 reps
135 sump 5-10 reps until it feels strong and snappy
225 x3-5
315 x2-4
405 1-2

Then do whatever work sets .I'm.doing for the day.

I get up to 40 warm up reps here but because the intensity in most of them is so low it doesn't sap any energy from the work sets. I use these warm ups to assess how I'm moving for the day. If the sets at 135 don't feel good then I'll see if there's anything I need to stretch or massage.

Not sure if what I'm doing makes sense but it feels much better than doing mindless mobility work for me.

[WakingOp]

I ramp up all the weights lately. I'll start with the bar and add 20-30 pounds at a time. Take the reps nice and slow. The weights feel much lighter than when I was doing less