Warm-up Sets Calculator
Four sets up to your working weight, ready to load.
The load of your first real set today, bar included.
Fill in the fields and the answer appears here.
An estimate, not a test. Only try a true one-rep max with solid technique, a proper warm-up and a spotter or coach beside you — and not at all with an injury or a health condition that heavy lifting could worsen.
How this was worked out
Fill in the fields and the answer appears here.
Guide: Climb to the weight in steps3 min read
Climb to the weight in steps
Before the first heavy set, a warm-up brings the body and the technique close to the working weight without spending the energy that weight will ask for. The calculator uses four steps after the empty bar: 40% of the working weight for 8 reps, 60% for 5, 80% for 3 and 90% for 1. The load climbs and the reps fall, so the last warm-up is one step from the real thing.
That ramp is a convention of strength training, not the result of a study — and the page says so under “How we calculate”. What coaches agree on is the idea: go up gradually, without getting tired.
Rounded to your plates
40% of 105 kg is 42 kg, and 42 kg cannot be built on a 20 kg bar with plates down to 1.25. Each set is rounded to the nearest load the plates can make — steps of 2.5 kg, or 5 lb — and never below the empty bar. The table lists the load, the reps and the plates on each side, and downloads as a CSV.
Rest, and fatigue
Rest about a minute between the early sets and a little longer before the last. If a warm-up set felt hard, today’s working weight may be too high, and adjusting it is fine. Everything runs in your browser.
How we calculate
Warm-up ramp
40% × 8, 60% × 5, 80% × 3, 90% × 1; each load rounded to the nearest weight the plates can make, never under the empty bar. A common progression in strength coaching, not the result of a single study: the load rises and the reps fall, so the last warm-up set is close to the working weight without tiring you for it.
Frequently asked questions
How many warm-up sets before a heavy lift?
The calculator gives four after the empty bar: 40% of your working weight for 8 reps, 60% for 5, 80% for 3 and 90% for 1. The load climbs and the reps fall, so the last warm-up is close to the working weight without tiring you for it.
Why are the weights rounded?
Because the bar can only carry what the plates add up to. With kilogram plates down to 1.25 kg the loads move in steps of 2.5 kg, and in pounds in steps of 5 lb; each set is rounded to the nearest one, and never below the empty bar.
How long should I rest between warm-up sets?
About a minute between the early ones and a little longer before the last. The warm-up is there to prepare the working sets, not to compete with them.
Is this percentage scheme from a study?
No, and the page says so. It is a common progression in strength coaching rather than the result of one study; the idea behind it — rising load, falling reps — is the part coaches agree on.
Does it work for dumbbells or machines?
The percentages do; the plate rounding is for a barbell. For dumbbells, take the nearest pair to each load shown.