A good warm-up prepares you for the exercise without already creating fatigue. For resistance training, simply raising your heart rate is therefore not enough. It is especially practical to rehearse the movement you are about to perform with gradually heavier but brief warm-up sets.
Why warm up?
A warm-up can raise body temperature, prepare movement execution and familiarise you with the load that follows. In a systematic review, an appropriate warm-up improved most performance measures examined, although the protocols varied considerably (Fradkin et al., 2010).
General and specific warm-up
General warm-up
A few minutes of easy cycling, rowing or walking can be useful when you arrive cold or have barely moved. It mainly raises temperature and heart rate.
Specific warm-up
First perform the planned exercise with lighter loads. This rehearses the technique and builds towards the load you will actually use.
For a heavy squat, bench press or deadlift, the specific warm-up is usually the most important part. Research on the bench press and squat supports a gradual, exercise-specific build-up and suggests that only a few very light repetitions may not always be the best preparation (Ribeiro et al., 2020).
How to ramp up to heavy work sets
Start light, increase the load in steps and reduce repetitions along the way. The closer you get to the working load, the fewer repetitions you need. The final warm-up set may let you feel the load, but it should not become hard or exhausting.
| Step | Guideline | Repetitions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Empty bar or very light | 8–12 |
| 2 | About 40–50% of working load | 5–8 |
| 3 | About 60–70% | 3–5 |
| 4 | About 75–85% | 1–3 |
| Then | Working load | Planned work sets |
This is a practical guideline rather than a mandatory percentage protocol. A beginner using a low working load often needs fewer steps than an experienced lifter training very heavily. A small 2024 study found better training performance after a relatively heavy, brief warm-up set than after lighter warm-ups with more repetitions. This mainly supports the principle of building up specifically while avoiding unnecessary volume (Viveiros et al., 2024).
Examples for compound exercises
The examples below assume normal work sets, not a maximal 1RM attempt. Adjust the steps to your level and loads.
| Exercise and working load | Possible ramp-up |
|---|---|
| Bench press — 80 kg | 20 kg × 10, 40 kg × 6, 60 kg × 3, 70 kg × 1–2, then work sets |
| Squat — 120 kg | 20 kg × 8–10, 60 kg × 5, 85 kg × 3, 105 kg × 1–2, then work sets |
| Deadlift — 140 kg | 60 kg × 5, 90 kg × 3, 115 kg × 1–2, 130 kg × 1, then work sets |
| Overhead press — 50 kg | 20 kg × 8, 30 kg × 5, 40 kg × 2–3, then work sets |
A second exercise for the same muscles usually needs fewer warm-up sets. After bench pressing, one light set on a chest-press machine may be enough. When changing to a new movement pattern—such as moving from bench press to a heavy squat—you should build up specifically again.
Dynamic or static stretching?
Dynamic movements usually fit well within a warm-up: controlled bodyweight squats, arm movements or light repetitions of the planned exercise. They combine range of motion with active muscular control.
Prolonged static stretching immediately before maximal strength or explosive performance can temporarily reduce performance slightly. The effect depends on duration and the rest of the warm-up. A recent meta-analysis confirms that longer static stretches are more likely to cause a temporary force deficit, whereas short stretches have much smaller effects (Warneke & Lohmann, 2024). When brief static stretches are part of a full warm-up followed by dynamic and specific movements, the average disadvantage is generally small (Chaabene et al., 2019).
Does warming up prevent injuries?
A warm-up can prepare you better for loading, but it cannot guarantee injury prevention. Direct evidence for one ideal injury-prevention protocol in resistance training is limited. Static stretching alone has not convincingly reduced overall injury risk in systematic reviews (Small et al., 2008).
Injury risk is also influenced by technique, fatigue, load progression, training volume, recovery and individual tolerance. Treat the warm-up as one part of responsible training, not as protection against every mistake or sudden overload.
How long should a warm-up take?
There is no universal minimum duration. For many normal resistance-training sessions, roughly 5–10 minutes of general movement is optional, followed by several specific warm-up sets. If you are already active, the general portion can be shorter or unnecessary. Heavy compounds or cold conditions may require more time.
Do not treat a stopwatch as an absolute rule. You are sufficiently prepared when the movement feels smooth, technique is stable and the working load does not feel like an unexpected jump—without the warm-up sets producing noticeable fatigue.
Common mistakes
- Performing ten to fifteen hard repetitions in every warm-up set.
- Taking a warm-up set close to muscular failure.
- Doing only cardio and then jumping straight to a heavy working load.
- Performing prolonged static stretching and immediately attempting maximal or explosive performance.
- Repeating a complete warm-up for every light isolation exercise.
Practical summary
If you arrive cold, move easily for a few minutes. Then build specifically towards the first heavy compound exercise with several progressively heavier sets and fewer repetitions. Keep every warm-up set well away from muscular failure. Use dynamic movements when helpful and limit prolonged static stretching immediately before heavy or explosive work sets.
Scientific references
- Chaabene, H., Behm, D. G., Negra, Y., & Granacher, U. (2019). Acute effects of static stretching on muscle strength and power: An attempt to clarify previous caveats. Frontiers in Physiology, 10, 1468. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.01468
- Fradkin, A. J., Zazryn, T. R., & Smoliga, J. M. (2010). Effects of warming-up on physical performance: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(1), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c643a0
- McGowan, C. J., Pyne, D. B., Thompson, K. G., & Rattray, B. (2015). Warm-up strategies for sport and exercise: Mechanisms and applications. Sports Medicine, 45(11), 1523–1546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0376-x
- Ribeiro, B., Pereira, A., Neves, P. P., et al. (2020). The role of specific warm-up during bench press and squat exercises: A novel approach. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6882. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186882
- Small, K., Mc Naughton, L., & Matthews, M. (2008). A systematic review into the efficacy of static stretching as part of a warm-up for the prevention of exercise-related injury. Research in Sports Medicine, 16(3), 213–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/15438620802310784
- Viveiros, L., Gioia, K., Nasser, I., et al. (2024). High-load and low-volume warm-up increases performance in a resistance training session. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 40, 1487–1491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2024.08.004
- Warneke, K., & Lohmann, L. H. (2024). Revisiting the stretch-induced force deficit: A systematic review with multilevel meta-analysis of acute effects. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 13(6), 805–819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2024.05.002