How to warm up before lifting: the sets before your sets

Warming up has a decent track record overall: a review of 32 studies found a warm-up improved performance in 79% of the measures tested, with little evidence that it does harm.¹ For lifting, the evidence is more mixed. In one study, 15 men did sets to failure at 80% of their max on the bench press, squat and curl, and got about the same number of reps whether they warmed up or not.²

So a warm-up isn't magic, and it doesn't need to be long. Its job is to get you ready for your heaviest sets and let you rehearse the lift before it counts. This page covers the two parts of a warm-up, how many warm-up sets to do and at what weights, dynamic versus static stretching, and how long it should take. Never lifted before? The first four weeks come first.

The two parts of a warm-up

A 2021 review of time-efficient training splits warm-ups into two kinds. A general warm-up, like five to fifteen minutes of easy cycling, is meant to raise your body temperature. A specific warm-up, like squats with light weights before heavier squats, is meant to switch the working muscles on and rehearse the movement.³

The general part: short, and optional

The evidence for it is thin and mixed. In a small study of 13 trained people, twenty minutes on a stationary bike before their warm-up sets raised their leg-press max by about 8% compared with the warm-up sets alone.⁴ But a 2025 meta-analysis of 33 studies found that warming the muscles improved fast, powerful efforts, not maximum force.⁵ In practice: a few minutes of easy cardio or the dynamic moves below is worth it when you're cold, stiff or training early, and it's the first part to shorten when you're short on time.

The specific part: the warm-up sets

This is the part with better support. A systematic review of upper-body warm-ups found strong evidence that high-load dynamic warm-ups improve strength and power.⁶ The 2021 review adds that warm-up sets likely matter more when the weights are heavy and the reps are low, since with higher reps the first reps of a set can act as a warm-up.³

How many warm-up sets, and at what weights

Build from light to close to your working weight, with fewer reps as the weight climbs, so the warm-up sets get you ready without tiring you. Light weights alone may not be enough. In a study of trained men (14 tested on the squat, 26 on the bench press), a warm-up of six reps at 40% of the weight they were about to train with was the weakest of three warm-ups tested; the warm-ups that included a set at 80% of that weight did better.⁷ The leg-press study above used one set of eight at about half the lifters' estimated max, then three reps at about 70%.⁴

A practical version, in percent of the weight you'll use for your working sets:

With 100 pounds as your working weight for sets of eight, that's 50 pounds for eight, 75 for four, then your first working set. Rest about a minute between warm-up sets. None of them should feel hard; if one does, the jumps are too big or the reps too many. The studies above tested a few set-ups, not every one, so treat this as a starting point and adjust by feel.

Which exercises need warm-up sets

Mostly the first one. To save time, the 2021 review suggests limiting warm-up sets to the first exercise for each muscle group.³ In a full-body session that opens with a squat, the squat gets the full ramp, and a leg press later needs one light set at most, because your legs are already warm. The first upper-body push gets its own warm-up sets, and so does the first pull, because those are different muscles.

Dynamic or static stretching before lifting?

Dynamic first. A 2016 review found that static stretching (holding a stretch) lowered performance by about 4% on average when people were tested a few minutes later, while dynamic stretching (moving through the range, like leg swings) nudged it up by about 1%.⁸ The drop came mostly from long holds: about 4.6% with 60 seconds or more per muscle group, about 1% with less.⁸ A meta-analysis focused on strength found static stretching cut it by about 5% on average, and concluded that static stretching should generally not be the only thing in a warm-up.⁹

One detail softens it. Most of those studies tested people right after stretching, with nothing in between; when people did dynamic activity after stretching, the 2016 review saw no clear effect on performance.⁸ So a short hold on a tight spot, followed by your warm-up sets, is fine. A long static stretching routine belongs after the session or on another day.

A dynamic warm-up for lifting takes three to five minutes. Pick the moves that match the session and do about ten of each:

• Leg swings, front to back and side to side
• Bodyweight squats
• Walking lunges or reverse lunges
• Hip hinges with your hands on your hips
• Arm circles, then band pull-aparts
• Push-ups with your hands on a bench, on upper-body days

How long should a warm-up take?

For most sessions, five to ten minutes: a few minutes of easy movement, then the warm-up sets, which are part of the workout rather than time before it. Heavy days take longer, because heavy sets need more warm-up sets. None of the studies above sets an ideal length, so this is a practical range, not a rule.

Short on time? Shorten the general part and keep the warm-up sets; the 30-minute workout covers what to cut first. Training early? A morning session usually needs a longer warm-up;¹⁰ the best-time guide explains why.

Common warm-up mistakes

• Warm-up sets that tire you. Twenty reps with the bar is a set, not a warm-up. Fewer reps as the weight climbs.
• Only light weights. In the study above, the light-only warm-up was the weakest one tested.⁷ Get within a jump or two of your working weight.
• A long stretch instead of a warm-up. Move first, lift, and save the long holds for later.
• A full ramp before every exercise. The first lift for each muscle group is enough.
• Skipping it when you're rushed. Shorten it instead. Two warm-up sets take about four minutes.

If you'd rather not plan it alone

Want the whole plan built for you? Coaching is the version where your workouts live in the Trainerize app, built around the days you actually have, and a weekly call looks at the week you just had and rebuilds the next one around what's coming. Coaching for beginners explains how that works, and the application takes about two minutes. Otherwise: at your next session, write your warm-up sets above your working sets and do them in order.