Squats – Warming Up Properly

[British Bulldog]

I am struggling with trying to find the right number of reps and sets to use for Squats, to build maximum muscle and strength.

Currently I am doing 2 warm-up sets & 3 work sets of 8-10 reps. For example, todays workout comprised:

Set 1: 60kg x 10
Set 2: 80kg x 10

Set 4: 115kg x 4 (struggled with form)
Set 5: 115kg x 10
Set 6: 115kg x 8

As you can see, set 4 was supposed to be my strongest, but I struggled on it. For set 5 I did the same weight, but found it a lot easier. Obviously, this shows that I need to warm-up properly. The hard part is to find the right number of sets/reps/weight to use for warm-ups & not over-train before my main set.

Do you guys have any suggestions as to how many sets/reps I should do and what weight for:

a) warm-ups
b) work sets

 

[wildonsquats]

I always walk/run or cycle for about 5 mins before i even start to warmup for squats... i can generally tell if im warm cause my ears get warm and i feel flushed.

For warmup i normally do this.

135 x 8
135 x 8
225 x 6
315 x 1
(maybe another 315 x 1 if im going heavy)
then up to my worksets.

i think its important to get your muscles used to the heavy weight, after 315 everything feels heavy to me.

 

[British Bulldog]

wildonsquats

What will be your 1st work set then?

 

[phatman42]

I'd suggest you do more sets warmup but with less reps

Maybe:
60x10
70x6
80x3
90x3
100x3
110x1
then the max set.

The jump from 80 to 115 at the moment is too big
So your body isn't accustomed to the heavier weight.

 

[wildonsquats]

My workset is around 355 - 375 depending on how many reps ill be doing.

If i dont do a one rep warmup of around 275 - 315 i tend to collapse when i unrack heavier weights because my body isnt used to the sharp increase in weight.

I may not even do a full rep with it.. just enough to let my core know what kind of weight ill be dealing with.

 

[Lord_Suston]

I walk a little bit and then the main thing is to keep my legs warm.
squat 135x5
225x5
315x5
and then work set for 5reps and then one more for 2 reps

 

[coolcolj]

what you do is keep doing doubles or triples with a weight until it starts to feel lighter, and then go up to the next warmup weight and do the same.
You don't need to rest too long between each double/triple either, 30 sec to a minute is sufficent

 

[Tweakle]

Not enough warmup, your cns isnt primed for it so it's not suprising your second set was stronger. 5 reps with 100kg would have been a better idea for a last warmup