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Article: The Most Intelligent Way to Warm Up

It's a great way to warm up. You're warming up and stretching at the same time and also getting your mind and body ready for heavy sets.
 
But what I don't get is how he said 10% more than ur working set for the last ramp but in his example he only uses 5%
 
Must have got his maths wrong. I haven't done it exactly the way he describes. If I'm doing squats, I will start with a weight I can do twenty reps, but I'll only do fifteen and I'll do three sets with about a minute rest. I'm usually a bit stiff at the start, so I don't go too deep, but by the third set I can sit right down. Then I'll add 20 kg for two more sets of fifteen, add 15-20 kg more for two sets of twelve and so on until I get to the weight for my work sets. Usually I'll do three sets of eight work sets and they'll be close to failure. Ends up being about 12-14 sets. I've had lower back problems in the past and a few times I hurt my back squatting by not warming up enough, sometimes with fairly light weight. Since using this method I haven't hurt my back.
 
I didn't like the whole heavier set of one before the working set but I tinkered with the before sets and kinda like it
 
SoupNaziNazi said:
I didn't like the whole heavier set of one before the working set but I tinkered with the before sets and kinda like it
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The heavier-than-your-workset-set is scientifically proven to increase the output of your worksets, provided you rest adequately before you begin the real work sets. It's called 'post-activation potentiation', & it's been clinically proven on backsquats. That being said, every bro in every gym anywhere that's picked up a barbell can attest that after you lift something heavy, when you back the weight back down it feels lighter than if you hit it cold. You bench 225 then fall back to 185, it feels dumb light. Paul Carter calls them over-warmups, if you're looking for more info on percentage protocols to implement them.
 
I do a much shorter version of this...

a light weight set for high volume explosive reps
a heavy weight low rep set for full activation of the muscle group
then into working sets
 
What he said ^^^

No point wasting energy to get into your working sets. 5 is too many as well.

BigHoop65 said:
I do a much shorter version of this...

a light weight set for high volume explosive reps
a heavy weight low rep set for full activation of the muscle group
then into working sets
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@ everyone saying this is too much, you need to consider that only the first few ramp-up sets are higher in reps. The rest are very low reps and just get your body used to moving heavier weight.

Christian Thibaudeau talks about this as well and calls them 'feeler sets'. It's very effective for getting your body ready and will allow you to handle heavier weight while minimizing injury.

I do something similar and it definitely helps.

For example if I'm doing bench, I'll do:

The bar for 15
95 x 5-10 (very explosive)
135 x 5 (very explosive)
185 x 3 (very explosive)
215 x 1-2 (moderately explosive)
245 x 1 (normal)

Then get into my work sets which usually start at 275 or so.

If done right, you're not wasting energy at all on the ramp-up sets.
 
Dave100 said:
What he said ^^^

No point wasting energy to get into your working sets. 5 is too many as well.
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These early sets aren't really taxing; they're low in both total volume and relative intensity. Unless you're really out of shape, these shouldn't take too long or really take it out of you - remember the point is to get more pop out of the worksets.

Fizzeek said:
This is just an over complicated explanation and renaming of a Pyramid workout.
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Sort of, except you're not getting in truly significant stimulus for growth on the way up - it's after the "over-warmup" set that you're getting to your meat and potatoes. The whole point of that ramping up w/ low volume is to increase neural efficiency (grease the groove, if you will) so that you can lift more weight x reps on the worksets. A traditional pyramid gets more of the work on the front side, and results in lower overall potential.
 
screw turdnation they're so smug, they invent some crappy new technique every week and declare everything else crap.
 
Doesn't this premise defeat the purpose of lifting weights if the goal is muscle growth? Isn't the point to train until failure (to stimulate muscle growth) using the least amount of time possible and then resting to allow the body to build muscle. I feel like it would take way to much time and wasted effort to accomplish this before going into working sets. I think we are all starting to over think things.
 
daddywarbuck said:
Doesn't this premise defeat the purpose of lifting weights if the goal is muscle growth? Isn't the point to train until failure (to stimulate muscle growth) using the least amount of time possible and then resting to allow the body to build muscle. I feel like it would take way to much time and wasted effort to accomplish this before going into working sets. I think we are all starting to over think things.
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although I don't completely agree with this article you can't just hope into working sets
 
daddywarbuck said:
Doesn't this premise defeat the purpose of lifting weights if the goal is muscle growth? Isn't the point to train until failure (to stimulate muscle growth) using the least amount of time possible and then resting to allow the body to build muscle. I feel like it would take way to much time and wasted effort to accomplish this before going into working sets. I think we are all starting to over think things.
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Who told you that a muscle has to be trained to failure to grow, or that the least rest possible between sets is optimal for muscle growth? If that were the only way to grow muscle we'd all be doing db curls w/ the 15s for a few super-high rep rest pause sets and then peace out.
 
Hyde said:
Who told you that a muscle has to be trained to failure to grow, or that the least rest possible between sets is optimal for muscle growth? If that were the only way to grow muscle we'd all be doing db curls w/ the 15s for a few super-high rep rest pause sets and then peace out.
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You misread my comment. I wasn't suggesting the only way to grow muscle was training to failure. But if you are not going to train your muscles to failure whats the point? Wouldn't training to failure produce the greatest stimulus for growth? And I never said that you need to rest the least amount of time as possible between sets. I said you should try to complete the entire workout in the least amount of time as the workout would possibly allow. There would come a point in time in any workout where you are simply going to get diminishing returns the longer it goes.
 
If you're going to train to failure, then you definitely want to warm up properly, or sooner or later you will injure yourself. There is no "best" way to train. Plenty of people make good gains without training to failure, so it is still worthwhile training even if you don't. Not everyone wants to get as big as they can, as fast as they can. It's not a race.
 
daddywarbuck said:
You misread my comment. I wasn't suggesting the only way to grow muscle was training to failure. But if you are not going to train your muscles to failure whats the point? Wouldn't training to failure produce the greatest stimulus for growth? And I never said that you need to rest the least amount of time as possible between sets. I said you should try to complete the entire workout in the least amount of time as the workout would possibly allow. There would come a point in time in any workout where you are simply going to get diminishing returns the longer it goes.
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reefhog said:
If you're going to train to failure, then you definitely want to warm up properly, or sooner or later you will injure yourself. There is no "best" way to train. Plenty of people make good gains without training to failure, so it is still worthwhile training even if you don't. Not everyone wants to get as big as they can, as fast as they can. It's not a race.
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reefhog explained my position perfectly. Failure is a proven method for results, but not even necessarily the best way (especially for a natty lifter that could take days to recover from DOMS), as opposed to higher frequency training. And I do definitely agree on the longer workouts eventually passing diminishing returns.
 
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