That's a highly personal matter. The best teacher for you for that is the iron itself. Try both, you will figure out what you need.
That's a highly personal matter. The best teacher for you for that is the iron itself. Try both, you will figure out what you need.
Where did you hear that 4 warm up sets on squat and 3 on deadlifts are the magic numbers?
I agree with BCS though that it is pretty individual.
For me, I use a bunch of warm ups because I'm a little older (30's) and I usually feel pretty stiff. It's also good for me from a psychological stand point to forget about the rest of the day and get into the lifting mindset.
How do you know when you should have used more warm-up sets? Is it something you can feel in your first set, or you just know becasue you get injured?
I'd recommend developing a personal warm-up template that you "always" use, until/unless a better way becomes apparent.
For the snatch, I "always:"
20kg (2x3)
30kg (2x3)
40kg (2x3)
50kg x3
60kg x2
Then on to whatever weights I'll hit that day. When you have a constant warm-up template, over time you'll learn what certain weights "usually" feel like. Then, on subsequent workouts, you'll know if you're on course for a great day, or not. Occasionally, especially as you get stronger, you can change the template, which is as it should be. However, before you modify it. you should first have a routine template to modify.
Do you have the second edition? Just curious I just skimmed through this section and it seems to provide much more latitude for adjustment than this and the 3-4 warm up sets are stated for upper body movements after you have already squatted.
In any case, I would say it is more of a personal matter. Do more of a warm up if you need to, but just don't wear yourself out. Lyle's articles linked above seem pretty spot on to me.
@zepled i knew it i have poor reading comprehension. i never realized that it is just an EXAMPLE
nice link lyle though i read a thread in rip's Q&A and he said that stretching(dynamic or static) is counterproductive if the trainee is without flexibility issues. but still i think that it is more of a personal preference