NOTES REgARDINg WARM-UP SETS
You’ll notice that I don’t list the number of warm-up sets
for your main lift on Max-Effort days or Repetition Upper Body days. Instead, I use the term “work up.” This is
because the number of warm-up sets you’ll be performing
is determined by how strong you are! The stronger you
are, the more sets you’ll need to reach your max weight. I
favor multiple sets of low reps for warming up on MaxEffort Day and just 1 or 2 sets of 6-8 reps before your first
exercise on Rep Upper Body Day.
Before you warm up with weights, however, you should
be performing a 5-15 minute general warm-up. Make sure
you have a light sweat going before getting under the bar.
Here’s an example of “working up” to a max set of 3 reps
in the box squat. Assuming the athlete’s goal is to box
squat 315 lbs. for 3 reps, a sample warm-up would look
something like this:
95 X 5
135 X 5
185 X 3
225 X 3
275 X 3
295 X 3
315 X 3
It should be noted that these warm-up weights are not
engraved in stone! Some people like to take bigger jumps
and some prefer smaller. YOU must figure out what works
best for YOU! The one thing I will suggest is that if you are
New & Improved Skinny Bastard Template WS4SB III 11
a weak, skinny bastard, you must make
sure you’re performing at least 5 total
sets for your max-effort exercise.
For example, let’s say you’re going for
a 5RM in the box squat and your goal
is 185 lbs. Don’t just do 95 X 5, 135 X 5
and 185 X 5. Skinny bastards need more
volume in order to grow, so make sure
you make smaller jumps in weight and
get more sets in before your main set.
On Rep Upper Body Day - where you’re
performing “3 sets of max reps” - you
won’t need to perform as many warmup sets before your first actual work set
because you’re not handling a maximal
weight. For example, let’s say a workout
calls for you to perform 3 sets of max
reps of DB benches on the Swiss ball. If
you’re using 65 lb. DB’s, and your goal
is 25 reps on the first set, I suggest you
only perform 1 or 2 sets of 6-8 reps before your first work set. Here, you might
do 45 lb. DB’s for 8 reps and then 55 lb.
DB’s for 6 reps. Another option would
be to perform just 1 set of 8 reps with
50 lb. DB’s before your first work set.
Again, you must decide, through trial
and error, what works best for you!