- Warm-up sets are less challenging sets where you progressively increase the load until you reach your working weight.
<\/li> - Warm-up sets help further prepare your body, prime your nervous system, and give you extra practice time with the first lift of your workout.
<\/li> - Three to four warm-up sets are generally enough. It can look like this: empty bar (set 1), 50% of working weight (set 2), 75% of working weight (set 3), and 90% of working weight (set 4).
<\/li> - The consensus is to do a general warm-up (say five minutes of dynamic stretching or cardio) and proceed to the warm-up sets for the first exercise.
<\/li> - With Hevy<\/a>, you can customize the warm-up calculator and add multiple warm-up sets to any exercise with two taps. Also, tap on regular sets and convert them to warm-up sets.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hevyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Img-6786-6787-6788-1024x660.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat Are Warm Up Sets and What is Their Purpose?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Warm-up sets are lighter sets done before the working sets of an exercise to prepare the muscles, joints, and nervous system. They help improve performance and reduce the injury risk. For example, if someone were to bench press 225 lbs for sets, they might do three warm-up sets with 45 lbs, 110 lbs, and 175 lbs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, by doing warm-up sets instead of jumping straight to your working weight, you target the specific muscles, joints, and connective tissues involved in the exercise. This helps mobilize and warm them up, reducing the risk of feeling stiff or experiencing nagging aches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, it\u2019s easier to spot aches or stiffness that may affect your performance by working up to heavier weights. As you warm up, discomfort may disappear, allowing you to train more productively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alternatively, you might do some extra mobility work to prepare for your first exercise or swap it for another if the discomfort doesn\u2019t go away on that particular movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, warm-up sets serve the essential purpose of greasing the groove<\/em><\/a> by reinforcing proper movement patterns through repeated, low-effort practice. Thanks to warm-up sets, the nervous system engages the necessary motor pathways, which improves coordination, balance, and muscle activation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not doing warm-up sets can keep you stiff, uncomfortable, and less able to train through a full range of motion (at least early on in the workout), and it may even affect overall technique and muscle activation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The warm-up calculator<\/a> in the Hevy app<\/a> allows you to configure your warm-up set structure based on percentages and add the pre-determined warm-up sets to any exercise. The exact weights for each warm-up set will depend on the working weight you select.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hevyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Img-6762-6763-6764-1024x660.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWarm Up Sets As Part of a Warm Up Routine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Warm-up sets are highly beneficial but do not constitute a complete warm-up. To get the most out of them, you must do them as part of a warm-up routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In weight training, you have two forms of warming up that make up this routine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
General Warm-up<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This is the warm-up sequence you do to prepare your body, and it is typically the same regardless of what workout you\u2019re about to do. The purpose of a general warm-up is to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Raise core body temperature<\/li>
- Improve muscle elasticity<\/li>
- Boost blood flow and circulation<\/li>
- Improve joint mobility and reduce stiffness<\/li>
- Warm up the synovial fluid that provides cushioning and lubrication for joints<\/li>
- Engage the nervous system<\/li>
- Help you get into the proper mindset for training<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s an example of how it might look:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Five minutes of low-intensity steady-state cardio, such as incline treadmill walking<\/li>
- Full-body dynamic stretching routine: front-to-back and side-to-side leg swings, arm circles, torso twists, shoulder rolls, cat-cow stretches, walking lunges, and hip circles<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The entire sequence should not take more than ten minutes. Of course, you can add more activities, such as foam rolling, static stretching, or an additional dynamic stretch for a stiffer area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The purpose is to feel better, focus on your workout, move more freely, and jump into the next portion of your session with energy and vigor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some people don\u2019t want to do any cardio before their workout, and that\u2019s also fine, especially when it\u2019s warm, and you\u2019re already a bit sweaty by the time you get to the gym. A few minutes of light cardio can be particularly beneficial if you train in a colder environment (say, your garage during winter) or you work out in the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Specific Warm-Up<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The specific warm-up is where you\u2019re more mindful about what you do to prepare your body for the particular training you\u2019ll be doing\u2013\u2013be it a leg workout<\/a>, chest day<\/a>, or something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you\u2019ve done the general warm-up, you can do the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- A mobility drill that helps with the first exercise of the workout – for example, this can consist of deep bodyweight squats and hip openers before squats<\/strong>, wall slides and band shoulder dislocations before presses<\/strong>, or hip flexor and adductor stretches and cat-cow stretches before deadlifts<\/strong>.
<\/li>- Activation work with light free weights or resistance bands to help improve the mind-muscle connection with areas you struggle to feel<\/em> during training. For example, if you\u2019re doing bent-over barbell rows as a first exercise, you could lat do light pulls to engage these muscles.
Similarly, you may do some glute activation exercises like bodyweight glute kickbacks and lateral band walks before hip thrusts<\/a>.
<\/li>- Warmup sets, where you start with a light weight (say, just the bar) and gradually increase the load until you reach your working weight.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Remember that warm-up routines don\u2019t need to be unnecessarily complicated. It doesn\u2019t hurt to take extra time to prepare, but try to be efficient and only do enough to warm up and train hard without stiffness, discomfort, or pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone has different needs, and there isn\u2019t a scientific consensus on the best warm-up protocol (since there is likely no one best approach for everyone). I highly recommend this narrative review<\/a> by Neves et al. if you want to read more about warm-ups and their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Do Warm Up Sets Correctly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Here is a good blueprint to follow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Start with an empty bar, a pair of dumbbells, or a gym machine weight you can comfortably lift for 15-20 reps. Do the reps slowly and with good control through a full range of motion. Try to engage the target muscles instead of simply going through the motions.
<\/li> - Then, bump the load to around 50% of your working weight and do 5-6 reps with good control through a full range of motion. If you plan to lift 225 lbs, do that set with around 110 lbs.
<\/li> - For your third set, bump the weight to around 75% and do three solid reps. This would mean lifting around 170 lbs if your working weight is 225 lbs.
<\/li> - Optionally, do a final warm-up set with around 90% of your working weight for a single if you need more preparation before jumping into your work sets. This would be a single with around 200 lbs.
<\/li> - Do your first working weight with 225 lbs.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hevyapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Img-6767-1024x683.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAs for rest time<\/a> between warm-up sets, keep it to 45-60 seconds maximum, or enough to get the weight plates, grab the heavier dumbbells, or adjust the weight on the gym machine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the goal is to stay far from muscle failure, you won\u2019t need as long rest breaks to feel ready for each upcoming set. Here\u2019s how it looks in a table:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Activation work with light free weights or resistance bands to help improve the mind-muscle connection with areas you struggle to feel<\/em> during training. For example, if you\u2019re doing bent-over barbell rows as a first exercise, you could lat do light pulls to engage these muscles.
- A mobility drill that helps with the first exercise of the workout – for example, this can consist of deep bodyweight squats and hip openers before squats<\/strong>, wall slides and band shoulder dislocations before presses<\/strong>, or hip flexor and adductor stretches and cat-cow stretches before deadlifts<\/strong>.
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