HOW TO WARM UP PROPERLY FOR HYPERTROPHY (FULL GUIDE):

== YOU WANT TO BOOKMARK THIS ==

The main things you should be thinking about when warming up
are:

1) Have the muscle and joints in question been used today
2) How much load am I intending to put on them
3) Will this be taxing on my CNS
4) How much injury risk is there at play
5) What is the quickest, least taxing way to get me prepared for my
working sets

Most guys come in and treat their warm ups as part of their sets
Trying to get the most out of every set, pushing the baby weights
close to failure

Or not even bothering with the baby weights at all

Think about your whole progression of your sets as leading up to that last 1-2 sets

And the warm ups are simply to put you in a position to get the absolute most out of them

Let's say you're Usain Bolt about to run the 100m for a new PR

- You wouldn't want to be fatigued or you wouldn't hit your new
best
- You wouldn't want to be stiff cos you might pull your hamstring
- You wouldn't want to be cold cos your body wouldn't be warmed
up and ready to go

What you want is the LEAST work done to satisfy those 5 points

But what you'll need to achieve that will vary

For example, a heavy compound as the first exercise of the session (such as Hack Squat), will need more warming up than a bicep curl

== Example of how you might warm-up for Ex 1. Hack Squat==

- WU 1: Just the bar/machine for 12, 15, 20 (even 30 reps) @ RPE 2

This is so light it can't tax you at all, and is just about getting blood flow to the muscle

Rest: 30 secs

- WU 2: 40-50% of your working weight for 10-15 reps @ RPE 3

This is now a weight where you should 'feel' it, but only slightly

Rest: 45-60 secs

- WU 3: 60-80% of your working weight for 5-8 reps @ RPE 5

This should now feel challenging to where a lot of reps would start
slightly taxing you

Rest: 60-90 secs

- WU 4: 80%-90% of working weight for 2-4 reps @ RPE 5

Despite this final warm up being very close to working weight, you're just 'touching' it with a few reps so you're accustomed and ready

Any more than a few reps would tax you and take away from the working sets

Depending on the exercise, you may want to skip this - but for something like a heavy compound it’s a good idea

Rest: 90-120 secs

So for a hack squat or compound, this would get you in prime position where your muscles are ready to go, touched heavy weight but haven't pushed yourself hard yet

Whereas for something like a bicep curl, you could get away with 1-3 sets (depending on a few factors which I’ll get into in a moment)

The reason you'd use 3-4 sets on the Hack Squat is:

1) the hack squat was the first exercise (so the body is cold)
2) it's a lot of load being applied to the body
3) the movement has a higher risk profile

Whereas a bicep curl might only need 1-2 warm ups because:

1) it's the 5th exercise of an upper body session (so the bicep area is
already warm)
2) there isn't much load coming on the body relatively
3) with proper technique and lifting the right weight, there is minimal risk at play

So you can see, exercise position plays a big role, because it influences what has already been warmed

But also consider the amount of warm-up needed correlates to HOW MUCH the muscle has been worked in the previously exercises

So from a hack squat to a bicep curl, there wouldn’t carry much carryover and your bicep curl warm up would need to be at least 2 sets

But if you performed close grip chin ups before biceps, they’ve worked a lot in already so you could get away with just 1 bicep warm up set

A lot of it is just common sense / instinct as you do it more, and there isn’t a ‘definitive amount’ of sets, reps, %'s of working weight etc

Just think about putting your body in that Usain Bolt ready to hit the 100m position

Never do too little you wouldn’t be ready or might injure yourself, but don’t overdo it where you wasted all that energy warming up and couldn’t exert yourself in the actual race when it mattered

Your first couple sets should NEVER be your best, they are just there to PREP you for the big game (your top 1-3 sets)

Recap e.g of a warm-up for a heavy compound as Ex. 1:

- WU 1: Just the bar for 12, 15, 20 (even 30 reps) @ RPE 2 | Rest: 30 secs

- WU 2: 40-50% of your working weight for 10-15 reps @ RPE 3 | Rest: 30-60 secs

- WU 3: 60-80% of your working weight for 5-8 reps @ RPE 5 | Rest: 60-90 secs

- WU 4: 80%-90% of working weight for 2-4 reps @ RPE 5 | Rest: 90-120 secs

That’s pretty much everything I can give you for warm ups, hope this helps,

— Marley