I’ve been doing several warmup sets before getting into my working sets. I was thinking I’d do two warm up sets of 10-15 reps with 50-65% of my 1rm instead of 4 warmup sets. I’ve read that one of the purposes of warmups other than to lube the joints and get blood flowing is to add volume.
Some high rep sets at an easy resistance would do the trick. Maybe a stupid question that’s been asked before and I didn’t do the reading. If so sorry for polluting the forums more.
When I train heavy compound lifts, it really depends on the particular one I’m doing. I tend to use more volume the more ‘strict’ the exercise is. For instance, I make sure I get a decent amount of blood flow in when I strict presses and bench press. But for something like a deadlift, I make heavy jumps and keep the reps very low, to stimulate just the nervous system. However, I stretch very thoroughly before deadlift and squat workouts, as that suffices for most of my warm up in all honesty. I’d just go by feel, and not some textbook shit though. It’s what most experienced lifters tend to do I think.
I wouldn’t go from 65% to 90+% if that’s what your asking. Also 10 reps in the 60% range isn’t all that easy either and I’d even do a couple of warmup sets for that alone, but I’m getting older so…
If you want to “warm-up” then I would usually do 2-4 warm-up sets before you main lift, maybe a bit more if you like that and/or are lifting a lot of weight. If you are a powerlifter and training for 1RM strength then I don’t think you need to do so many reps, sets of 3-8 reps works well.
If you think you need to add volume then I would do those sets as a backdown set (after your main working sets) so you get the benefit of post activation.
If you have a specific set you are getting ready for then I would be happy to give you my suggestion as to how to warm-up for it.
I generally use warm up sets as my loosening up for the workout. So I generally start with the bar, do the movement, get blood flowing over a couple of sets, then stretch/foam roll as needed between sets.
for bench it might look something like:
Bar x15
135 2x5
(stretch something that feels tight)
225 x3
275 x2
315+ working sets
Throwing in extra reps/sets at weights where I’m not feeling warm enough.
I’ve also gotten in the habit of doing some light body weight thing between warmup sets, like for bench I’ll do 8 pullups between all my bench sets.
Am I the only one here who does a dozen sets before getting to the fun stuff?
I just warm up with the barbell. I really like complexes with the barbell. Seems to work best for me.
45x5
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x2
315x2
Those were my warm up sets for squats today.
[quote]sufiandy wrote:
I wouldn’t go from 65% to 90+% if that’s what your asking. Also 10 reps in the 60% range isn’t all that easy either and I’d even do a couple of warmup sets for that alone, but I’m getting older so…[/quote]
Today I probably worked at 80-85% or so. I came up with the idea while I was in my working sets. So I didn’t warm up like I suggested in the original post. I thought I would try it an see how it works out next workout. I haven’t been doing a traditional powerlifting workout where I do 6x4, 8x3,10x3. I only did 3x4. That’s why I thought I needed more volume. Then I did a KB lunge circuit for assistance which I felt got me where I needed to be for the day.
another benefit of the higher rep warmup sets would be technique practice. I still feel like I’m a beginner. I have a tendency to let my T spine round when I front squat heavy so I need to work on that. I want to front squat 315 with perfect form and then progress to a double body weight front squat. Long shot, that means 440lbs. haha. That’s kind of elite isn’t it?
I haven’t been trying to lift max effort. I want to maintain an explosive aspect to my lifts so that’s why I kept the weight lower than typical powerlifting workouts call for. If the bar isn’t popping off my shoulders at the top of the lift and making some noise then I’m going too heavy.
My response is pretty dumb, but it keeps me consistent. I make 10% jumps, rarely ever going over 5 reps. A couple sets of 5 with the bar, 95lbs, 135 then I start making my jumps. Today, I was shooting for at least 300lbs on bench for a set of 5, so my sets were 30lbs jumps from 135 on up, 165, 195, 225, 255, 285 and I squeaked out 4 reps with 315. 315 was my 12th set and I was pretty warmed up by then. Oh, and I only do this on my first ME movement. I hope this helps, good luck
I take as many warm up sets as I need. That could mean 3-5 sets with just the bar before putting any weight on. It takes me a lot longer to get warmed up in the winter, even with a thorough general warm up. I make sure that my warm up sets are consistent with my goal of the day and use caution to make sure I don’t accidentally fatigue myself by doing too much during my warm ups.
[quote]Chicksan wrote:
My response is pretty dumb, but it keeps me consistent. I make 10% jumps, rarely ever going over 5 reps. A couple sets of 5 with the bar, 95lbs, 135 then I start making my jumps. Today, I was shooting for at least 300lbs on bench for a set of 5, so my sets were 30lbs jumps from 135 on up, 165, 195, 225, 255, 285 and I squeaked out 4 reps with 315. 315 was my 12th set and I was pretty warmed up by then. Oh, and I only do this on my first ME movement. I hope this helps, good luck [/quote]
How did you get 12 sets out of that?
bar
bar
95
135
165
195
225
255
385
315
I only counted ten.
My warm up sets for my meet last weekend went like this…
Squat-
135x5
225x5
315x3
335x2
365x1
405x1
Bench-
115x5
135x5
165x5
185x3
205x2
225x1
Deadlift-
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x2
405x1
425x1
475x1
Depends how you feel that day. If you feel badass, you make bigger jumps. If you feel achy, you do smaller jumps. It’s also an individual thing and lift-specific (e.g., I make the biggest relative jumps with bench).
In the end, it is all very simple. Ask yourself whether you feel “ready” for the work sets with whatever you do. If not, change something around.
This has little to do with a set protocol per se, but since I’ve started wearing much warmer clothing to my workouts (i.e., hoodie and track pants, at least for the warm-up), I’ve found that my circulation has improved drastically and my need to perform warm-up sets after my first exercise has been minimised. I still do mobility work and 3-4 warm-up sets before my first big lift, however, and then one set prior to the following exercises.
[quote]black_angus1 wrote:
[quote]Chicksan wrote:
My response is pretty dumb, but it keeps me consistent. I make 10% jumps, rarely ever going over 5 reps. A couple sets of 5 with the bar, 95lbs, 135 then I start making my jumps. Today, I was shooting for at least 300lbs on bench for a set of 5, so my sets were 30lbs jumps from 135 on up, 165, 195, 225, 255, 285 and I squeaked out 4 reps with 315. 315 was my 12th set and I was pretty warmed up by then. Oh, and I only do this on my first ME movement. I hope this helps, good luck [/quote]
How did you get 12 sets out of that?
bar
bar
95
135
165
195
225
255
385
315
I only counted ten.
My warm up sets for my meet last weekend went like this…
Squat-
135x5
225x5
315x3
335x2
365x1
405x1
Bench-
115x5
135x5
165x5
185x3
205x2
225x1
Deadlift-
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x2
405x1
425x1
475x1[/quote]
I did two sets at 95lbs and 135lbs. I did not however, jump from 255 to 385 then back down to 315. That would be sweet if I could, but not in this lifetime, lol