Free tool

Warm-up sets calculator

Enter the weight of your work sets and get the warm-up sets that lead up to it: how heavy, how many reps, and the plates for each side of the bar. Works in kilograms or pounds.

Warm-ups for common working weights

The standard ramp on a standard bar, as weight × reps, from the empty bar up to your first work set. The calculator above handles any other weight, bar and warm-up.

Kilograms, on a 20 kg bar
Work sets	Warm-up sets
40 kg	20 × 10 · 25 × 3 · 32.5 × 2
60 kg	20 × 10 · 25 × 5 · 35 × 3 · 47.5 × 2
80 kg	20 × 10 · 32.5 × 5 · 47.5 × 3 · 65 × 2
100 kg	20 × 10 · 40 × 5 · 60 × 3 · 80 × 2
120 kg	20 × 10 · 47.5 × 5 · 72.5 × 3 · 95 × 2
140 kg	20 × 10 · 55 × 5 · 85 × 3 · 112.5 × 2
160 kg	20 × 10 · 65 × 5 · 95 × 3 · 127.5 × 2
180 kg	20 × 10 · 72.5 × 5 · 107.5 × 3 · 145 × 2
200 kg	20 × 10 · 80 × 5 · 120 × 3 · 160 × 2

Pounds, on a 45 lb bar
Work sets	Warm-up sets
95 lb	45 × 10 · 55 × 3 · 75 × 2
135 lb	45 × 10 · 55 × 5 · 80 × 3 · 110 × 2
185 lb	45 × 10 · 75 × 5 · 110 × 3 · 150 × 2
225 lb	45 × 10 · 90 × 5 · 135 × 3 · 180 × 2
275 lb	45 × 10 · 110 × 5 · 165 × 3 · 220 × 2
315 lb	45 × 10 · 125 × 5 · 190 × 3 · 250 × 2
365 lb	45 × 10 · 145 × 5 · 220 × 3 · 290 × 2
405 lb	45 × 10 · 160 × 5 · 245 × 3 · 325 × 2
495 lb	45 × 10 · 200 × 5 · 295 × 3 · 395 × 2

How warm-up sets work

A warm-up ramp is a few sets that climb from the empty bar to your working weight, with fewer reps as the weight rises. Each set rehearses the lift a little heavier than the last, so by the time you reach your work sets the weight feels familiar, your joints and muscles are ready, and you haven’t spent the energy you need for the sets that count.

The calculator uses a common ramp: the empty bar for 10, then about 40% of your working weight for 5, 60% for 3 and 80% for 2. The heavy option adds a single at about 90% for days when your work sets are only 1 to 4 reps, and the quick option is two sets at 50% and 75% for a later exercise, once you are already warm. Each set is rounded to the nearest weight you can load, and a step that rounds to the same weight as the one before is dropped, which is why light working weights get fewer warm-up sets.

How many warm-up sets do you need?

It depends on how heavy the work is, not on a fixed number. A working weight close to the bar needs one or two sets; a heavy squat or deadlift needs four or five, because the jump from the empty bar is so much bigger. The first big lift of the day deserves the full ramp. A second exercise for the same muscles usually needs only one or two sets, since you are already warm.

There is little research comparing one warm-up scheme with another, so the ramps here follow common coaching practice rather than a particular study. If your warm-up leaves you tired, cut the reps; if your first work set still feels clumsy, add a set closer to the working weight.

Reps and rest during warm-ups

Keep warm-up reps low and the rests short. Rest only as long as it takes to load the next weight, usually under a minute, and give yourself a little longer before the last warm-up and your first work set. The guide to rest between setscovers how long to rest once the real sets start.

For dumbbells and machines, use the same percentages and round to the nearest weight you have. The plates here assume a standard set: 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 kg, or 45, 35, 25, 10, 5 and 2.5 lb. For any other set of plates, the plate calculator works out the loading.

Warm-up sets and your training log

Warm-up sets are too easy to count as hard sets, so they shouldn’t count toward your weekly volume or your progress. If your log treats them like work sets, your totals look bigger than your training really was, and an exercise’s average can look as if it got worse. The guide tosets per muscle group covers what does count.

Warm-up sets in Arclift

Arclift has no warm-up calculator inside the app, which is what this page is for. What it does have is a warm-up set type. Mark a set as a warm-up and it stays out of your progression targets, your progress charts and personal records, and the weekly sets on the body map. Save your warm-ups in a workout template and they are there every session, ready to log with one thumb. With Arclift Pro, the progression coach then sets your next targets from the sets that count.

Questions

How many warm-up sets should I do?

Usually 3 to 5 before your first heavy exercise: the empty bar, then two to four sets that climb toward your working weight with fewer reps each time. Light working weights and later exercises for the same muscles need only one or two.

What percentage should warm-up sets be?

A common ramp is the empty bar, then about 40%, 60% and 80% of your working weight, for 5, 3 and 2 reps. For heavy work sets of 1 to 4 reps, add a single at about 90%. The calculator rounds each step to a weight you can load.

How many reps should warm-up sets be?

Fewer as the weight goes up: around 10 with the empty bar, 5 at about 40%, 3 at 60% and 1 or 2 at 80% and above. The goal is to practice the lift at heavier loads without tiring yourself before the sets that count.

Do warm-up sets count toward volume?

No. Warm-up sets are too easy to count as hard sets, so leave them out of your weekly sets per muscle and out of any decision about when to add weight. Mark them as warm-ups in your log so they are easy to tell apart.

How long should you rest between warm-up sets?

Only as long as it takes to load the next weight, usually under a minute, with a little longer before the last warm-up and your first work set. Warm-ups are meant to prepare you, not tire you.

More free tools

RPE calculator
Estimate your one-rep max from any set, find the weight for a target RPE, and read the full RPE chart.
Plate calculator
Enter a target weight and get the plates for each side of the bar, in kg or lb, with only the plates you have.
One-rep max calculator
Estimate your 1RM from any set with Epley and six other formulas, and get your working weights from 50 to 100%.
Workout log template
A free spreadsheet for Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers, one row per set, plus a printable PDF log.
DOTS calculator
Score your powerlifting total with DOTS, Wilks and IPF GL points, for men or women, classic or equipped.

Use cases

Bodybuilding
Weekly sets per muscle on a body map, recovery you can read, drop sets that don’t skew your targets, and double progression set for you.
No subscription
Logging, templates and history free for good, with no account and no ads, and a one-time option for Pro. Plus what other trackers charge.
Progressive overload
Pick a progression rule per exercise and get the next weight and reps for every set, with plateaus and deloads called for you.

All use cases

Guides

Deload week: when to take one and how to run it
What a deload is, how to tell you need one, three ways to run it with sample weeks, and what the research actually shows.
Push pull legs: a complete routine and how to run it
A complete push pull legs routine for three or six days a week, with sets, reps, rest, weekly volume per muscle and a rule for progressing it.
How long should you rest between sets?
Rest times for building muscle, strength and endurance, by goal and by lift, what the studies found, and how to fit longer rests into a short session.
How many sets per muscle group per week?
Weekly sets for building muscle, by experience and by muscle group, how to count compound lifts, and when to add or cut volume.
Upper lower split: a complete 4-day routine
A complete four-day upper lower routine with sets, reps and rest, a beginner version, weekly volume per muscle and how it compares with other splits.

Log warm-ups that don’t skew your numbers.

Arclift marks warm-up sets as warm-ups, so they never count toward your progression targets or your weekly sets. It’s free on iPhone, with unlimited templates and no account.

See what’s free and what Pro costs