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glennpendlay
New member
there is a question or two in a couple of threads about the right way to warm up for a workout like the 5 by 5... so i thought i would address it as best i could in a new thread.
when you are starting the workout, or starting any new exercise, its best to do the warmups with steady weight jumps and the same number of reps for each set. the body reacts well to this, and its a great teaching tool... if your not really good at something, or if its new, taking big jumps and changing too many things from one set to the next lengthens the learning curve. so take for instance someone just starting out on the workout who is going to squat 200lbs for 5 reps as his work set. he might do this.
bar for 5
95lbs for 5 (25's on a standard bar)
135lbs for 5 (45's on a standard bar)
165lbs for 5
185lbs for 5
200lbs for 5
notice that the jumps were bigger at first, then got smaller. every set should be exactly the same.
as a person gets higher in weight, you will take bigger jumps, but will also end up eventually needing MORE warmup sets to get to the top weight. because of this, you will not want to do all the reps on every warmup set to limit fatigue. you will also not need as much "practice" at lower weights in order to get the top set right. this same person 6 months later, squatting 300lbs for a set of 5 might warm up like this.
bar for 5 or 10
135 for 5
185 for 5
225 for 3
275 for 2
300 for 5
say this person is now training for 3 years and squatting 500lbs for 5, he might now warm up like this
bar for 5 or 10
135 for 5
205 for 5
275 for 3
335 for 2
385 for 1
425 for 1
465 for 1
500 for 5
as a general rule, it seems to me that most people need somewhere near 20-25 reps to warm up. some will do extra reps with bodyweight or with the bar stretching out or just general limbering up before putting weight on the bar.
people using very high weight will take bigger jumps, but even so will generally need more warmup sets and because of this will limit the reps on their final warmup sets to limit fatigue. people who train more often usually dont need as much warmup... when i was training for olympic weightlifting and doing some form of squatting just about every day it was normal for me to do some form of bodyweight limbering up, then start my squats with 150kilos (330lbs)... but on mondays, after sunday off, i always felt the need to do my first set with lower weight. im not sure why this is, but it seems widespread.
people who are more skilled at a certain exercise will generally do the bulk of their warmups with a lower percentage... 80% for 5 reps will be more fatigueing for a guy squatting 500lbs than for a guy squatting 135lbs.
hopefully this will help some of you who are wondering. there are a few mutants in the world who just plain do things differently and are fine, but for 95% of us, these are pretty good guidelines to follow.
when you are starting the workout, or starting any new exercise, its best to do the warmups with steady weight jumps and the same number of reps for each set. the body reacts well to this, and its a great teaching tool... if your not really good at something, or if its new, taking big jumps and changing too many things from one set to the next lengthens the learning curve. so take for instance someone just starting out on the workout who is going to squat 200lbs for 5 reps as his work set. he might do this.
bar for 5
95lbs for 5 (25's on a standard bar)
135lbs for 5 (45's on a standard bar)
165lbs for 5
185lbs for 5
200lbs for 5
notice that the jumps were bigger at first, then got smaller. every set should be exactly the same.
as a person gets higher in weight, you will take bigger jumps, but will also end up eventually needing MORE warmup sets to get to the top weight. because of this, you will not want to do all the reps on every warmup set to limit fatigue. you will also not need as much "practice" at lower weights in order to get the top set right. this same person 6 months later, squatting 300lbs for a set of 5 might warm up like this.
bar for 5 or 10
135 for 5
185 for 5
225 for 3
275 for 2
300 for 5
say this person is now training for 3 years and squatting 500lbs for 5, he might now warm up like this
bar for 5 or 10
135 for 5
205 for 5
275 for 3
335 for 2
385 for 1
425 for 1
465 for 1
500 for 5
as a general rule, it seems to me that most people need somewhere near 20-25 reps to warm up. some will do extra reps with bodyweight or with the bar stretching out or just general limbering up before putting weight on the bar.
people using very high weight will take bigger jumps, but even so will generally need more warmup sets and because of this will limit the reps on their final warmup sets to limit fatigue. people who train more often usually dont need as much warmup... when i was training for olympic weightlifting and doing some form of squatting just about every day it was normal for me to do some form of bodyweight limbering up, then start my squats with 150kilos (330lbs)... but on mondays, after sunday off, i always felt the need to do my first set with lower weight. im not sure why this is, but it seems widespread.
people who are more skilled at a certain exercise will generally do the bulk of their warmups with a lower percentage... 80% for 5 reps will be more fatigueing for a guy squatting 500lbs than for a guy squatting 135lbs.
hopefully this will help some of you who are wondering. there are a few mutants in the world who just plain do things differently and are fine, but for 95% of us, these are pretty good guidelines to follow.
