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Last week I had a few people ask me about my warm-up procedure for heavy lifts, so here are a few thoughts on that subject. I’m going to start with what I consider the ideal warm up for anyone about to lift heavy weights.
The Two Warm Up Set Method
In an ideal world (and of course, it never is), I’d recommend doing two warm up sets for each weight jump, until you get to about 75-80 percent of max.
If you do one set per weight jump, as most people do, each new set is by definition harder than the set before it, if for no other reason than the fact that it’s heavier. Obvious, right?
But if you take, for example, 2 sets of 5 with 45lb, 2 sets of 5 with 95lb, 2 sets of 5 with 135lb, etc., you get the chance to do an apples-to-apples comparison with each new weight, which allows you to appreciate how your warm up sets are working for you. So let’s say you do your first set of 5 with 135lb. As soon as you re-rack the bar, you do an internal assessment of how it felt. Ask yourself how heavy was it, was anything hurting, do you feel tighter than usual, and so on.
When you take your second set with 135lb, you’ll do the same analysis, but in comparison to the first set. Did the second set feel easier in any way? Lighter, smoother, faster? Now you can better understand how well your warm up is working for you in real time.
Ideally, and this is just a theoretical exercise, you’d keep doing sets of 5 with 135lb until the next set doesn’t feel any better in any way than the previous set. When that happens, it’s time to move on to the next weight.
Getting Warm and Staying Warm
Now onto the lifts themselves. If we’re just talking about the three powerlifting events, I tend to need the most warm up on squats and the least warm up on bench. The deadlift is right in the middle. I’ll break down my approach to all three lifts.
Warming Up the Squat
Before I even get to the gym, I’ll take a long, hot shower as a passive warm up. Over the years I’ve found this to be really helpful, and it’s a staple practice for me now. Looking back at my last 100 workouts, I’ve only missed maybe two or three times.
Before I jump in the car, I put my knee sleeves on. This helps to maintain the tissue warmth I created in the shower and increases knee comfort overall (just as a bit of background, my knees tend to be a bit “creaky” and need much more warming up than my other joints).
When I get to the gym, I’ll do anywhere between 2-5 sets of bodyweight squats, usually in sets of 5. I do these mostly as a mobility drill – I work hard to make depth, push my knees out, and achieve the most upright position possible.
Once I feel that the bodyweight squats have done all they can for me, I move to the squat rack and start my warm up sets, which usually look like this:
- 45lb (1-2 x 5)
- 95lb (1-2 x 5)
- 135lb x 5
- 185lb x 3-5
- 225lb x 2-5
- 275lb x 2-5
And so on, depending on the goal for that workout and the reps I’m planning to use. My belt goes on at 225lb.
Warming Up the Bench
Just for reference, my 1RM for the bench is currently about 260-265lb. My bench warm up looks like this:
- 45lb x 10
- 95lb x 8
- 135lb x 6
- 185lb x 4
The following sets will depend on what’s planned for the day. My belt goes on at 185lb. Typically, I don’t have shoulder issues so I move up in weight much quicker than I do in the squat, even though my 1RM squat is currently 385-400lb.
Warming Up the Deadlift
My current 1RM is 500lb. I warm up for the deadlift in the following way:
- 135lb (2-3 x 5)
- 225lb (1-2 x 5)
- 275lb x 5
- 315lb x 3-5
- 365lb x 3-5
The following sets will depend on what’s planned for the day. Belt goes on at 315lb.
I tend to have healthy hips and low back, so I sometimes take bigger jumps. In fact, just as a goof, last year I pulled 455lb stone cold and without a belt.
Making the Warm Up Work for You
- If a given weight isn’t feeling as good as expected during warm ups, I’ll often repeat it until it does.
- If your last working sets feels the best, it might indicate the need for more warm ups. If your first working set feels the best, you probably warmed up too much.
- I recommend occasionally taking bigger or faster jumps as a way of challenging yourself and testing whether or not your current warm up strategy is optimal.
- I don’t use a general warm up, as you can see. My rationale is that you’re better served using the exercise you’re warming up for to increase body temperature, since that way you’re killing two birds with one stone. By squatting light weights as my squat warm up as an example, I’m both increasing my temperature and rehearsing the exercise I’m about to do.
- No, I don’t stretch. I’ve been thinking about it lately, however, so I’ll keep you posted.
This Week’s Training
Volume: 37,357lb (Last Week’s Volume: 37,87lb)
Significant Performances:
- Bench Press: 260lb x1
Very good bench pressing this week, but the squat felt lukewarm to say the least. I also worked up to a casual beltless 435lb pull, which felt fairly good. So sitting here two weeks out, I feel 100 percent on track for the bench and deadlift, but less confident about the squat.
I’ll probably log two sessions next week as I wind down toward the meet, and my primary goal will be to get a good squat in on Monday for confidence building.
That’s about it for this week, hope your training is inspired and on track. Check out the videos, and I’ll be back with you next week.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Bodyweight: 202.4lb
Volume: 8,190lb
Squat
- Set 1: 45lb × 5
- Set 2: 95lb × 5
- Set 3: 135lb × 5
- Set 4: 185lb × 3
- Set 5: 225lb × 2
- Set 6: 275lb × 1
- Set 7: 315lb × 1
- Set 8: 350lb × 1
- Set 9: 315lb × 2
45° Back Extension
- Set 1: 150lb × 8
- Set 2: 150lb × 8
- Set 3: 150lb × 8
Leg Curl
- Set 1: 80lb × 8
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Bodyweight: 202.8lb
Volume: 4,155lb
Bench Press
- Set 1: 45lb × 10
- Set 2: 95lb × 8
- Set 3: 135lb × 6
- Set 4: 185lb × 4
- Set 5: 205lb × 2
- Set 6: 225lb × 1
- Set 7: 245lb × 1
- Set 8: 255lb × 1
- Set 9: 260lb × 1 (Video Below)
- Set 10: 265lb × 0
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Bodyweight: 203lb
Volume: 14,972lb
Deadlift
- Set 1: 135lb × 5
- Set 2: 135lb × 5
- Set 3: 185lb × 5
- Set 4: 225lb × 5
- Set 5: 275lb × 3
- Set 6: 315lb × 3
- Set 7: 365lb × 2
- Set 8: 405lb × 1
- Set 9: 435lb × 1
Back Extension
- Set 1: +140lb × 8
- Set 2: +140lb × 8
- Set 3: +140lb × 8
(Video of this entire workout below)
Friday, November 6, 2015
Bodyweight: 201lb
Volume: 10,040lb
Bench Press
- Set 1: 45lb × 10
- Set 2: 95lb × 8
- Set 3: 135lb × 6
- Set 4: 135lb × 6
- Set 5: 185lb × 4
- Set 6: 205lb × 2
- Set 7: 225lb × 1
- Set 8: 235lb × 1
- Set 9: 245lb × 1
- Set 10: 225lb × 2
- Set 11: 225lb × 2
- Set 1: 5 reps
- Set 2: 5 reps
- Set 3: 5 reps
Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)
- Set 1: 50lb × 8
- Set 2: 60lb × 8
- Set 3: 70lb × 8
More on strength and conditioning:
