T Nation

What's Your Warm Up Weights

Bodybuilding
#1

I have been using the same warm up weights for the last 20 yers. Do you guys increase your weights when you get stronger? Here is what I do for warm ups:
Deadlift 135#x10
squat 135#x10
bench 135#x10
military 95#x10
pushpress 95#x10
cleans 95#x10

only do 1 set and then start adding weight.

#2

clanduncan
I use the same 135lb. warm-up weight as you do, and I always have. I really dont think its necessary to use anymore than that, because it is just a warm-up .

#3

I usually do a couple of warm-up sets, usually just 4-5 reps each, gradually increasing the weight each set.

I.e. if you’re aiming for 300 lbs squats, start with just bodyweight-only squatting, then squat 100 lbs, then 200, and then start your working-sets. This will help insure your joints are properly lubed-up, your muscles are warmed-up, and your CNS is dialed-in for a big, compound lift. You don’t really need this level of warm-up if you’re doing a simpler lift such-as bicep curls or similar, but for heavy multi-joint lifts like cleans and squatting, it’s quite helpful.

I stick with just 4-5 reps each set to make sure I’m not exhausting the muscle before the actual working-set.

#4

For the core lifts, my warm up is a 4 set percentage of the planned weight for the first “real” set.

50% 12 reps
50% 10 reps
75% 6 reps
85% 3 reps

I don’t actually calcualte it out each time … just a general guesstimate of the pct. Seems to work well.

#5

[quote]clanduncan wrote:
I have been using the same warm up weights for the last 20 yers. Do you guys increase your weights when you get stronger? Here is what I do for warm ups:
Deadlift 135#x10
squat 135#x10
bench 135#x10
military 95#x10
pushpress 95#x10
cleans 95#x10

only do 1 set and then start adding weight. [/quote]

I tend to do 1 set five for each time I add a 45lb plate.

#6

There’s no such thing as “just a work-out set”.

There was an article on this site a while ago about warm up sets.
It went something like this

40% of workout weight 2x6
60% " " 1x5
75% " " 4
80% " " 3
85% " " 2
90% " " 1
95% " " 1

I use this, but only for the first exercise in the workout.