Warm up issue or psychological

[Andrew Prine]

If I were warming up for 265, I'd do 45 x 5 x 2, 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, and then work sets. It is normal for the first set of 5 to feel worse than the second and third sets.

This is what I do, I rarely use anything less than a 25lb plate on my jumps. Depending on how I'm feeling or if my basement is really cold I'll add a set at 95 to help stretch out and get to depth. Barbell Logic has a nice podcast on warming up, worth a listen for anyone who needs guidance.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

I am a complete novice when it comes to lifting as I am just beginning my 9th week of LP but I had a question.

The issue seems to only be isolated to squats which makes me think it might just be a warm up issue but what happens is that my first working set is always the most difficult and the remaining two sets actually appear to be easier to lift.

Here is what I did this morning for squat (all in pounds):

• 2x5 Empty Bar
• 1x5 105
• 1x3 160
• 1x2 210
• 3x5 265 (working set)

Breaks between warm up sets is equal to the amount of time it takes to adjust the weights except for the final warm up, there I'll take 5 minutes. And I'll do 5 minutes between working sets as that seems to be the amount of time for me to be ready to go again. The first couple weeks I did 3 minutes, but it just wasn't cutting it once I got to 240ish.

This equates to, approximately due to being limited to 2.5 pound weights, 40%, 60%, 80% of working sets (following the stretching/loosening with the empty bar). Just to give some perspective, my initial starting weight for squats was 145 so I'm up 120 pounds now. It should be higher but with getting the flu and with kids getting sick, I've missed a handful of sessions.

If this is only psychological due to being a novice, then I'm not too worried about it, but I know injuries can occur if I'm not warmed up properly and thus the post.

Any thoughts are welcomed.

Make your last warm up set a single that is about 5-10% below your target weight for the day. I'd have you hit a single at 240 before you hit 265x5x3 and see if it doesn't feel a bit lighter coming out of the rack. 210 to 265 is too big a jump for a novice. Also it is not uncommon at all for novices especially to do better with each work set. See it almost daily.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

IMO, I think the "resting a full five minutes after the last warmup (210x2)" is a mistake.
You might be cooling off. That's really not enough load to cause THAT much fatigue.
I just switch weights and wait like 30 sec or so and then do the first workset.

3x5 should be somewhere around 80% working load.
210# is your case is only 65% or so....for two reps.
There's not THAT much fatigue from a double at 65%.

Bad advice. 30 seconds after the last warm up set is bad advice. What you may not be realizing is that if you blow through your warm up sets pretty quick, from the bar all the way to the final warm up single, is that there may actually be like 25-30+ reps in there done in a short period of time. So no, the final warm up isn't that fatiguing but the total warm up load is fatiguing enough to interfere with the first work set. I'd go 2-3 minutes or so, get rested, get your mind right, and then hit your work set. I've made this mistake as a coach several times in an effort to get through workouts quicker with clients - letting them rush from warm ups right to work sets.

[Fulcrum]

Breaks between warm up sets is equal to the amount of time it takes to adjust the weights except for the final warm up, there I'll take 5 minutes. .

I just switch weights and wait like 30 sec or so and then do the first workset.
.

Bad advice. 30 seconds after the last warm up set is bad advice.

I'll time my next squat session when I switch weights; I bet its over 30-40 seconds after you rack the bar.
...just waddling around from the plate tree to the side of the rack, and again.
So you get a like over a minute after your rack the bar from an easy 80%-85% single rep.

I'd go 2-3 minutes or so, get rested, get your mind right, and then hit your work set. .

so we agree 5 minutes might be leading to a cool off?

and/or 5 minutes of sitting there,



just waiting,





staring at a loaded bar,






for-three-hundred-Mississippi,






tick-tock-tick-tock staring at the clock,








might lead to "mind starting to drift off" instead of "getting your mind right"?

[MAD9692]

Bad advice.

Definitely. In addition, as the weights got heavier I needed to add a full 5 minutes before my working sets.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

so we agree 5 minutes might be leading to a cool off?

No, we don't agree. Because I don't believe that 5 minutes of rest leads to a cool off, I just think 2-3 minutes is probably all that is necessary here. Furthermore, and more importantly, the issue for the OP is not his rest time, it's that the weight of his last warm up set is incorrect.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Fulcrum, why are you in such a hurry? What are you squatting for sets of 5?

[Fulcrum]

What are you squatting for sets of 5?

Well with regard to squats:
I got up to 315 on my LP years ago.
I was a lot older than the OP is now too.**
Right now I'm doing different programming on squats (heavy single after warmups, then 5x5 type stuff).
Although currently, deadlifts I do 3x5 and I get right into those with just a tad of rest as I described.
All that being said, maybe I'm not remembering exactly on the squats.


**your question made me research things a bit more to get some context.
OP's post history tells me he is ~300 lbs. at 5'10".
So maybe 5 minutes is necessary in his case.
IOW, I'm wrong again

[Mark Rippetoe]

Right. You've never done enough weight to understand that sometimes 10 minutes between sets is necessary. Maybe even 15.

[Paulbfast]

Right. You've never done enough weight to understand that sometimes 10 minutes between sets is necessary. Maybe even 15.

Thank you! This is snack time!