FT Questions....

[Scott Stevenson]

Hey Dr. Scott,
I was wondering how you preferred to do your warmup sets? For example day 1 tier 3, would you only warmup your thigh exercise then zigzag the quad and ham worksets after your first thigh workset. Or would superset thigh, quad, ham for a couple light ones before the worksets?
Also regarding warmup rep ranges what have you had better success with a lower rep more sets warmup like powerlifting or a couple light sets taken shy of failure?

Hey Lyan,

Good question. Warm-up is very specific to the individual, but I'd definitely warm up on all the exercise you plan to zig-zag for Loading sets, especially b/c those sets are intentionally heavy (even if just "isolation" exercises).

This also helps you figure out the weight to use for the day (auto regulate the load) for each exercise.

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As far as the reps / number of sets of the warm-up, this can actually be something that fits into the overall volume and stress of the workout. In general, when in doubt, I'm for folks warming up more vs. less: This program is about bodybuilding first and foremost and if someone were to happen to do a bit more warm-up on one day (b/c he / she feels it's needed) and this maybe reduces work sets reps by a rep a two, no worries. We're not trying to train for 1RM's (or predict / calculate them) with the loading sets.

So, at the far ranges, you might have someone who just likes to do a good bit of warm-ing up who might, let's say, us BB squats, knee extension and a prone ham curl and do:

1 x 135 x 15
1 x 225 x 10
<Knee extensions 1 x 100 x 12>
<Knee curl 1 x 80 x 12>
1 x 315 x 8
<Knee ext 1 x 150 x 8>
<Knee curl 1 x 120 x 8>
1 x 405 x 4

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Then go sets for squats would be with 455lb, knee extension with 200, knee curl with 180lb.

The above warm-up with those reps, would / could add some volume to the workout, especially if one moves through it at a good pace (making the sets relatively tougher).

One could also do the same warm-up in terms of weight used but cut the reps in half, take one's time and feel that was plenty to be ready. Neurologically, it was 2-4 sets to get to working weight in this, but the muscular volume would be less (fewer reps) and the relative effort less, too.

The former (higher volume warm-up) could mean that person uses Tier II, whereas the latter person might use Tier III volume, and this could be periodized as needed (auto regulated or set out beforehand) to ensure progression of load during the Loading Sets.

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In short, "It depends."

-S