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Warmup sets aren’t sexy, but they’re one of the most overlooked aspects of good programming. In the leadup to a top set, I constantly see lifters obsess over mobility and corrective exercises, rest time between sets, and when to put on a belt or knee sleeves… only to gloss over the actual weight on the bar. That’s never a good call, and unlike many other details of your training, warmup weight selection actually can make or break a session.
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I pride myself on my ability to plan warmup sets. Now, a large part of that ability draws on tacit knowledge – “soft” skills I’ve accumulated over my two decades of lifting experience. Whenever I have doubts, though, I fall back on two rules – rules that you can easily apply to your own training.
The 5% Rule
This rule is simple: your last warmup jump must be less than 5% of your estimated top set. Let’s use an estimated top set of 500 pounds as an example. Five percent of 500 is 25, so your last warmup should be at most 475 pounds.
The Rule of Smaller Jumps
This rule is even simpler than the 5% rule, but it requires more forethought. The rule of smaller jumps states that each warmup jump must be smaller than the last jump. Let’s use our 500-pound top set as an example:
The 5% rule tells us that our last warmup is around 475 pounds, and we’ll be jumping 25 pounds to our top set. That means our second-to-last warmup is at most 445 pounds (30 pounds less than the last warmup).
Iterate backwards to plan the rest of the warmups. In our 500-pound top set example, we might work backward and plan these warmups:
475
440
405
365
315
225
Empty bar
This can get complicated, so I’ve created a warmup calculator to help you. You can check it out for free here.
Now, please don’t misunderstand the intent of this article. I’m not discounting the value of a through full-body warmup. I’m simply emphasizing the importance of weight selection, and giving you a few guidelines to make that selection process easier. If you want further help, you can always contact me for coaching!
ABSOLUTELY AWESOME to see you posting here on Substack, Ben!