Warm Ups - How To

[RobRegish]

IMPORTANT NOTICE

If you feel sick, off or just "not right at any point during famine DISCONTINUE. You can't make gains if you're sick and HEALTH is PRIORITY #1 around here. If it wasn't we'd all be using PH's/AAS. And that's not going to happen in BP, at least not here...


OBJECTIVE

Your warming up for your big barbell lifts and need some way to guage the weight. Here's a PM I picked up recently that explains the premise:

"For example, if I am aiming for 205 for 8 reps, my warmup might look something like 135 for 6, 160 for 4, 185 for 2, then 205 for 8 as the working set?" And here's your answer:

A. Personally, I'd warmup as follows:

- Some light warmups with just the bar for say, a set of 10 reps. Do take care to limber up the lower back

- Rest 3 minutes
- 135 x 2
- Rest 3 min
- 155 x 2
- Rest 3 min
- 175 x 2
- Rest 3 min
- 185 x 1
- Rest 3 min
- 195 x 1
Rest 3 min
- 205 x 1
= Rest 5 minutes

Begin work set putting maximum mental and phsyical intensity into it as you can. This is a learned skill that will come with time..

You will notice that I limit reps during warmups and instead, favor working up to your target weight. I think this strategy makes for more sense for the following reasons:

1.) You don't deplete nearly as much muscle glycogen in your warmups
2.) The nervous system (CNS) has "seen" the weight you'll be working with at least once.

Doing so greases the groove so to speak given even a 10 or 15 lb jump into your working set from your last warmups can be problematic. Problematic insofar as muscular coordination, power output and your mental/phsycial perception of what "feels" heavy.

Give that a shot. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[JDK420]

How many warmup sets do you reccomend in for the workouts in the first (famine) stage?

[RobRegish]

For Famine, I favor 2-4 warmups, especially when practicing the supersets.

Reason: The weights are lighter, and the CNS isn't as "taxed" as you see with the heavier weights during feast.

Hope that helps!

[drjgn]

I've never warmed up that way. Makes a lot of sense!

[Big.jazayrli]

For Famine, I favor 2-4 warmups, especially when practicing the supersets.

Reason: The weights are lighter, and the CNS isn't as "taxed" as you see with the heavier weights during feast.

Hope that helps!

definitely feel just as heavy though!

[Linkiroth]

Rob, do you also include a general warmup? (Dynamic/static stretch, foam rolling, etc) Or do you just dive into the bar cold?

[RobRegish]

Rob, do you also include a general warmup? (Dynamic/static stretch, foam rolling, etc) Or do you just dive into the bar cold?

A. A bit. Don't over-think this, just some arms circles clockwise, counter- clockwise, etc..

Hope that helps!!

[crpolley]

Any cardio pre-workout to get the heart rate increased?

[Big.jazayrli]

Any cardio pre-workout to get the heart rate increased?

save cardio for post workout.. maybe 5 minutes walking on the treadmill to warm up your joints, anything beyond that is wasted energy that should be used on the weights

[RobRegish]

Any cardio pre-workout to get the heart rate increased?

save cardio for post workout.. maybe 5 minutes walking on the treadmill to warm up your joints, anything beyond that is wasted energy that should be used on the weights

Total agreement here...

[matter2003]

Any cardio pre-workout to get the heart rate increased?

I warm up for about 5 minutes to get body temp up a little and muscles loose, but definitely do not want to do anything like a full cardio session before lifting.

Why?

You will royally screw up your hormones as they relate to muscle building. You will increase your cortisol levels, virtually destroy all growth hormone released from lifting, and greatly reduce the testosterone release afterwards.

Cardio before lifting could very well be the single most destructive thing you could possibly do in a gym to your muscle building efforts...

Cardio after lifting is OK, but I now prefer to do it by itself on off days, usually first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to maximize fat burning potential.

As an aside, ALWAYS drink water while doing cardio because it drastically decreases the release of cortisol by your body...

[crpolley]

Any cardio pre-workout to get the heart rate increased?

I warm up for about 5 minutes to get body temp up a little and muscles loose, but definitely do not want to do anything like a full cardio session before lifting.

Why?

You will royally screw up your hormones as they relate to muscle building. You will increase your cortisol levels, virtually destroy all growth hormone released from lifting, and greatly reduce the testosterone release afterwards.

Cardio before lifting could very well be the single most destructive thing you could possibly do in a gym to your muscle building efforts...

Cardio after lifting is OK, but I now prefer to do it by itself on off days, usually first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to maximize fat burning potential.

As an aside, ALWAYS drink water while doing cardio because it drastically decreases the release of cortisol by your body...

Thanks for the help Matter.

I typically do 5 minutes on a bike before lifting or run over to the gym (5 minute run). Definitely not doing a full cardio session before!

[kyle]

Hi Rob,

I just wanted to ask how long should i continue to warm up my body(Time).

[PrimiFit]

Hi Rob!

What do you think about Dr. Peter Rouse's recommendation, which is that you should warm up like you're going to lift, as in doing the same rep range and tempo? He also recommended that you should do more warm up sets if you lift heavy and less if you'll lift mid range or light.

He said that this kind of warming up sets the nervous system right for the working set.

I've done both of these, the one you recommend and the one I described, and I think that they both work well, but I'd like to know what you think.

Thank you!