PushBeyond
Guide

How to warm up before lifting weights

A good warm-up for lifting takes about ten minutes: five minutes of easy cardio to raise your body temperature, a few dynamic movements for the joints you are about to use, then two to four warm-up sets of your first exercise, building up to your working weight.

The aim is to reach your first working set ready, not tired.

On stretching, a 2016 systematic review found that static stretches held for 60 seconds or more per muscle lowered performance straight afterwards by 4.6% on average, against 1.1% for shorter holds, while dynamic stretching gave a small boost of about 1.3% (Behm et al., 2016).

Step by step

  1. Five minutes on a bike, a rower or a brisk walk. Enough to feel warmer, not enough to feel tired.
  2. Two or three minutes of dynamic movement for the day’s joints: leg swings, bodyweight squats and hip openers before legs; arm circles, band pull-aparts and push-ups before an upper-body day.
  3. Warm-up sets of your first exercise: the empty bar for 10 reps, then about 40, 60 and 80 percent of your working weight for 5, 3 and 2 reps.
  4. Start your working sets. Later exercises for the same muscles need one or two lighter sets at most.

What about stretching?

Long static stretches, held for a minute or more per muscle, can temporarily reduce strength and power when done just before lifting. Short holds of under about 30 seconds seem to make little difference either way.

So keep long stretching for after training or a separate session, and prepare for lifting with movement. If a particular stretch helps you reach a position, such as a calf stretch before squats, a short hold is fine.

Keep it in proportion

  • Heavy, low-rep day: more warm-up sets, with smaller jumps near the top.
  • Light or high-rep day: fewer warm-up sets.
  • Cold gym or early morning: a longer general warm-up.
  • Every warm-up set stays far from failure. If the warm-up tires you, it has stopped doing its job.

Updated

Sources

  1. Behm DG, Blazevich AJ, Kay AD, McHugh M (2016). Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does warming up prevent injuries?

The direct evidence for lifting is limited, although structured warm-up programmes have reduced injuries in team sports. What is clear is that a warm-up improves performance, and rehearsing a movement before it gets heavy is sensible either way.

How long should a warm-up take?

About ten minutes for most sessions, a little longer before very heavy lifting or on a cold day.

Is foam rolling a good warm-up?

It can make you feel looser for a while without costing strength, so it is fine if you like it. It does not replace warm-up sets.

Start training with PushBeyond

Free on iPhone and Android. No subscription.

Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play