I’ve been back in the gym now for a few months and am starting to lift some significant weights [for me anyway].
I figure my bench to be in the 350-360#.
So here’s my question:
When you start getting to the bigger weights, how light and how long do you do ‘warm-up’ sets?
I’m trying to balance being safe while not wasting too much energy working my way up to the HEAVY sets.
For example, I’ve been starting with a warm up of 10 reps with 135 for a stretch; then jumping to 225 for 5 reps, then 275 for 5-6 reps, then to 315 for 1-3 X 2 sets, and finaly some three board presses in the 335# range for single reps to failure.
Am I wasting too much time getting over 300#? Anyone have a better warmup program?
Everyone is different. I think what you’re doing is fairly standard. I had a training partner who would do a warm up with 135 then a warm up with 200 and then he would jump right into his work sets which were usually in the 365 to 405 range.
Personally I couldn’t do that. I will do about 4 to 5 warm up sets before I start my work sets.
[quote]SeaHag wrote:
I’ve been back in the gym now for a few months and am starting to lift some significant weights [for me anyway].
I figure my bench to be in the 350-360#.
So here’s my question:
When you start getting to the bigger weights, how light and how long do you do ‘warm-up’ sets?
I’m trying to balance being safe while not wasting too much energy working my way up to the HEAVY sets.
For example, I’ve been starting with a warm up of 10 reps with 135 for a stretch; then jumping to 225 for 5 reps, then 275 for 5-6 reps, then to 315 for 1-3 X 2 sets, and finaly some three board presses in the 335# range for single reps to failure.
Am I wasting too much time getting over 300#? Anyone have a better warmup program?
Thanks[/quote]
Short answer: Take as many warmups as you need to feel warm without tiring yourself out.
Long answer: Start with a set of 10-12 easy reps, then progress to sets of 5, when 5 reps would be difficult drop to 3, and when 3 would be difficult drop to singles.
Your warmup doesn’t look bad, but you could probably drop some of the heavier sets. 275 for 5-6 and then 315 for 2 sets is probably unnecessary, but only you will know when you are warm.