Warm-Up Calculator

Five to ten minutes for the lift itself. Each ramp set takes under a minute to perform, and you only need enough rest between sets to change the plates. Add a few minutes of easy movement before the first set if you train early in the morning or walk in cold.

Keep long static stretches for after the session. Holding stretches before lifting can trim a little strength off the work that follows. The ramp sets themselves cover your mobility before the lift, since every rep runs the full range of motion under light load.

For growth purposes, count them as zero. A set only drives growth when it comes within about four reps of failure, and nothing in a proper ramp gets close. Warm-up sets still add fatigue if you pile on reps, which is why the ramp cuts reps as the weight climbs.

When the working weight sits under 135 lb or 60 kg, the calculator starts at 40% and skips the empty bar, because the bar alone is already most of the way there. It also drops any step that lands within a few pounds of the previous one. Two or three sets is a complete warm-up at lighter loads.

They need fewer rungs, since the loads are lighter and the balance demand is lower. Switch the tool to accessory mode and it drops the empty-bar step and trims the ramp to three sets. The shape stays familiar: start around 40% and climb.

Trim a middle step or two and keep the first light set and the final heavy single. Those two bookends do most of the work. Skip the final single and your first work set quietly becomes the warm-up.