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Barbell Warm Up Recommendations

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I like to do band pull through, band pull apart, band triceps extension, band rows, and banded walks. 3-4 rounds of 20-25 reps each. Essentially a "Wenning Warm Up". I've found everything feels better pre heating the oven with weaknesses.
 
Madison Roberts said:
Hi,

Does anyone have any good warm-up recommendations before doing barbell deadlifts and barbell bench press?

Thanks!

Madison
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Deadlift: 1-3 sets of 5 of prying kettlebell goblet squats, 3 sets of 10 kettlebell two hand swings.

Bench press: T-spine extension on foam roller, hip flexor stretch, kettlebell armbar and bent armbar, kettlebell get-up.

Before each lift, 5 reps with 50%, 3 reps with 70%, 2 reps with 90% (% is not % of your 1RM, but of the main working weight of that particular day for that lift).
 
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I thought it was 5 reps at 70%, 3 at 80%, and 2 at 90%? Has it changed Pavel?
 
HUNTER1313 said:
I thought it was 5 reps at 70%, 3 at 80%, and 2 at 90%? Has it changed Pavel?
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General message is - do few reps (not too many) with lighter (and increasingly heavier, but not too heavy) weights as "warm up". Reps - anywhere from 5 to 1, % anywhere from 50% to 90% (of the main training weight for the respective lift/day . )
 
Thank you Pavel. I was doing 5 reps at 50% and 75% before, but you had recommended the 70,80,90% to me as per sfg protocol. I just want to make sure I'm up to date on everything
 
Havent I heard Pavel T say you just dont need warmups for barbells? Could have sworn he said it at the last seminar I attended. I thought he said if you must, then a couple reps of "this is how you do a deadlift" then the program. Did I misunderstand?
 
HUNTER1313 said:
Thank you Pavel. I was doing 5 reps at 50% and 75% before, but you had recommended the 70,80,90% to me as per sfg protocol. I just want to make sure I'm up to date on everything
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I checked my notes from SFL, and you are right, 5 reps at 70%, 3 at 80%, and 2 at 90%, thank you for pointing that out, sir.
 
Just glad I could help. I hope it didn't come across as calling you out. After all, we're all in this journey together as Team SFG.
 
piratebum said:
Havent I heard Pavel T say you just dont need warmups for barbells? Could have sworn he said it at the last seminar I attended. I thought he said if you must, then a couple reps of "this is how you do a deadlift" then the program. Did I misunderstand?
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Yes, he has been saying this at least since PTTP, and I have found this to be true for pretty much anything less than a 5RM.

But he does allow for individual preference.

For challenging weights, I do find that a short ramp up like @Pavel Macek describes can be helpful for getting in the groove and approaching the work sets with confidence. I keep it even more minimal, like progressive weight sets of 3, 2, and 1, or just a few progressive singles.

To me, a "warm up" ramp serves as technical practice and a disinhibiting confidence-builder, so helpful for competition, challenging training weights and less experienced lifters who need technical rehearsal (and if it just makes you feel better), but for most routine training I don't find it necessary.
 
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One of my favorite pre-lifting quick "get moving right" warm-ups is an unweighted get-up. Some stretches within each position, exploring the movement, isometric holds, using the hip bridge position, add an arm bar at the end -- seems to hit everything.

I would never go right to working sets for barbell deadlift and bench press. I always, always, always do warm-up sets; something like 5 reps at 70%, 3 at 80%, and 2 at 90% would work, but more typically I'll work with what's easier to load on the bar. When I bench press it's usually after squats or something else so I'm partially warmed up already, but if my working weight for 2 or 3 sets of 5 is, say, 135 lbs, my warm up sets will be 45x8 (8 reps with the empty bar), 80x5, 100x4, 120x2, with minimal rest between sets; just enough to re-load the bar and maybe another minute. Then 135x5x3 (three sets of 5 reps)for working sets, with 4-5 min rest between sets. For deadlift, if my working weight is 275, I'll do 185x5 (and if it was my first lift of the day I would also do 135x5 before that), 225x3, 265x1, 275x5x2.

All that said, I suppose there's some value to being "always ready" do express strength - after all, you don't get to warm-up before an emergency of some sort. But I'm not sure I need to equate that with training.
 
Warm-up can mean a lot of things.
I have been following Pavel's recommandations and have minimized warm-ups.

Now, it all depends of context...

For barbell work:
1. I do (almost) every morning a mobility routine, alla Super-joints. 44 reps each joint.
2. I usually walk to the gym. Does it count as a warmup ?
3. Different work, different warmup.
In a program like 5x5, I follow the approach 5 reps at 70% (of the work weight), 3 reps at 80%, 1 rep at 90%. If the heavy work is not that heavy, I may do only two sets of warmup.
If it is a light day, I go straight to the work.

In other type of programming, like Plan Strong, I don't do any warm-up, but I will, most of the time, arrange the lifts to start with a reasonnably light weight. Light is relative.

My absolute numbers are relatively low. I am a typical quadrant 3 trainee. For someone deadlifting 300kg+, the answer would be of course different than for me, with a max deadlift at 165kg (a bit under 2,5 BW).
 
Steve W. said:
...I do find that a short ramp up like @Pavel Macek describes can be helpful for getting in the groove and...
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Warm Ups

The objective of Warm Up is to perform the minimal amount of work that prepare you for your top set in an exercise, as "Pavel Macek describes".

Work Out

Many individual turn Warm Ups into a Workout, ensuring that a top set is performed with less weight and fewer repetition that it could have been.

Anna C said:
...You don't get to warm-up before an emergency of some sort.
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Pavel punctuated this in Power To The People and stated it in...

Truth About Warm Ups

The Truth About Warm-ups - FORM IS FUNCTION

This was my last class before traveling to the East Coast for two weeks. So I included some instruction I’ve been meaning to bring up again for some of the new people, and for my assistants. Friday we spent the first 20 minutes of class on movement prep. What is that? Briefly, it is what… Read...
www.kettlebellform.com www.kettlebellform.com

“Does a wolf warm-up before it chases a rabbit?” Not likely. Does the rabbit warm-up before it runs away from the wolf?

The “warm-up” as practiced in American, mainstream fitness culture, is a flimsy band-aid on poorly designed exercise.

Steve W. said:
a...A "warm up" ramp serves as technical practice
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The Law of Specificity

The most effective way of Warming Up for a particular exercise is to perform it with that specific exercise.

As Steve W essentially states, one of the primary reasons is to "Grease The Groove", for technique.

If your technique is on in a movement, the bar should, metaphorically speaking, feel like it's on rails when you are pushing or pulling it; the bar feels like it is gliding.

The Mental Side of Warm Ups

One of the main reason many take long Warm Ups is they were taught to do, so they believe. In working with these individual to cut back, the main blow back is "It doesn't feel right."

My reply is, "Keep doing it until it does feel right." It more of a head issue than anything else.

A secondary reason, why some individuals taking more Warm Up Set with an exercise is it feel better for them the increasing load by gradually. They don't feel comfortable in taking larger jumps. This is also more of a mental aspect of it.

"Whether you think you can or you can't, you are right."

With training and life in general, many individual automatically decide they can't do something or something isn't going to work without trying it. Not trying something guarantees that it will never work.

I also have knee jerk reaction to anything new and different to me. Many things that I initially believed would not work are method that I now advocate. That because I researched them and then tried them.

Resolving Longer Warm Up Issue

I've found the key for individuals who feel the need for lengthy Warm Ups is to negotiate a compromise.

Allow them them to preform multiple Warm Up Sets but have them minimize the number of repetitions in each set to 1 - 2, as noted in the above post.
 
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Anna C said:
One of my favorite pre-lifting quick "get moving right" warm-ups is an unweighted get-up. Some stretches within each position, exploring the movement, isometric holds, using the hip bridge position, add an arm bar at the end -- seems to hit everything.

I would never go right to working sets for barbell deadlift and bench press. I always, always, always do warm-up sets; something like 5 reps at 70%, 3 at 80%, and 2 at 90% would work, but more typically I'll work with what's easier to load on the bar. When I bench press it's usually after squats or something else so I'm partially warmed up already, but if my working weight for 2 or 3 sets of 5 is, say, 135 lbs, my warm up sets will be 45x8 (8 reps with the empty bar), 80x5, 100x4, 120x2, with minimal rest between sets; just enough to re-load the bar and maybe another minute. Then 135x5x3 (three sets of 5 reps)for working sets, with 4-5 min rest between sets. For deadlift, if my working weight is 275, I'll do 185x5 (and if it was my first lift of the day I would also do 135x5 before that), 225x3, 265x1, 275x5x2.

All that said, I suppose there's some value to being "always ready" do express strength - after all, you don't get to warm-up before an emergency of some sort. But I'm not sure I need to equate that with training.
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I think with the type of training we do all SFG, we are always ready for go time. Warming up prior to training just helps to reinforce and prepare us for training and being prepared for go time
 
I think it is important to experiment with different types of warm-ups (movements and volume) and learn what works best for you. Try variations of what @jef @Anna C and @Pavel Macek described above. My routine can vary quite a bit, depending on how I'm feeling and what my training will look like on a given day, but I ALWAYS warm-up.

I know plenty of people who I trust to just jump right into working weights with very little warm-up, these folks are usually experienced and using moderate, sensible training programs. I also have seen many folks that benefit from a very prolonged, methodical warm-up. These folks tend to be closer to retirement than highschool graduation, often they have a history of injury. Neither is "right", both are right.

Blake Nelson
 
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