How To Warm Up For Maximum Strength & Muscle Building Potential
You are killing your gains and it’s all because of what you do before you begin your first real set of the day
We all know how important it is to adequately warm up before we start lifting with high intensity. We know that if we jump right into a maximum effort lift, we’re setting ourselves up for a high probability of injury. And we know if we get injured, we can say goodbye to gaining muscle and strength altogether.
In fact, with injury, it becomes a question of trying not to lose the muscle and strength that we busted our chops for. So to avoid this, we make sure to get our body warm before any heavy lifting. We do a little jogging, perform some lightweight circuits and rep out the light weights to get our muscles warmed up for the heavy work.
But when it’s time to lift, our muscles are already fatigued to a certain degree. And consequently, we are not able to lift to our bodies true capabilities. So our ability to trigger improvements in strength and power are compromised.
If we’re not able to build as much strength then our muscle building potential will be hampered as well. And so that lengthy warm up that we thought was serving us is actually just getting us weaker for our workout.
What A Proper Warm Up Actually Is
If you’re warming up for lifting weights, then all you want to do is lift weights to get warmed up. This is known as a specific warm up and it’s the most sensible and most effective way to warm up. Running is not going to get you warmed up to lift heavy weights, it’s just going to tire your muscles out.
Now warm up sets should be done with low reps, this is to avoid causing unnecessary fatigue. I often see people perform warm up sets in the 8-15 rep range, this is a mistake and will kill your power. You want to perform the minimum amount of work necessary while getting your body ready for the heavy sets to come.
This means that you should perform around 3 warm up sets, following a 5 – 3 – 1 protocol. Your first and lightest warm up set is done for 5 reps, your second is a little heavier and done for 3 reps and your final warm up set is even heavier and is for just a single rep.
This may sound like absolutely nothing and that’s the point! There should be absolutely no fatigue associated with these warm up sets. Essentially, what you’re doing, is turning your muscles on so to speak.
Now when it comes time to do your first work set, your muscles will be stronger and more explosive than ever before! You’ll set some pretty remarkable personal records. When you continue following this warm up protocol, you will make some pretty effortless strength gains.
What Are The Kinobody Warm Up Specifics?
Rule #1 – Only Warm Up For The First Exercise Of A Muscle Group
This often means that you’ll only have to perform warm up sets for 1-2 exercises of a specific workout. If your workout starts with bench press, followed with incline press and some arms.. Well you’d just do warm up sets for bench press and go straight into your first work set for incline press and arms.
Now if you were to do shoulder press and weighted chin ups – well then you’re hitting two different major muscle groups. In this case I’d suggest doing a few warm up sets for both movements.
Rule #2 – Use The 5/3/1 Warm Up
Your first warm up set should be done with 60% of your work set for 5 reps. Second should be done with 75-80% of your work set for 3 reps and final warm up set should be done with 90% for 1 rep.
For weighted chin ups or dips – I usually do bodyweight x 5 reps, then grab my weight belt and use 1/3 of work set weight x 3 and then 2/3 of work set weight x 1.
So if I’m doing 120 lbs chin ups, I’ll do bodyweight x 5, 40 lbs x 3, 80 lbs x 1. If you’re doing less than 90 lbs for your weighted chin ups or dips, then two warm up sets is best. Bodyweight x 5 and half of your work set for 3 reps. So if you’re doing 50 lbs chin ups then you’d do bodyweight x 5 and 25 lbs x 3 reps.
Ideally you want to rest 1-2 minutes between warm up sets to stave off any fatigue. After your final warm up set, I recommend taking a solid 2-3 minutes of rest before going into your first work set.
Rule #3 – Emphasize Explosive Power During Warm Up Sets
To turn on the central nervous system, the powerhouse that recruits muscle fibers to action, I perform my warm up sets with maximum explosive power. This is a technique I learned from strength coach Christian Thibaudeau and ever since implementing it, my lifts flew up.
Another advantage of training with explosive power is that it has a more direct carryover to sports and real world situations. In most athletic endeavours, the muscles have to be able to exert force extremely quickly. If you’re lifting with a slow rep cadence, that strength and muscle you build will be of little use when you have to explode quickly.
I’ve never been about building muscle just for the sake of building muscle – if I’m going to carry some well placed muscle then it better be able to do a little more than attract pretty girls and get positive attention from men.
This Is How it Looks
Warm up set #1 – 60% of work set weight x 5 explosive reps (1-2 minutes rest)
Warm up set #2 – 75-80% of work set weight x 3 explosive reps (1-2 minutes rest)
Warm up set #3 – 90% of work set weight x 1 explosive rep (2-3 minutes rest before going into first work set)
Notes
For this to work, you need to have an approximate idea of how much weight you are planning on lifting for your real, work sets. If you’ve been tracking your workouts like I advise then this is not a problem. If you’re unsure of how much weight you’re going to lift then you will have to take an educated guess.
You can also use these warm up sets to gauge the appropriate amount of weight for your work set. By seeing how the lighter weights feel, you’ll have a pretty good idea of your true 5-8 rep max for your work set.
Lastly, listen to your body. Everyone is different and if you are older and more prone to injury and feel that you need a longer warm up then go for it. That said, this has worked exceptionally well from my experience. Especially when combined with a well set up strength training program and regular use of tension stretches for injury proofing the body.
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Hello Greg,
How do You warm up before box jumps and depth jumps?
Thank You very much !!!!
You can do some jump rope or bodyweight squats and jumping jacks and then practice some light jumping.
Hi Greg, I’m doing the Warrior Shredding Program, what do you think about juice fastening while following this program? Thanks a lot.
It doesn’t fit the program. But if you wanted to do a juice fast once per week, you could. But I don’t think it’s necessary.
Hey Greg,
I injured my shoulder during a fall. It looks like I will be out of the gym for about 6 weeks, or at minimum void of doing anything with my right shoulder.
It sucks because I am at my personal best right now in terms of chest and shoulder strength, and aesthetics. I don’t want to lose either of these. Do you have any advice for me so I don’t lose much progress during this time?
Train the movements that you can. Focus on proper nutrition. And don’t stress out about stuff that isn’t in your control.
Thanks for the article, Greg. I was wondering what would you recommend for the cool down? Actually, are there any benefits doing it?
In addition, what about other types of exercises for the warm up, for instance, stretching or dynamic warm up?
James
I don’t do any cool down. And my warm up usually is just a couple build up sets for my first exercise or two.
Hey Greg, I’m following the GG Program. Quick question, if I do 5/3/1 warm up and complete my set for Incline Press, do I need to do another 5/3/1 warm-up set for Weighted Dips for my next exercise?
No you don’t. You can go straight into your first work set for weighted dips.
If I do Chin-ups followed by hang cleans should I warm up on both exercises or just the first?
I would do both. It helps a lot to do warm up sets for hang cleans.
hey greg what do you think about the smith machine and free weight bench press, is there really a difference will it hinder my gains if i use the smith over free weights?
I prefer free weights. I believe it to be superior and feel there is greater muscle activation but you can still make great results with the smith machine. Machine work is better suited as a supplemental lift for higher volume. This is so you can really focus on fatiguing the muscle and there’s less CNS drain.
Thanks for another good read. A bit off topic but judging from the video, you have a gym at home?
Yes but I usually train at a commercial gym.
Hey Greg,
When you say explode on the warm up sets, does that mean we should try to “explode” our working sets too? During my working sets of RPT in the Warrior Program I use more of a “concentrated” tempo (not bangin’ those reps out but moderalty slow enough) from the eccentric to the concentric motion so that I can focus on adding reps, should I instead lower the weight and focus on exploding at the top of the movement or just stay where I am?
Yes, explode on all sets. Don’t lower the weight, just try to lift it with speed and power, that’s what counts.
Hey Gregg I recently pushed through my plateau on Incline bench, lifted 175lbs for 5 reps as of my last workout. In comparison I can chinup 225 (I’m 185 so 40lbs), I don’t want my physique to become too uneven, should I just maintain my back strength and let the chest catch up a bit? Maybe add an extra chest exercise or extra sets?
By the way loving you “Hacking the Incline Bench” routine that is what helped me get through my plateau.
No your strength is pretty even actually. What makes you think these two lifts should be equal? They’re completely different. You have a long way to go on chin ups – get that up to 100 lbs.
Hey Greg, for the warrior program I know you reccomend a full 3 minute rest between incline bench and bench press. But besides this, what do you reccomend for rest between different excersizes in the program?
Nothing is set in stone 2-5 minutes usually.
Sounds good man. I don’t have a weight belt right now for pullups, anything else I can do to add resistance?
Get a weighted belt ;)
Hi Greg,
I’m on my second week of the Warrior Program, so far so good, I can see the difference in my body already. I have a quick question, where do I fit the Elite workouts? I purchased the membership together with the training program, I’m working out M-W-F. Thanks
Alex
You can follow one of the elite workouts in place of the warrior shredding program. That’s how it would work.
Greg,
First my history, followed by a question…Long time lifter.
After (most recently) following Jim Wendler’s 531 protocol for well over a year, I was the biggest and strongest I ever was…6’2″ and close to 220lbs. But my legs were way over developed, my back and hips were killing me (just turned 33yrs old), and I missed having a lean torso.
I decided it was time for a change and looked around for something new, something that still promoted lifting heavy using basic compound movements, AND the fact that most people train to actually look good. I started your Greek God program a few weeks ago, and so far I am looking and feeling much better. Admittedly I’m not great at counting calories/macros…but I know my body and have adjusted my diet.
Currently I’m down about 10-15lbs (without doing any cardio) and have been able to maintain and even improve my performance in some lifts. The only change I really had to make was using “High Pulls” instead of Hang Cleans, as I can’t “rack” the bar on my shoulders. Lifting 3 days a week using a 2-day split has done wonders for my CNS and mentality and I plan on using a 2-day split most often in the future.
Using your protocol…my schedule is as follows…
A:
Bench Press RPT
Standing Press RPT
Lateral Raises 3×10-12
Weighted Dips 3×6-8
Abs (hanging legs raises or renegade rows)
B:
High Pulls RPT
Weighted Chins RPT
Face Pulls 3×10-12 or Inverted Rows 3×6-8…(tried Rack Pulls 3×3-5, but have to watch my prior injuries.)
Barbell Curls 3×6-8
Calf Raises 3×10-12
And finally, my question…Why do you promote this type of 2-day split? Why not something like Chest, Back and then Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps?
Or even a “total body” 3-day split…for example…
Standing Press
Weighted Chins
Face Pulls
High Pulls
Weighted Dips
Curls
Bench Press
(Some type of Row)
Legs/Calf Raises
Bottom line…your program/philosophy works and I’m looking forward to using 90lbs on my weighted chins in the future!
Awesome man! Great to hear about you’re awesome results.
This style of 2 day split maximizes recovery to the best degree. You’re able to hit each movement/muscle hard while it’s fully recovered every 4-5 days. This is the only way you can possibly do this. A 3 day split can work as well, but you’ll make faster progress on your lifts with a 2 day split because you’re hitting each muscle with greater frequency. After getting really strong with the Greek God Program I recommend following the bonus 3 day split. My new course is coming out in a couple months – superhero bulking. It is a 3 day split, less focus on gaining strength, more on adding size. This is because the assumption is that strength is already very good and it’s more a question of adding muscle for the superhero look.
Greg,
I can’t find an appropriate post to post this question to you and this is a lil off topic but here goes.
What kind of workout routine would you recommend to improve one’s golf game.
I’m a fairly built guy, 5’11 – 175lbs. I’ve been lifting for 12 years, maintaining deadlift at 385lbs n incline db press with 95lbs each. Just wondering if you could give a quick pointer given my lil lifting experience to improve my game.
Best regards,
Jonz
I don’t give training advice for the purposes of improving performance for golf. So I’m not the person to ask about this.
Hey Greg,
Nice post! Because of some injuries I am unable to lift heavy again and I was wondering how do I build muscle with light weight?
Thank you!
Well I would focus on correcting your injuries and going heavy on the movements that are okay for you. For the other exercises you will just have to push yourself hard with light weights. So obviously this means doing more reps. Rest pause works great for this!
Hi Greg,
Wondering if I could send you a pic so you can eyeball my body fat percentage? Or tell me areas to focus on building?
Thanks
You can post your pic up on the kinobody facebook page
Sounds good. As far as body fat goes I am really not sure what different body fat percentages look like. Can you reccomend a site with reference pictures or something that could help? My situation is I am 20 yrs old, 5’9 150 lbs. I have some muscle, little fat, but still can’t see abs yet
Don’t worry too much about what different body fat percentages look like. You can post your pic up on the kinobody facebook page and i’ll give you an estimate. But more importantly focus on leaning down to a level of definition you are content with.
Should I go all the way down where it touches my chest when using incline dumbell press as a strength movement?
Yes.
Hey Greg, what is your take on doing only 2 working sets for your Greek god program instead of 3? (on a bulk). Would it be more effective doing 2 sets for strength gains, having less stress on the CNS/better recovery for the next workout, or would you recommend sticking to the 3 sets as originally outlined? Thanks
I think two sets can also work. But for stubborn muscle groups I would definitely do 3.
Hey man, I’ve been doing the warrior program. Awesome so far!
Just have a few questions:
1) should I weigh potatoes before cooking?
2)How do you reccomend estimating body fat %?
3) Can you reccomend a video or some instructions on how to take body measurements
1) Yes
2) You can get a pretty accurate guess by looking in the mirror
3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-kzz0MP7SQ
A lot of my lifts have been stalling out majorly. What do you think about deloads? Or is is it better to just drop the weight and focus on the 6-8 rep range? Or switch up the movements? This plateau has me totally confused!
I’m not a huge fan of deloads. I’ve had much better results taking 4-5 consecutive rest days. Rotating the exercises to similar movements. Or adjusting the rep range.
Hi Greg,
I’m trying to follow The American physco routine to cut. I’m doing intermittent fasting for 14-16 hours a day but my problem is hitting the macro nutrients. With only 2 meals how am I supposed to get adequate protein? Shouldn’t I be aiming for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight??
Thanks
Yah you can eat like huge servings of protein with your meals. 400g of raw meat is about 80g of protein just so you know.
In your S&D Workout, Can I do Standing Press as my first exercise instead of Incline Bench? Because my shoulders lag, and I’m currently on a cut so I can’t do Shoulder Specialization.
Yep that’s fine.
I already follow this warm up technique from your Warrior Shredding program. But when you say the warm up sets need to be explosive. Do you mean they just need to do faster like is show in the video? As opposed to the actual work sets a bit slower compare to the warm up sets?
Well with every set you should explode up. But with the warm up sets since the weight is light you can move the weight very fast. That is the idea, explode the weight up to awake your central nervous system.
Huge fan of ‘ramping’ warm-ups for optimal working sets. Well explained mate.
Greg,
If I do Incline Presses followed by standing overhead presses should I warm up on both exercises or just the first?
Ed
Just incline presses.
Would you recommend using warm ups sets only for the first 1-2 exercises in this workout?
1 Incline dumbbell press
2 Weighted Pull-ups
3 Lateral Raises:
4 Weighted Bar Dips
5 Biceps Curl
6 Plank:
Yes just for incline press and pull ups.