# The warm-up that works, and how long it takes

> A lifting warm-up is three parts in five to eight minutes: light cardio, dynamic movement, then ramp-up sets at 40/60/80 percent of working weight.

**Source:** https://trycompound.cc/blog/warm-up-that-works/  
**Author:** Scott Shumaker, maker of Compound  
**Published:** 2026-07-26  
**Topic:** Training (warm-up, ramp-up sets, programming, injury)

## In short

A warm-up before lifting has three parts and takes five to eight minutes: three to five minutes of light cardio, the day's dynamic movements, then ramp-up sets on the day's first heavy lift at 40 percent for 8 reps, 60 percent for 5, and 80 percent for 3 of the working weight. Only the day's opening lift gets ramped, and only when it is rep-based and loaded with weight, which is why a day that opens on a carry runs a five-minute warm-up while the other three run about eight.

- A full warm-up is three parts done in five to eight minutes: light cardio, dynamic movement, then ramp-up sets on the day's first lift.
- Raising muscle temperature by 1°C improves short-duration force output by roughly 2 to 5 percent.
- Static holds under about 30 to 45 seconds cost little, but the odds of a real strength deficit climb sharply past about 60 seconds, which is why dynamic movement replaces stretching before lifting.
- Ramp-up sets climb to 40 percent for 8 reps, 60 percent for 5, and 80 percent for 3 of the working weight, then stop before the working sets start.
- Only the day's opening lift gets ramped, so a carry-first day runs a five-minute warm-up while the other three run about eight.

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A warm-up before lifting is three parts, and none of them is stretching. Three to five
minutes of light cardio, the day's dynamic movements, then three ramp-up sets on the
day's first heavy lift, climbing from 40 percent to 80 percent of the working weight.
Run back to back it takes five to eight minutes depending on the day, and it ends with
a working set that is the first hard work you have done all day, not the second.

## What should a warm-up before lifting actually consist of?

Three steps in a fixed order: light cardio to raise your temperature, dynamic movement
to prime the joints and muscles about to get loaded, and ramp-up sets that build to your
working weight on the first heavy lift only. Nothing in it should feel like training.
By the time you touch the first working set, the warm-up's job is done.

The ramp-up percentages are the same on every day. Here is what they come out to for a
lifter whose working squat is 225 lb:

| Ramp-up set | Percent of working weight | Reps | At a 225 lb squat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40% | 8 | 90 lb |
| 2 | 60% | 5 | 135 lb |
| 3 | 80% | 3 | 180 lb |

The next set after that is the working set at 225 lb, at the day's actual target reps.
It is the first set of the day that is genuinely hard.

## Why start with light cardio?

Light cardio comes first because a warmer muscle produces more force, faster. Raising
muscle temperature speeds up nerve conduction and the chemical reactions inside the
muscle fiber, and for short-duration efforts that translates directly into output: a
review of the thermal effects on the neuromuscular system found that a 1°C rise in
muscle temperature improves short-duration force production by roughly 2 to 5 percent
(Racinais and Oksa, 2010). A systematic review of 32 controlled warm-up studies found
active warm-ups, of the kind that raise temperature rather than just stretch, improved
subsequent performance in 79 percent of the outcomes measured (Fradkin, Zazryn, and
Smoliga, 2010).

Three to five minutes is enough because the goal is temperature, not fatigue. Muscle
temperature rises quickly with continuous, easy movement on a bike, a rower, or a jump
rope, and it plateaus well before you have broken a real sweat. Past that point, more
cardio is not warming you up any further. It is just spending reps and minutes you
would rather have on the bar.

## Why dynamic movement instead of static stretching?

Dynamic movement, not a held stretch, is what belongs immediately before lifting,
because static stretching has a measurable, duration-dependent cost to the force you
can produce right after it. A systematic review of studies on acute static stretching
found little to no drop in maximal strength for holds under roughly 30 to 45 seconds,
but the odds of a real strength deficit rise sharply once a single hold passes about 60
seconds (Kay and Blazevich, 2012). A separate review of the acute effects of stretching
found static holds kept under about 90 seconds total, short of the point of discomfort,
produced little to no impairment, while dynamic stretching before a lift showed no
negative effect on performance and sometimes improved it (Behm and Chaouachi, 2011).

The effect is real, it is modest at ordinary hold lengths, and it is entirely a matter
of duration. A quick 10-second stretch to check a joint is not the same exposure as a
60-second hold, and the research says so explicitly. But there is no reason to spend
that budget before a lift when dynamic movement carries none of the risk and does the
same job of raising readiness.

The dynamic movements are specific to the day, not a generic list:

- **Pull day:** arm circles, band pull-aparts, scap pull-ups.
- **Push day:** arm circles, band pull-aparts, scap push-ups.
- **Legs day:** leg swings, bodyweight squats, walking lunges, ankle rocks.
- **Auxiliary day:** cat-cow, dead bugs, band pull-aparts.

Static stretching still has a place in training. It just is not this one. Compound runs
about ten minutes of mobility work, static holds included, after every session instead
of before it. See [mobility after lifting](/blog/mobility-after-lifting/) for why the
order matters and what each day's cooldown targets.

## Why ramp-up sets, and why 40/60/80 percent?

Ramp-up sets exist to rehearse the movement pattern under progressively real load, not
to raise your temperature. Temperature is already handled by the cardio and the
dynamic work by the time you reach them. Instead they tell you, that day, what the bar
is actually going to feel like before it counts.

40 percent for 8 reps grooves the bar path with almost no load. 60 percent for 5 is
enough weight to tell you whether the lift feels normal, heavy, or off. 80 percent for
3 is the last rehearsal before the weight gets real, and then the ramp stops. It does
not climb to 90 or 100 percent, because that would just be another working set wearing
a warm-up's name. The set that follows, at full working weight, is the first working
set: the first hard work of the day. For how that working weight gets decided session
to session, see [double progression](/blog/double-progression/).

## Why does only the first lift get ramped?

Only a day's opening lift gets ramp-up sets because by the second exercise, you are
already warm. The pattern practice and the temperature work were both spent on the
first lift, and nothing about the second exercise needs them repeated.

The code enforces this directly: ramp-up sets are generated only for the day's first
lift, and only when that lift is rep-based and uses weight. A carry has no rep pattern
to groove, since it is measured by distance, and no percentage of a working weight to
climb toward, so the whole ramp-up step drops off the day it opens. On a day like that,
the warm-up is two steps, cardio and dynamic movement, and takes about five minutes.
On a day that opens with a rep-based barbell lift, the warm-up is three steps and takes
about eight.

## Does warming up prevent injury?

Probably a little, but the evidence is thinner than most fitness advice implies, so
treat injury prevention as a possible bonus rather than the reason to warm up. A review
of randomized controlled trials on warming up and injury concluded there was
insufficient evidence to either endorse or discontinue routine warm-up as an
injury-prevention strategy, though the trend in the data favored a reduced risk
(Fradkin, Gabbe, and Cameron, 2006). Nobody has run the trial that proves it either way
for resistance training specifically.

A warm-up reliably raises force output, improves readiness, and lets you rehearse the
pattern before it matters, which is exactly what the temperature and stretching research
measures. That is worth doing on its own merits. Promising it will keep you from getting
hurt is a claim the research has not made yet.

## What does Compound do about warm-ups?

Compound builds this exact sequence into every session, timed to the day. It reads your
current working weight for the day's opening lift and computes the 40/60/80 percent
ramp automatically, rounded to a plate you can actually load, 5 lb or 2.5 kg, so there
is no percentage math to do standing at a barbell. The dynamic movement list is specific
to the day, matched to the muscles about to get worked, not a generic stretch list.

Warm-up is on by default and can be turned off entirely in settings if it is not for
you. Mid-session, a skip-cardio button ends the cardio segment on the spot, and a
skip-to-lifts button jumps straight to the first lift from wherever you are, skipping
whatever dynamic movement or ramp-up sets you have not gotten to yet. A warm-up that
adds friction on a bad day is worse than no warm-up at all.

## Common questions

### How long should a warm-up take before lifting?

Five to eight minutes. A day whose first lift is a rep-based barbell movement runs about eight minutes because that lift earns three ramp-up sets. A day that opens on a carry has no ramp-up step at all, so its warm-up runs about five minutes: just the cardio and the dynamic movement.

### Should I stretch before lifting?

Not statically. A held stretch under about 30 to 45 seconds costs little to nothing, but the odds of a real strength deficit rise sharply once a hold passes about 60 seconds, right before you need that strength for a working set. Dynamic movement, not static stretching, is what belongs before a lifting session.

### What percentage of my working weight should ramp-up sets use?

40 percent for 8 reps, 60 percent for 5 reps, and 80 percent for 3 reps of your working weight, then stop. The next set, at full working weight, is the first time that day the weight is actually hard.

### Does warming up prevent injury?

The evidence is weaker than most fitness advice implies. A 2006 review of randomized controlled trials found the data trended toward a lower injury risk with warm-up but was not strong enough to prove it either way. What a warm-up reliably does is raise force output and rehearse the movement pattern, not guarantee an injury-free session.

### Why does only the first exercise get ramp-up sets?

Because by the second exercise your body is already warm, and because carries and bodyweight holds have no percentage of a working weight to climb toward. Ramp-up sets are generated only for a day's opening lift, and only when that lift is rep-based and loaded with weight.

### Can I skip the warm-up?

Yes. Warm-up is on by default but can be turned off entirely in settings, and mid-session a skip-cardio button and a skip-to-lifts button let you shorten or skip it on any given day.


## Sources

- [Racinais & Oksa (2010): Temperature and Neuromuscular Function](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21029186/)
- [Fradkin, Zazryn & Smoliga (2010): Effects of Warming-Up on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19996770/)
- [Kay & Blazevich (2012): Effect of Acute Static Stretch on Maximal Muscle Performance: A Systematic Review](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21659901/)
- [Behm & Chaouachi (2011): A Review of the Acute Effects of Static and Dynamic Stretching on Performance](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21373870/)
- [Fradkin, Gabbe & Cameron (2006): Does Warming Up Prevent Injury in Sport? The Evidence From Randomised Controlled Trials?](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16679062/)

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*Scott Shumaker, maker of Compound. Builds Compound, an iPhone and Apple Watch app that runs one lifting program and does the bookkeeping. Trains on the pull, push, legs and auxiliary split, and wrote the progression engine described here.*

*Compound: A workout app with exactly one workout in it. Four days, automatic double progression, warm-up and mobility built in. No account, no cloud. https://trycompound.cc*