Warm-up sets calculator
Your working set is 100 kg for 5. Where do you start, and how do you get there without tiring yourself out? The calculator builds a ramp from the empty bar: each step heavier, with fewer reps.
Warm-up
| Set | % of work | Weight | Reps | Each side |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bar | 20 kg | 10 | — |
| 2 | 40% | 40 kg | 5 | 10 |
| 3 | 60% | 60 kg | 3 | 20 |
| 4 | 75% | 75 kg | 2 | 25 + 2.5 |
| 5 | 85% | 85 kg | 1 | 25 + 5 + 2.5 |
| → | working | 100 kg | 5 |
How to use it
- 1
Enter the working set
Weight and reps of the exercise's first working set.
- 2
Pick the bar
The warm-up starts with it, and the plates are worked out for it.
- 3
Follow the table
Warm-up sets top to bottom, then the working sets. Rest between warm-ups is shorter than between working sets.
The scheme
The empty bar × 10 — to warm up the joints and groove the movement. Then, for heavy work (up to 5 reps): 40 % × 5, 60 % × 3, 75 % × 2, 85 % × 1 of the working weight. For work of 6+ reps the ramp is shorter — 50 % × 5, 70 % × 3, 85 % × 1: the working sets bring the volume anyway.
Reps drop as the weight climbs: a warm-up should prepare you, not tire you. The last step is a single close to the working weight, to feel the load.
Every weight is rounded down to what standard plates can make (a 2.5 kg or 5 lb step). If two steps land on the same weight, the extra one is skipped.
Put the warm-up into your routine
In LiftChat a warm-up is a regular block of the routine: add it before the working sets and the weights are filled in every workout.
A new account gets 14 days of Standard right away: every feature, with half the assistant limit. No card and no auto-charge — after that you stay on the free plan, where workout logging has no limits.
How blocks work →Questions
Do I need to warm up before every exercise?
Before the first heavy exercise for a muscle group — yes. For the next exercises on the same muscles one or two sets usually do.
Why do the reps keep dropping?
So you reach the working weight fresh. The warm-up prepares your technique and nervous system; fatigue in it steals reps from the working sets.
How long should I rest between warm-up sets?
Usually a minute or two; longer before the last ones, close to the working weight.
What if my working weight is light?
Then some steps fall on the empty bar and are skipped — a shorter warm-up. If the working weight is the bar itself, no separate warm-up weights are needed.
Is this a standard scheme?
It's one of the common “ramp from the empty bar” schemes. Adjust the percentages and reps to taste — the calculator gives a sensible starting point.